LS 20

[Party] AssaGo: Turn off guild chat for a sec.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Huh…? 8ㅅ8

[Party] AssaGo: If you right-click on the chat window, you can choose which channels to show or hide.

[Party] AssaGo: It’s too noisy.

[Party] AssaGo: 80% of what they say is nonsense, so it’s totally fine to skip or ignore it.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Oh! Just a sec…!

Amid the guild members’ chaotic greetings, they had arrived at the center of Ladenska Market. Despite it being early morning, the so-called “Crafting Market” was still buzzing with players creating equipment.

Knockoff had hit level 25 during the two days since their last session. As soon as he logged in, he excitedly messaged about finally learning Jiun Rage skill, which was both amusing and kind of endearing.

MMORPGs are so massive and complex that newbies unfamiliar with the systems often don’t make it past the low-level “dead zone” and end up quitting. With nothing much to do below level 30 aside from repetitive hunting and quests, this part of the game has a high player drop rate.

But this weird little Knockoff kept chatting nonstop about the new herbs he could gather, the new ores he could mine, how many new titles he’d unlocked, how hard it was to solo a field dungeon, and how pretty the gear that dropped there looked. Just listening made Dohee want to do something to celebrate his level 25.

Dohee could barely remember when he was level 20 or 30. All those memories were hazy. But Knockoff’s rambling brought them all flooding back, like how reaching Gathering Lv.15 let you pick Misty Chrysanthemums, how the first attempt at reforging lit up the screen so brightly it was almost scary.

Dohee couldn’t help but chuckle at the nostalgia. It had been fun back then. He’d really given it his all.

He’d already handed over crafting mats and a lump of gold, but like Tando said, gear made by a complete newbie with reforging level 3 and gear made by a master crafter were completely different. Sure, “gear that shines” was a joke, but the durability and base stats really were better.

So why not personally craft his first real set? Consider it a gift from someone who got to relive their beginner’s days thanks to Knovkoff.

Anyway, after some back-and-forth whispering, Dohee had managed to call Knockoff over to Ladenska and bring him to the crafting market.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Whoa… this is my first time here!

[Party] AssaGo: Did you turn off guild chat?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yep! Just party and whispers on now! ㅎㅅㅎ

[Party] AssaGo: Cool.

[Party] AssaGo: This is the market’s central hub, people usually call it the crafting market. It’s where most crafting pros hang out.

[Party] AssaGo: You see that fountain in the middle, with the six-winged angel statue?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Oh, yeah yeah!

[Party] AssaGo: Looks ordinary, but that fountain gives you a 3% boost to success rate on crafting and reforging. That’s why everyone gathers here.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Wow… 8ㅅ8 I didn’t know that…

[Party] AssaGo: You’ll end up crafting here too once you get deeper into gear crafting and reforging.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: So should I craft my level 25 gear here now?

[Party] AssaGo: Nah, I’ll make it for you today.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Wait, you’re going to…?

[Party] AssaGo: Why? lol You don’t trust me?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: No, no no! It’s not that! I just don’t want to be a bother… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] AssaGo: I’m doing it ‘cause it’s fun hanging out with you.

[Party] AssaGo: I’ll make it top-notch, so sit down and enjoy the show.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Omg… thank you ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] AssaGo: Oh, strip off all your gear and send me a trade request.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: All of it?

[Party] AssaGo: Yep~ I’ll break it down and recycle the mats.

[Party] AssaGo: When I dismantle stuff, I get better mats than you would, lol. Just send me anything you take off in the future too.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Whoa, you can do that…? 8ㅅ8 That’s awesome…

While admiring everything, Fake obediently unequipped his gear one by one and started the trade. But the moment Dohee saw what he sent, his brows furrowed.

[Party] AssaGo: [Future Dagger Lv.20] …What is this, exactly?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Oh! I just bought that yesterday! Isn’t it pretty? ㅎㅅㅎ

…Bought it?

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“Pretty,” my ass. Why the hell did you buy a dagger? Usually, you just cycle through whatever drops in field dungeons to gear up, buying weapons is super rare unless it’s a really special case.

[Party] AssaGo: Why’d you buy a weapon?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Someone I went through a field dungeon with yesterday sold it to me!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: They already had a better weapon.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Said this dungeon in central Ladenska doesn’t drop weapons well… 8ㅅ8

[Party] GOingSupporter187: But they got lucky and got one!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Then they asked why I was still using low-level stuff… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Said they’d sell it cheap, so I should use it! ㅎㅅㅎ

[Party] AssaGo: ……..? And so?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: So I bought it!

[Party] AssaGo: For how much?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: 100 gold! Why…? They said that was cheap… 8ㅅ8

?

You hear that?

Hear what?

The sound of someone getting scammed, that’s what!

WHY would you drop 100 gold on that trash?

Dohee couldn’t scream at his monitor, so he pounded his chest with his fists instead. That was supposed to make him feel better. It didn’t. It just hurt.

Fine. Let’s give the kid the benefit of the doubt, he’s a total newbie. He didn’t know better.

But what if the dagger’s durability was… 3? A field dungeon drop weapon that’s supposed to have 99 durability–always–being at 3? Not 99, not 55, not even 30. Just THREE?

And he dropped 100 gold on it?

Dohee’s heart cracked. My poor, sweet newbie… blowing their hard-earned gold on a glorified twig…

[Party] GOingSupporter187: D-Did I do something wrong again…? ㅠㅡㅠ

Watching Knockoff nervously circle their character, Dohee’s rage started to fizzle out.

No, it’s not your fault. But seriously, what kind of bastard scams a newbie like this? Dohee took a slow breath to calm down.

[Party] AssaGo: Nah, you didn’t do anything wrong.

[Party] AssaGo: I just asked ‘cause I’d never seen that weapon before. Don’t think that existed back when I was a newbie.

[Party] AssaGo: Anyway, point is–

[Party] AssaGo: I’ll help you with gear and reforging until your crafting skill levels up.

[Party] AssaGo: So just use whatever I make for now.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Whoa, really!? I mean, I’d feel bad but…

[Party] AssaGo: No “but” crap, just take it.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… okay! ㅠㅡㅠ

Dohee took another deep breath. Then, trying to sound as gentle and kind as possible, he typed slowly:

[Party] AssaGo: Also, what was the name of the person who sold you that weapon?