The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Weed and Da’in.

Da’in’s Bless spell raised Weed’s abilities by an incredible amount, and at the same time weakened monsters. It was as if she had put wings on Weed, who was already incredible. Their teamwork increased their potential by near-impossible amounts.

Even so, Da’in did not kill monsters. This was no loss for Weed, since he could increase his skills in Swordsmanship when she did not take part in the fights.

Even so, I can’t trust a person I met in a place like this.’

Weed was constantly worried that she might betray him, even as he fought. Having spent so much time there, Da’in knew a lot of things about Lavias. According to her, until just recently she had been going around Lavias gathering information. She had gone into the dungeon just around the time Weed’s party arrived.

‘Pretty unbelievable story,’ Weed thought. But it was true that he had never encountered her in Lavias, so it must have also been true that she had stayed in the dungeon that long. Nevertheless, that was not reason enough to believe everything else she said.

“How about we change training grounds? I happen to know of a few undiscovered dungeons, though I haven’t been to them yet.” According to Da’in’s investigations, there were at least eight undiscovered dungeons.

“When you say undiscovered dungeons, do you mean nobody has entered them yet?”

“Yes.”

Weed cocked his head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

Da’in was a member of the first party to ever enter the City of Heaven, and yet there were dungeons they hadn’t visited? It was very hard to believe.

“There was no reason to, since everyone other than me was over level 200.”

“So they didn’t bother to enter the lower-level dungeons? Even so, I don’t think anyone would purposely ignore a dungeon.”

There were multiple benefits to discovering a dungeon, but the one that couldn’t be ignored was the increase in Fame. A considerable amount of Fame was gained for discovering a dungeon, and exploring the whole map of it awarded even more Fame, and even money. Even if their levels were so high that there was nothing worth hunting, who would pass on that Fame? Da’in was hiding something about the party she had been part of.

“If you don’t tell me, then I won’t move from here.”

“I can’t tell you what they did…”

“Is it a secret?”

“Yes, I promised not to tell anyone… It’s hard to explain, but I am telling the truth. You have to trust me.”

Weed decided to let it go. There was nothing he could do to convince her to reveal the secret. Words that seemed frail had a higher chance of being true. Plus, they had just left the Cave of Dead Warriors to explore other dungeons. So at least she was being truthful about that.

• Mirkan Tower.
• Secret Area of Pan Lake.
• Baravall Coal Mine.
• Segmail Vista.
• Gaet Altar.
• Parrot Nest.
• Barlog Ruins.
• Sealed Cave of Margres the Destroyer.

These areas had been left unexplored. Weed and Da’in arrived at the region, out of sight from the city. Mirkan Tower seemed as if it had risen up from the clouds. As expected, Weed and Da’in became the first to discover the place. They were mainly up against flying monsters. Weed had Archery as his long-range attack skill. He used a tough strung bow that made good use of his stats to deal heavy damage.

For just 10 gold coins, users could buy special feathers near the tower and use them to fly for a whole month. Plus, Dungeon discovery meant double the experience points and double the item drops! Weed and Da’in explored and trained in Mirkan Tower, the Secret Area of Pan Lake and Baravall Coal Mine one by one. At the Balrog Ruins, Gaet Altar and Segmail Vista, the weakest monsters were Death Knights. Nobody dared enter those areas and they had been sealed off. Nevertheless, with Da’in’s help Weed made good progress and gained incredible amount of experience and items.

‘Now, if I can just make this…’

Weed was glaring at two lobsters at that moment. Next to him, Da’in also stared down at the lobsters and gulped. Weed’s Cooking Skill was 99% to reaching level 10, so he chose a special dish for the final 1%. The best a Beginner level Cook could dish out was seafood, that is, the famous lobster!

Of course, Hyun had never eaten lobster in his whole life. It was simply too expensive. One of the reasons he was so diligent in practicing his Cooking Skills was so he could taste food such as these.

The lobsters struggled, but they were no match for Weed’s cold glare. Ultimately, they could only drop their antennae in defeat. Weed, however, was not trying to stare them down to death; he was trying to visualize that expensive lobster meat. Weed’s hands shivered. Even in the game lobsters were rare and expensive. In Lavias they could be purchased for the hefty price of one gold each. If he had not explored the dungeons with double the item drop rate, he wouldn’t have even have considered buying them.

‘After I cook these suckers, I will be at Intermediate level Cooking.’

Weed’s willful hands moved like lightning as he grabbed the lobsters’ heads with his left hand and used Zahab’s Engraving Knife in his right to slash them from head to tail. The lobsters’ bodies split in half and Weed quickly rinsed off the sand and took out the eggs. Right away, he began to stir-fry it in a frying pan, along with the sauces and spices he had previously prepared. Soon steam was seen rising and the lobster was cooked to perfection. Finally, the lobster dish was done!

Ding!

His desire to reach Intermediate level Cooking Skill finally came true and the rewards were very satisfying. Equipment for raising magic resistance was quite expensive, but he could raise his magic resistance through his Cooking Skill.

“Wow that looks delicious.”

Da’in, who had been waiting patiently for the food to be cooked, rolled back her sleeves and rushed towards it. Weed also hurried to eat his portion of the lobster.

Weed fought while Da’in assisted. The two dominated the dungeons. Da’in worked so hard at healing and casting buffs that Weed didn’t regret forming a party with her. Da’in was a woman who became more mysterious the better he got to know her. When she spotted a monster, she cursed them multiple times all while looking at them with sorrowful eyes. Plus she was not careless with money or items. Whenever Weed tried to get a few more silvers, or even coppers, she noticed and pointed it out.

Near the Secret Area of Pan Lake, there were many places where herbs bloomed. There she bent down with no hesitation and dug up the herbs. A formidable survival instinct! Sometimes she would write a poem or sing a song. Her clear, refreshing voice rang out beautifully. Thanks to that, Weed could hunt joyfully.

‘To think that it could be this much fun not being alone…’

No one else visited Lavias. Pale and Surka messaged him, saying they had settled in a hunting ground at the Citadel of Serabourg. Since their parents were still new players, it was hard for them to leave.

At all times they were alone together. Plus, she was a woman who looked like the one in his dreams. As a man, it would be a lie to say his eyes never strayed toward her. At first, Da’in was all smiles, but sometimes a shadow crossed her face. However, it lit up again as she hunted and had her meals with Weed.

One day, Weed decided he wanted to become her friend. “Um… Do you want to hunt together from now on?” he asked.

But Da’in fell silent.

“I’m sorry, Weed-nim,”

She said after a while, with a serious expression on her face.

“What do you mean?”

“Once, I made a bad decision. I thought nobody loved me… I couldn’t trust anybody.”

“… Is that, by any chance, why you were left alone in Lavias?”

“It’s hard to explain the whole story, but yes, it’s somewhat related. Anyway, I was encouraged by spending time with you, Weed-nim. Perhaps, I might find my place once again…”

“So?”

Weed was a bit frustrated.

It was good to hear that spending time with him helped her regain her courage, but hearing that she would go back made him feel like he had been used.

No one liked being used.

“I didn’t mean it like that. After meeting you, I feel as if I can live on.”

“No way. Do you…”

“Yes, I…am ill. Even though I can get an operation, it’s not certain that it will make me better. I was postponing the surgery, but it’s time to take the chance.”

“…..”

“Please don’t look at me like that. I’ll be fine. Destiny and coincidence are so similar it’s sometimes hard to decide which it is. I don’t want our meeting to be a coincidence. If it was destiny for us to meet, then we will meet again. I really hope I can meet Weed-nim again.”

Da’in logged out. Weed felt empty after Da’in left him. He hadn’t really spent much time with her because he was suspicious of her and concentrated on hunting. Maybe she never tried to hide her sickness. Weed was always busy. As soon as she logged on, he would drag her somewhere to hunt.

For over a month, they had barely conversed and just hunted. He felt regret. Maybe Da’in could never come back.

‘If she never comes back, there won’t be many people who would remember her. She was in Lavias alone and nobody came to look for her. I guess that’s the reason why she spent her time cursing and buffing monsters.’

Loneliness and fear of death can only be understood by those who had experienced it.

Weed hunted, waiting for Da’in, but she did not come back even after three months passed in the game. In the real world, it had been three weeks. If it was a life-threatening surgery, it might take her months to recover.

‘She will come back even if it takes her a year or two years. She promised me.’

Weed began to sculpt deep inside the dungeon.

‘Even if she never returns, I will leave my memory here. To show that at least one person remembers her…’

After his Sculpting Skill had reached Intermediate level, he could use Zahab’s Engraving Knife to cut boulders. Of course, that was only possible using Sculpting Blade. The engraving knife danced and two human figures were etched onto the rocky walls.

Weed moved boulders to the places where they had shared their meals and rested, and made pairs of sculptures out of them. Sometimes he etched drawings on the walls. Monsters would occasionally pester him, but Weed sculpted persistently.

His last piece was in the Cave of Dead Warriors where they had met each other for the first time: the cavern with the underground river flowing through it. The sleeping Da’in, and Weed finding her. A sculpture of them stood where they had shared their first memories.