Chapter 21

The Assassin Guild community was buzzing with new posts.

》Proof of today’s earnings

》Reached 3 Luck!

》Is hunting hard? Just kill people.

》Looking for people for a four-man PK Party. Level 12 or higher.

The assassins considered themselves the users who practiced Fantasia’s slogan best.

The slogan about enjoying the new world in all sorts of ways.

Hunting Monsters and honestly making money by working among NPCs.

Without having to do any of that, hunting users and stealing their money and items was a far easier and faster way to grow.

In reality, the assassins and pk’ers who shared information and went around hunting users grew faster than ordinary users.

“How can you not play a class this broken?”

Of course, it wasn’t without risk.

The moment a user was killed, if that dead user reported it to the temple, the killer would become a murderer.

If the number of kills was small, it could be absolved with a donation at the temple, but once it piled up, Penalties would stack up, such as being unable to enter towns, and the odds of dropping money or items upon death would rise.

Even so, the assassins never hesitated to PK.

》If you just raise your Luck, the stealing rate goes up, and you barely drop anything yourself.

》Luck really does seem like a broken Stat in Fantasia, doesn’t it?

》I’m jealous of the people who opened a high-grade box at the start and got Luck.

》Maybe rerolling your account until you get Luck isn’t such a bad idea?

》I would’ve done it too if accounts were a little cheaper. What a shame.

The Hidden Stat, Luck, was an almighty Stat in their eyes.

Since most users did not even have the Luck Stat, users who got their items and money stolen by assassins who had invested in Luck, even at the cost of other Stats, could only weep tears of blood.

On the other hand, worrying about getting robbed themselves?

Unless they were killed by another assassin, the gap in Luck meant they would hardly drop anything even if they died.

In fact, because they did not want to die, they often moved in groups and only picked targets who looked safe to kill.

That was why they never expected it.

“Huh? What’s this?”

[You have lost your belongings.]

[2 Gold 44 Silver 1 Copper]

[Poisoned Dagger (Rare)]

[Functional Belt (High)]

[Soft Winged Shoes (Rare)]

Those were the messages he saw after serving the four-hour login restriction, the death penalty for dying after Level 10.

Who could have predicted it?

“Why is my entire fortune…”

Normally, messages like this were supposed to go the other way around.

Walking golden goblins.

There were always rich old guys with bad controls wandering around the high-Level hunting grounds.

Domitori and his four-man assassin Party had only targeted users like that, and this time, they had gone as far as the swamp in pursuit of a bigger score.

It was one thing to get unlucky, make a mistake, and die.

They could just hunt another user and make it back.

But he couldn’t understand how everything he owned had vanished.

The other three who had died with him logged in one after another and reacted the same way.

“Fuck. Where did my items go?”

“Hey, it says I lost my belongings. What is this?”

Everyone reacted the same way.

Confused because it was their first death, they posted on the Assassin Guild community.

》? I died too, but I didn’t drop much.

》I only dropped about 3 Silver.

》Isn’t your Luck just low?

》You must’ve run into a user with high Luck. That’s why you should’ve gone all-in on Luck.

》Going all-in on Luck isn’t easy though lol

“My Luck is 3, you sons of bitches.”

The Luck Stat was not something you could raise easily.

As a Hidden Stat, it took 5 Stat Points to raise it by 1.

Since you got 3 points per level, you had to pour in almost two levels’ worth of points.

If you raised only Luck, you would lack the Stats needed for PK and could die instead, so it was a dilemma.

The four assassins looked at each other.

Their eyes were filled with resentment.

Not a single coin was left.

“Nothing but trash is left.”

To make things worse, only the valuable items had dropped, while the junk items remained untouched.

They had to vent somewhere.

“Didn’t I tell you we shouldn’t go to the swamp?”

“What, you bastard? We all agreed to it.”

Dying did not erase your murderer status.

All that remained was either earning money while hiding in the shadows and shaking off the murderer status, or deleting the account, paying for a new one, and starting over.

“Being a murderer was complete garbage.”

Hit by a disaster-level stroke of bad luck, the four of them could only sit there blankly for a long time inside the dark, shabby assassin hideout.

===

“Is this really okay?”

Sword God nodded.

The four PK users.

Sword God, holding a Rare-grade sword taken from one of them, smiled brightly.

“Let’s split the money fifty-fifty. Honestly, you caught all of them, Sword God-nim.”

“It’s okay.”

Small, cute, pretty, and even kind.

Her face did not show the slightest bit of greed.

Han Youngwoong was even moved by the way Sword God seemed genuinely happy just from getting a good sword.

[A friend request has been sent to Sword God-nim.]

“If you ever need my help, please send me a whisper. I’ll make sure to come help.”

Help, especially the kind related to money, was a problem Han Youngwoong could not solve.

But the money from catching those PK users alone was over 4 Gold.

And she was saying she would not take a single coin.

Even just selling the items they dropped looked like it would bring in a decent amount.

So he shoved the necessary Equipment into the hands of the Sword God who kept refusing and quickly turned away.

“Please contact me. Or at least let me treat you to a meal in real life.”

“……”

He hurried off before Sword God could even answer.

In case she refused and tried to return the Equipment he had handed over.

“Phew.”

Only after running far enough that Sword God was out of sight did Han Youngwoong catch his breath.

‘That worked out. Since she took the Equipment, I guess it’s at least somewhat split fairly, right?’

The Gold he had now exceeded 15 Gold.

To run into luck like this the moment he logged into Fantasia after making up his mind at the hospital.

Fantasia really could be called Han Youngwoong’s symbol of luck.

“Hehe. If I sell this along with what I already have…”

Since today’s hunt had been paid for by PK users instead of Lizardmen, he headed for the village.

He planned to list the Class Weapon Box on the Exchange and then head to Hanimo.

Just as he turned on EasyLife’s stream, he found him talking about exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Everyone. What do you think my problem is?”

Han Youngwoong immediately typed an answer into the chat, one that would solve that problem.

===

EasyLife had hit a wall.

“What am I lacking?”

》Money?

》Skill?

》The first clear Title.

》Why, heavens! Why did Han Youngwoong have to be born, and EasyLife too!!

Everyone admitted it.

There were many people who loved Fantasia as much as EasyLife.

But the number of people who had spent as much money as him could be counted on one hand.

But that was one thing, and first clear was another.

》Money can’t solve everything.

》Second place is still good.

》Fact) He might not even be second place.

》LOL ㅋㅋ Only the first clear gets announced.

The shock had been quite severe, and EasyLife analyzed the reason for his loss.

“I’m too weak. No, is my Class trash?”

EasyLife had changed his Class to a Begginner Swordsman.

A Common-grade Class.

It was a standard Class that could eventually grow into a Knight.

Depending on skill and lucky encounters, even the grade of the Class could rise.

He had chosen that path because greatswords were cool, but after the Cursed Ferocious Bear raid ended, he started to waver a little.

“Should I change my Class to Mage?”

》Huh?

》LOL, you’re blaming the Class for this?

》The Swordsman Class definitely was crap. There’s no way EasyLife couldn’t do damage with a +6 enhanced sword.

》True. If EasyLife had one-shotted it too without clearing the Magi, he would’ve gotten first clear. Why not switch to Mage and try again?

》Stop it, you devils.

Despite the viewers’ teasing reactions, EasyLife was serious.

To him, his future direction seemed more important than the money he had already poured in.

He was rich enough to spend that much again and then some.

》Real men use greatswords.

》Please don’t abandon the Swordsman Class ㅠㅠ

》Why Mage? That’s not manly at all.

》Charging in head-on is what makes it cool.

Public opinion was split right down the middle.

EasyLife thought for a long time.

“Ah, I like greatswords too. They’re my dream, my romance. But you all saw it. There’s a limit.”

Even if it was true that the grass was always greener on the other side, from EasyLife’s perspective, Han Youngwoong’s grass looked way too lush.

Would becoming a Mage even let him reach that?

In the middle of that confusion, he made a decision.

“I’m going to check the Exchange.”

He would leave it to fate.

It was still early enough to change course.

He had already invested a lot of time and money, but if he had to start over, it still wasn’t too late.

The viewers helped him search for a good Item for Sale as well.

And soon, reports came flooding in.

》Holy shit! Easy-nim, a Heroic-grade Class Weapon Box is up!

》What, isn’t that the first clear reward box for the Cursed Ferocious Bear?

》Wait, hold on. Don’t lie. Does it make sense that EasyLife, who spent over 100 million won in two weeks, lost the first clear reward to some Boing Hammer gag character who’s cashing it out?

》Ahem, that’s not necessarily true. Don’t make baseless assumptions. It could be someone else.

A Heroic-grade Class Weapon Box, no less.

One of the rewards EasyLife had desperately wanted.

“……”

As if a thousand emotions were passing through him, EasyLife stared at the Exchange for a moment before pressing the bid button.

The minimum bid was 5 Gold.

An absurd price, yet one that practically announced someone would bid on it anyway.

》Whoa.

》Look at that decisiveness.

》Are you really going Mage?

“What do you mean, Mage? I am going to become the continent’s greatest swordsman, a Grand Sword Master. I won’t run away. I’ll show you all that I can crush that Boing Hammer with a sword.”

》ㄷㄷ

》So cool.

Having hardened his resolve, EasyLife posted a bounty.

“I will buy any Hidden Class related to Swordsman, Legendary-grade or higher, for 100 Gold. Please send me a personal DM.”

(T/N: I always wonder how rich this guy is. A whale amongst all of the other whales.)

With that declaration that he was willing to spend several times more than he already had, he made the hearts of the viewers race.

“I declare it now. I will take Act 2’s first clear.”

It was not just empty Aggro.

EasyLife gritted his teeth.

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt.

It had been right there in front of him.

Even if there had been competition, he should have been the one to clear it first.

But the user named Han Youngwoong was on a level that made no sense.

It felt like an adult had shown up and ruined a children’s fight.

Of course, he had sent an inquiry to the admins.

The only reply he got was that it was normal gameplay.

That meant only one thing.

“It’s the difference in Hidden Classes. If I get a Hidden Class and deck myself out with better items, I can win. He’s just lucky at the start. How can luck beat money in a game?”

》LOL seriously ㅋㅋ

》Just from his Title, he already looked insanely lucky.

》Cheer up. I’m rooting for you, Easy-nim.

In any case, EasyLife had the connections, the viewers, and the money to gather reliable Party members.

He raised the minimum bid from 5 Gold straight to 20 Gold.

》Wow.

》20 Gold?

》40 million won?

The viewers were stunned by his sincerity.

And less than five minutes later, they were stunned again when someone else placed another bid.

“Oh ho. So you want to do this, huh?”

Normally, in situations like this, EasyLife would laugh it off on stream.

He would say he had no intention of chasing a price pumped up like that.

He often provoked the other side, telling them to take it if they wanted it so badly.

But after having the Magi Purification Water snatched away not long ago, EasyLife no longer ignored such things.

Fantasia was a game played by all sorts of people.

And the Exchange was connected across every national server.

There were many rich people in the world.

So he diligently joined the bidding war, all the way up to the price he was willing to pay.

As the viewers watched in excitement, the chat flew upward at a furious pace.

》Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!

》The Options are good enough that it wouldn’t be weird if it sold for even more.

》Hmm. If he gets stingy here, he’ll fall behind.

》If he’s stingy with money on a weapon like this, won’t he get beaten not just by Han Youngwoong, but by Sword God too? (Genuinely asking)

And among them, mixed into the flood of chat, was one message filled with someone’s sincere wish for the Class Weapon Box to sell for a high price.

(T/N: Manipulating the prices again hahaha. )