Chapter 8
The Laura Hunting Ground is a common hunting area located near Tiamo Village.
Only people who care about efficiency or players around level five come here once or twice.
Otherwise, it’s a very ordinary place no one really visits.
That’s why most users here usually just focus on their own business, but…
“Hey… what?”
“Don’t tell me that’s real…?”
Today was different.
People who saw something forgot even that monsters were running away and stared at a single spot.
Thud!
Someone was hunting there.
At a glance, nothing seemed particularly special.
Just a human woman with a blurry impression fighting monsters.
‘Is that… a guitar?’
The moment they realized the weapon in her hand was a guitar—
“Holy shit.”
Everyone froze in shock.
“A bard? For real?”
“Isn’t that another class? How is there a bard here?”
“No, but that’s definitely a guitar.”
“What the hell…?”
People couldn’t calm down easily.
Because it was that bard.
“Is this some prank?”
“Even for a prank, a bard is too much…”
A class that had completely collapsed in both performance and image.
Seeing it here, somewhere no one expected, made people buzz with disbelief.
“Did they buff bards?”
“Like hell they did.”
Even though they’d never seen one in person, everyone acted like they knew all about it.
That was because bards were famous.
Unfortunately, that fame came entirely from being mocked.
Absolutely miserable performance.
Failed concept.
Dead player base.
Bards had been reverse-viral’d into oblivion by the internet.
[Bards can’t heal, can’t deal damage, can’t buff]
Then aren’t they just dead weightㅇㅅㅇ??
- Get lost
⤷ LOL dead weight spotted
⤷ You’re already struggling, just quit already ffs
And because real bard players actually reacted, it only made things worse.
People kept escalating the mockery.
Even beginners knew how bad bards had it.
“Is this a YouTuber using a tattoo?”
“A small streamer? What kind—bards aren’t trendy anymore.”
“Isn’t it just a sub character?”
“For a sub, they look way too normal.”
“That’s true.”
That’s how strange the situation was.
‘…Then why play bard?’
Because despite being a bard, the player looked far too competent.
No joke.
First of all, the fact that she hid her face and hunted quietly was already unusual.
These days, the only people who picked bard were tiny streamers looking for attention.
So they usually played as loudly and obnoxiously as possible.
Thud!
But this one was different.
She focused solely on hunting.
Something no attention-seeking bard would ever do.
Pow!
And with that level of skill, she definitely wasn’t a streamer.
Her steps were decisive.
Even holding a guitar with a broken center of gravity, she cleanly blocked incoming attacks…
Thud!
—!
Then twisted her whole body and smashed the kobold.
A precise hit.
The transition between defense and offense was smooth like flowing water.
The only reason the damage was low was because she was a bard.
Skill-wise, she was flawless.
‘…She’s just better than us.’
No, if they were the same class, she would’ve already surpassed them.
It didn’t feel like the same level at all.
“Is it really a sub?”
“Hey… what kind of sub plays like that?”
That argument got shut down instantly.
Her slender frame was obvious even with paid cosmetic concealment.
Her upright posture naturally drew the eye.
She didn’t look like the kind of weirdo who’d make a bard sub.
And someone who cared about looks wouldn’t be wearing default clothes.
‘Seriously… who is she?’
People unconsciously clenched and unclenched their fists in confusion.
And since they couldn’t see her face, the mystery only grew.
‘Just once…’
Some people finally lost patience and stared hard, trying to see her face.
KWAANG!
That was when it happened.
“Kieeeh!”
“…!”
The guitar that had seemed fine shattered as it was ambushed.
A dangerous moment.
Even those watching from afar jumped up in shock.
“Careful—!”
People hurriedly grabbed their weapons to help.
But it wasn’t needed.
PUUK!!!!
Before even using a skill, she grabbed the broken neck and stabbed it in hard.
“Ha—?”
Those who stood up to help forgot why they had moved at all.
The kobold collapsed, its weak point pierced clean through.
The remains of the guitar rained down like snow.
‘Insane.’
People covered their mouths, staring at the person standing at the center.
“……”
The blonde woman, breathing heavily, didn’t care who was watching.
They all watched her back until she finally left.
And every single one of them thought the same thing.
‘What the hell is she?’
As rumors about the newbie bard spread quietly…
“God, this insane game…”
The person at the center of attention was mentally breaking in real time.
After finishing the hunt, I thought to myself.
‘Do I really have to level up?’
I was genuinely asking.
Even after forcing myself to play every day for a month, this thought wouldn’t go away.
‘What kind of game breaks your weapon mid-fight?!’
At this rate, I’d blow a fuse.
Forget rankers. I wanted to burn everything down.
‘This isn’t good…’
I knew I was overly emotional.
I knew getting angry wouldn’t help.
But—
“No, but they started it!”
I couldn’t stop myself.
‘Wouldn’t anyone be pissed?!’
All day, singing to attack, failing nonstop, finally getting used to it—
then the device crashes.
And on top of that, a durability system that breaks your weapon mid-combat?!
‘Die!’
If I endured this, I’d be a saint.
Time passed, but the anger only grew.
Thinking about all the time and deaths wasted made it impossible to calm down.
“Seriously…! Seriously!!”
Just as I was about to collapse backward—
Ding!
[Unassigned stat points remain.]
A notification popped up out of nowhere.
Like it was telling me to calm down.
“Heh.”
Ding!
Another one popped up while I stared at it in disbelief.
[Please check your status window.]
Blatantly telling me to cool off.
“…Ha.”
The game’s obvious intervention drained me.
My anger fizzled out as reason returned.
“Yeah… I can’t quit after coming this far.”
I muttered and opened my status window with a drained body.
Level: 6
The level I gained from the last kobold.
The only sign that I was close to my goal.
‘I’m really almost there.’
Thinking about all the suffering made me angry again, but it also grounded me.
“I’m close. I can manage.”
Now that I could see the distance, the future felt less overwhelming.
It wouldn’t be easy.
By the numbers, it’d take over forty days.
But now that I was used to it, unless something crazy happened, it wouldn’t take that long.
‘If I mess around more, then yeah, I’m dead.’
I thought grimly.
Anyway.
There really wasn’t much left.
Once I replaced the guitar that broke just now, this hell would be over.
“Hmm.”
I looked down at what used to be my beloved guitar.
[Beginner Bard’s Guitar]
[Completely destroyed. Cannot be repaired.]
‘Figures.’
I didn’t expect anything else.
Hoping to repair it would’ve been shameless.
So I quietly stored the former guitar.
Now I needed a new one.
Funds: 3 Gold 30 Silver
“……”
I squeezed my eyes shut at my pitiful fortune.
I’d hunted nonstop, but died a few times…
‘Can I even buy a guitar…?’
Anxiety crept in.
But thinking calmly, I realized it was pointless worry.
“There’s no way they made it unobtainable.”
Tiamo Village exists to help players adapt.
Especially for combat.
They wouldn’t block access to weapons.
You can’t even use skills without a guitar.
Logically, it should be easy to get.
[Beginner Bard’s Guitar]
Price – 17 Gold
“…Huh?”
The moment I saw the price, my common sense collapsed.
‘17 gold?’
An impossible amount.
I wondered if I was the one lacking common sense.
[Beginner Swordsman’s Sword]
Price – 3 Gold
‘…Everything else is cheap?’
Turning my head confirmed it.
Every weapon was cheap.
3 gold on the low end, 7 on the high.
Only bard weapons were expensive.
“…Why?”
I stared in disbelief at the blatant discrimination.
This wasn’t a rip-off. This was a full-on elbow to the face.
“W-why are guitars so expensive…?”
“Oh, that?”
The response was unbelievable.
“Well, you know, no travelers have wanted to be bards for years, so we cleared out most of them.”
“…?”
Supply and demand—even in a game.
A truly infuriating explanation.
“Low demand, hard to maintain. We kept only the expensive ones. Ah… if I knew this would happen, I’d have left one cheaper.”
“……”
My vision nearly flipped upside down.
I clenched my teeth.
“And if I don’t have the money…”
“You don’t…?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
I gave one final chance, thinking of my friend.
“Well, then…”
I stared silently at the shopkeeper rolling his eyes.
“So… borrowing from a friend…?”
The moment I heard the game’s answer, I knew.
“Well, if you don’t have friends—oh! How about the temple? You’re a bard, so if you go to Priest Pierre—”
Something snapped in my ears.
“…Thank you for your help.”
I smiled brightly.
Brighter than ever.
“Good luck with your business.”
“W-wait—!”
A very bright smile.
‘No one plays bard.’
No matter how they tried to stop me.
I walked out lightly, laughing.
The NPC’s words echoed in my head.
‘Why wouldn’t there be any? Of course there aren’t.’
Now I understood exactly why.
I laughed nonstop, walking cheerfully.
And remembered my earlier resolve.
‘Didn’t I say I’d die if I messed around more?’
I’d endured enough.
I’d done enough.
I’d suffered endless unfairness just to level up—and this was the result.
Then there was only one thing left to do.
“I quit!”
Screw loyalty.
From now on, I’m done playing nice.
Mag had honestly applied pressure on her friend for selfish reasons.
Of course she genuinely wanted her friend to succeed as a ranker—but!
Running raids together with her kind, precious, and talented best friend sounded amazing.
[Guess Tiamo has homeless players now]
User quality really tanked lol
- dev blame
But if she had known this would happen—
Mag never would have done it.
“…Huh?”
A common community post.
Normally, she would’ve ignored it.
But not now.
‘No way.’
On a quiet roadside…
Someone was lying there.
Covered not with a blanket, but newspaper.
A woman sleeping naturally—
And tragically, she was someone Mag knew all too well.
‘No. I must be mistaken.’
Mag desperately prayed it wasn’t real.
Her hands shook.
Her mouth went dry.
“R-Ribe…?”
She whispered her only friend’s nickname, begging it not to be true.
“…….”
What she saw was her friend’s lifeless, dead-fish eyes.
Mag burst into tears, unable to hold back, and asked in a trembling voice,
“Why are you like this…?”
“Ah.”
Her always kind, dependable friend.
She thought it’d be fine even if they didn’t meet for a bit.
But now…
“Just… you know?”
A demon had possessed her friend.
At some point.
A very vicious one.
‘This fucking shit.’
Mag fell into despair.
