[Philia Village, Oasis of the Desert]
“Oh.”
‘Philia Village’ finally reached after crossing the Fames Desert.
For a village in the middle of the desert, it was quite sizeable.
Though smaller than the first city Erenburg, it was a desert village sufficiently equipped with shops adventurers needed to prepare for dungeon challenges.
There was a large oasis in the center.
Certainly, due to the small number of users who had entered this area, there seemed to be more NPCs than users for now.
Though I hadn’t visited, there must have been such a village in the actual Fames Desert of the Astria continent too.
Thump thump.
I lightly moved my steps, scanning the shops that would play important roles in adventure preparation.
First, the general store.
“Welcome.”
A middle-aged man with a mustache wearing a turban greeted me.
The Philia Village general store NPC with a gentle impression certainly seemed friendlier than the general store NPC uncle in Erenburg.
I chuckled, remembering the unfriendly general store NPC uncle in Erenburg.
[HP Recovery Potion (Medium)]
[Cooldown 30 seconds]
[Recovers 200 HP over 10 seconds]
“Oh.”
Perhaps conscious of the HP of users who had entered this area according to their levels, the performance of the HP recovery potion had increased.
The price was 1 silver.
“Eek.”
I let out a shrill scream through my small throat.
Since HP Recovery Potion (Small) was 30 copper, this was over three times the price.
Performance doubled but price tripled.
But it was a necessary investment for smooth hunting in this area and tackling the next elite dungeon.
Fortunately, I had saved up gold by selling elite weapons while farming ‘Orc King’s Cave’.
I bought 50 HP Recovery Potions with tears in my eyes.
I really, really need to use these sparingly until I graduate from this area.
After buying potions and convenience foods at the general store, I also stopped by the weapon shop.
But the performance of the shop-sold weapons disappointed me.
Weapons with attack power just slightly higher than the previous area’s elite weapons, but without special options and just expensive.
There was no reason for me, who could now farm elite dungeons, to buy shop-sold weapons.
In the high-level areas of Fames Desert, there would probably be field boss-exclusive rare weapons like the ‘Orc Warrior Weapon’ too.
I just need to hunt hard with the ‘Orc King’s Sword’ to level up, farm field boss weapons, then move on to the next elite dungeon weapon.
I shook my head and left the weapon shop.
The next place I visited was.
“We have many good clothes!”
“Oh.”
The clothing shop.
A shop for so-called ‘fashion-oriented’ users who enjoy dressing their characters in various outfits.
I looked down at the costume I was wearing with some dissatisfaction.
It’s been quite some time since I started wearing this ‘Orc Warrior Costume Set’.
It was my unique costume in the very early game, but now it wasn’t particularly rare.
It had become one of the common costumes seen among users in the Orc Forest area.
If I had gotten the uniform from ‘Orc King’s Cave’, I would have changed into that.
“It seems to have gotten a bit worn too.”
I’ve never heard of in-game costumes getting worn, but somehow it looked faded to my eyes.
It was time to change costumes.
I looked around at the clothes displayed in the clothing shop.
And I found a costume set that I really liked.
“Ohh.”
A rare costume set with a limited edition tag attached!
The comfortable shirt and shorts with a slight slit on the side looked very easy to move in during combat.
The white beret displayed seemed to match my hair color well, too.
And the long coat reminiscent of a stylish uniform was the finishing touch.
It looked hot to wear in the desert, but I think I heard that in dry deserts, people wear long outer garments for reasons like preventing moisture loss.
Wouldn’t that coat flutter beautifully when swinging a sword?
I stared blankly at that costume set with my mouth open and checked the price.
[Desert Admiral Costume Set]
[1 gold]
“Eek!”
I couldn’t help but scream.
1 gold is equivalent to 1 million won in cash?
How can an in-game costume be this expensive?
Of course, it’s partly because gold itself is expensive in the early opening, and after the game’s currency circulates more overall, it will become affordable to buy without burden, but.
“Too expensive.”
I checked the gold I had with a tearful expression.
After cashing out a certain amount to supplement my living expenses and buying lots of things needed for hunting like potions, the gold I had left was about 1 gold 30 silver.
“I-if I try to buy it, I could.”
If I think of it as in-game currency, I could buy it even if it’s expensive.
But thinking of it as 1 million won in cash made my head spin.
Even the price of clothes I put on my real body has never exceeded 30,000 won.
“Hee, hee.”
When I turned my head, trying to take my reluctant steps away while looking at the costume set with wistful eyes and holding back tears.
Poof.
I bumped my head into something soft.
What I saw when I looked up to check the soft object blocking me was.
Red?
That red smiled brightly while looking down at me.
“Hello?”
“Ah….”
Thump thump.
Step step.
“Ee-eek!”
Why do you keep following me?
Not content with snatching my monster, the kill-stealing sister who had also completely bought the limited edition ‘Desert Admiral Costume Set’ that I might never be able to buy again kept following me even in the village.
How long had she been watching me?
“Ah~ I bought it because it looked pretty, but the ‘Orc King Costume’ seems to suit me better. I think I bought it for nothing?”
She’s even deceiving me.
I hurried my steps, swallowing tears of frustration.
Thump thump.
Step step.
“Um, hey, Rain?”
“…”
I walked silently without even turning to look at her as she spoke to me.
“It’s nothing else, but it’s a shame for big sis to throw away this costume, and it’s a bit much to keep checking after putting it up on the auction house.”
“…?”
What on earth are you talking about?
“So, I was wondering if you’d like to take this costume set?”
“Eh.”
I was surprised by her unexpected statement.
She’s giving me an expensive costume worth 1 gold for free?
Sway sway.
The ‘Desert Admiral Costume Set’ she held out swayed in front of my eyes.
“Oh!”
I snapped back to my senses after following the swaying costume with my eyes as if entranced.
Clap!
I slapped my face once with both hands.
Get a grip, Rain.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
That evil sister might demand my body in exchange for the costume set.
I might get caught in a party without realizing and be used as a substitute tank without being able to resist.
But, but, I like that costume set so much.
Would it be okay to be used a little if I close my eyes tight?
1 gold for one time as a substitute mercenary doesn’t seem like a bad deal.
“…”
Tiptoe tiptoe.
Swish.
I carefully approached her and snatched the swaying costume set in front of my eyes.
“Oh my.”
The red-haired sister smiled brightly.
Beep.
[You have sent a friend request to Yin-Yang Master ‘Chris’]
[You have become friends with Yin-Yang Master ‘Chris’]
“…I can’t when I’m busy.”
Especially when I’m attempting elite dungeon solo challenges.
I was planning to turn off the message reception function completely at those times.
“Really? You’ll party with me?”
“Just once.”
“Kyaa!”
Hop hop.
The red-haired sister smiled foolishly and jumped like me when I first logged into the game.
How childish for a grown adult.
Ah, of course I’m an adult too.
The red-haired sister with the nickname ‘Chris’ waved her hand until I disappeared from view.
Fortunately, she seemed satisfied with my friend request and didn’t follow me anymore.
When she completely disappeared from my sight, I took out the ‘Desert Admiral Costume Set’ I had put in my inventory and equipped it.
“Heh.”
Twirl twirl.
Flutter flutter.
The cool coat fluttered according to my movements as I turned my body left and right.
It’s cool! So cool!
Hop hop.
It was comfortable when jumping too.
As expected of a 1 gold costume, there wasn’t even the slightest discomfort.
I was so satisfied.
I’m a 1 gold limited costume owner!
Click click.
For a while, I took lots of screenshots of myself wearing the ‘Desert Admiral Costume Set’ in front of the village oasis, as if taking selfies.
* * *
Chris was in a very good mood.
“Hehehe.”
Boom!
Talismans flew from her hand, and the monsters of the Fames Desert fell like autumn leaves under the Yin-Yang Master’s powerful main skill ‘Demon Sealing Technique’.
“Wow, senior, you’ve already hit level 18? The next elite dungeon was level 25, right?”
The Elementalist Cherni of ‘Chris’s Raid Party’, who had logged in at some point, approached Chris and spoke to her.
“Yes. We need to focus on leveling up for a while. Heheh.”
“…?”
Cherni gave Chris a dubious look.
“Senior, did something good happen? You don’t usually smile much.”
“Hmm~? Why is our junior so curious about this Chris’s personal matters?”
Cherni’s mouth fell open.
“Se-senior. Did you catch Bae Merong’s disease? For that ice beauty senior to smile like an idiot and use cute third-person… Urk!”
Thwack!
Chris kicked Cherni’s shin.
“Ugh, urgh. You are the senior I know after all.”
“Shut up. If you have time to chat beside me, hurry up and level up too. Our hunting grounds are overlapping, go away. Shoo, shoo!”
Chris made a shooing gesture at Cherni as if chasing away flies and continued hunting.
Cherni scratched the back of his head and moved to a place where hunting monsters didn’t overlap.
“Heheh, heheheh!”
For a while, a dreadful rumor spread among the advance party that they had witnessed a red-haired beauty laughing like an idiot while killing monsters.