Hard Carry Support

Chapter 6 - First Teammate (2)

The next day.

SeoHyun was about to enter the capsule and log in when he saw that a user with the ID 'AIN' had sent him a message.

"Didn't he say that he had an older model? Don't tell me he already bought a new one..."

He really was someone that acted fast.

SeoHyun was sending him a message when a chatting window opened.

It seemed that Ain didn't know that the new capsule model had voice recognition.

AIN: I created an ID in Asrian Online.

LeeSeoHyun: Did you already buy a new capsule model?

AIN: I did it at dawn. I have already finished the job selection process.

‘What an amazing guy.’

‘How did he manage to buy a capsule at such an hour?’

But more than that, Hyun asked him about what he had insisted on yesterday.

LeeSeoHyun: So, what's your job?

AIN: Magician, just like you've said.

LeeSeoHyun: Nice!

It seemed like Ain had done a good job in completing the quest.

LeeSeoHyun: Use teleport and come to the south gate of Kantas Castle.

AIN: But I'm at level 1.

LeeSeoHyun: Don't worry. I'll carry you.

AIN: What's your level?

LeeSeoHyun: 27.

AIN: Can you hunt there at level 27?

Ain, just like Hyun, was a top ranker at Asra Online. That's why he knew about the levels of the monsters around that area.

The land of ghosts and the undead…

It wasn't a place for newbies under level 60.

LeeSeoHyun: Just come. Once you get here, you'll understand everything.

SeoHyun smiled. Even Ain, a former top-ranker, wouldn't be able to come up with a strategy like his.

Gathering as many enemies as possible in order to farm a massive amount of experience…

He was probably going to be at a loss for words at the sight of more than ten levels going up all at once.

In Asrian Online, unlike other games, you could check the facial expressions of other players.

He was getting excited at the thought of seeing Ain astonished.

* * *

Kantas Castle, south gate.

There were a lot of NPCs gathered in front of the walls.

Two guards were protecting the gate; on the road next to it, you could see a group of girls selling flowers.

In the distance, a group of merchants was returning after completing a trade.

Hyun was looking everywhere while sighing.

The reason was that he couldn't see the person he was looking for.

"Why is this guy so late?"

Hyun, who was tired of waiting, sent a message via the capsule.

LeeSeoHyun: Where are you?

Ring-

Hyun received a reply immediately.

AIN: I'm already here, at where you asked me to come.

‘Huh?’

Hyun looked around, searching for Ain.

'Just where...?'

In Asrian Online, you couldn't tell the difference between NPCs and users just based on looks alone.

Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Ain's real face.

Ain: You're the guy standing next to the shop, looking around, right? You seem to be wearing silver clothes.

Hyun was starting to get annoyed. He was indeed wearing a silver vest.

That meant that Ain had already seen him. He was probably watching him from a distance.

LeeSeoHyun: Don't joke with me and just come here!

Aim: I'm currently looking at you. Come try to find me.

‘He's looking at me?’

Hyun's eyes sparkled.

He had seen a man looking at him from a distance.

Yes, that must be him.

'Huh? Why is he so handsome?'

Ain seemed to be a blond guy whose height was more than six feet tall.

His body was muscular. But more than a bodybuilder, he looked like a professional athlete.

'That's Ain, right?'

Just like his Asra Online persona, he looked like a macho-type person.

‘So all this time, I've been playing with the typical popular guy.’

He really looked nothing like himself, who did nothing more than play video games all day.

While feeling ashamed, he approached that man and initiated a conversation.

"Ain! I finally found you. You're quite handsome, huh?"

The moment Hyun talked to him, that man looked at Hyun with a confused look on his face. He answered Hyun with another question.

"Is there anything you need from me?"

"Stop joking. I already know it's you."

Hyun thought that Ain was joking around.

"I know that you've been looking at me for a while."

"I was watching you because you were looking around with a suspicious look on your face."

The man, whom Hyun thought was Ain, took out something from his pocket.

It was a badge that proved that he was the sheriff of the Magic Country.

Ain: LOL, what are you doing over there?

After receiving another message, he finally understood the situation.

The man wasn't Ain. It was an NPC of the Magic Country.

He was staring at him because he mistook him for a pickpocket.

Ain: LOL

While biting his lips and remembering the message, he asked the sheriff for forgiveness. After a long explanation, he finally made him understand that he wasn't someone suspicious.

'Just where is this guy hiding?'

When he was thinking that once he saw Ain, he was going to punch him, another message arrived.

Ain: You still don't know where I am? I've been staring at you for a while.

Hyun slowly moved his head and looked around. But he couldn't find anyone who matched his mental image of Ain.

‘Just from where are you looking at me?’

The moment he had enough and was about to shout, just by coincidence, he looked towards the castle's gate.

There was someone who was leaning on the wall. That person was laughing while looking at him.

'No way...'

It was someone with their arms crossed that had been looking at him for a while.

'Wait. Really?!'

The truth is that he already knew that someone was looking in his direction, but there was one reason why he had passed on that person.

He would've never guessed that Ain was that person.

'Is that really Ain?'

The reason for his confusion was simple—that person was too different from how he thought that Ain would be.

Ain: Oh, it seems like you've finally found me.

After sending the message, a petite girl approached him.

She had black, bob-cut hair, her height was on the shorter side, and she barely reached Hyun's shoulders.

The corners of her lips were slightly up.

The girl he assumed was Ain was right in front of him.

"Hmm... This is the first time we’ve seen each other's actual appearance, right?"

"A... Are you really Ain?" Hyun answered, stuttering.

"Haha, what's up with that strange way of talking?"

Hyun was flustered. All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.

Was it character customization?

No... There wasn't an option that allowed you to change genders.

Character customization required a lot of gold, so there was no way a new player like Ain could've tried it yet.

That girl in front of him was indeed Ain. There was no other possible explanation.

'How is it possible? That tough, manly werewolf Ain is actually a girl?'

Hyun, whose head was filled with chaotic thoughts, suddenly started to ask her questions related to Asra Online.

"What's the name of the ultimate skill that the Werewolf Ain uses...?!"

"Body Enhance... But why are you asking me that?"

Hyun asked her more questions, and she answered every single one of them.

Ain seemed a little bit annoyed but still answered everything he asked. Most of the questions were things that no one else besides Ain would know.

After a while, he finally could accept it.

"I've never imagined that you were actually a girl."

"Really? But I always knew you were a boy."

Ain had a quiet voice that wasn't too different from the other girls of similar age.

Since she was always cold and always went straight to the point, he always thought she was a guy.

He asked her about it.

"Hyun, do you talk in real life just like you do on the internet?"

After being reproached, he wasn't able to form any words.

But once time passed, his confusion dissipated.

Hyun and Ain talked for a while.

Once they began talking about Asra Online, the awkwardness disappeared.

Back in Asra Online, Ain was one of the few people he used to talk to regularly.

Once they talked, he found out something.

Leaving the gender and appearance aside, Ain was still Ain.

Translator - Daniel Shin

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

After they finished talking, Hyun started to focus again on his original goal.

Ain: Damage Dealer.

Hyun: Support.

He had lured Ain to Asrian Online to make her his first slave.

Now that he knew that Ain was, in fact, a young girl, the word 'slave' started to feel weird, but he decided to ignore it.

He never mentioned that word in front of Ain, of course.

Choosing the wrong words while talking to someone as prideful as her could bring a lot of problems.

Hyun decided to start slowly.

"Your job is Magician, right?"

"Yeah, you told me to pick it."

"Is it a promotion-type job or a hidden one?"

"It's a hidden one, of course!"

Hearing the word “hidden” made Hyun's heart sink. It made him remember the 'Support(Hidden)' nightmare.

"First, can you show me your status window?"

She nodded.

Ain (Lv. 1)

HP: 50/50

Mana: 450/450

Job: Close Range Magician (Hidden)

[Strength: 15] [Agility: 15] [Vitality: 5] [Magical Power: 30(+15)]

Skills - <+Open List>

Titles - <+Open List>

"Hmm..."

First of all, it was indeed a Magician.

But in front of 'Magician,' there were two strange words.

He had never seen that job before, so that probably meant that it was a new one that wasn't in Asra Online.

‘I'll think after checking out the skills.'

[ «Flame Claws» Lv.0]

- Your claws get covered in flames, and you deal [Magical Power] x5 extra damage.

- It consumes 10 mana per second.

<Title>

[Deceiver]

- Magical Power 15

- While trying to deceive an opponent, you're less likely to get caught.

"Hyun, show me yours too."

"Okay..."

While showing her his status window, Hyun started to think deeply about something.

‘Close Range Magician’.

First of all, its overall stats were very high thanks to the job being a hidden one.

He wasn't sure what Ain did while picking her job, but she had managed to get an extra title; thanks to that, her Magical Power was ridiculously high for a level 1 character.

But there was the fact that Ain had only one skill, «Flame Claws».

At first glance, it looks like an amazing one. After all, it dealt five times the Magical Power as damage.

Even at level 1, it was capable of dealing a ridiculous amount of 225 damage.

'The problem is that this skill has a fatal flaw.'

«Flame Claws» consumed a lot of Mana.

The skill «Fire Arrow» consumed 10 mana. Using «Flame Claws» was the equivalent of using one «Fire Arrow» per second. Basically, it leaked a lot of Mana!

In Asrian Online, since there weren't many ways to recover Mana, it was a huge flaw.

Not only did she not have an AOE attack, but there also wasn't a long-range attack.

The job was a magician in name alone. In reality, it was more similar to a Warrior that fought using fists.

Hyun wiped away the sweat.

‘Why did it become like this?’

‘Did Ain also get ripped off by Keidrial?’

By seeing the title she had received, it didn't seem so.

"I think it's okay."

“No... I think that we're screwed."

"I like it."

Ain was smiling while watching her fingers covered in fire.

Not only was Ain's hand burning; her Mana was burning too. The fire didn't even last one minute before it went out.

She had consumed all of her Mana.

"Even if my hand is burning, I can't feel anything. I won't have to worry about burn marks."

That was all Ain had to say about her job.

"Hyun, let's go hunting. I want to test this!"

She grabbed Hyun's collar with an excited voice.

At the moment, all she could think about was testing her skill.

Hyun got annoyed by that overexcited attitude of hers.

"This is a level 60 area! Test what?! How?!"

"Then let's go to the next town. You have enough gold to teleport two people, right?"

Just like she'd said, he had some money he had earned by selling the clothes of the ghosts.

"F... For two...?"

"Well, you were the one who told me to come to Kantas Castle, so you need to take responsibility," she said while making a mischievous smile.

"I started this game because you'd asked me to."

Going hunting with her at that moment would be suicidal.

The solution was doing the same thing they always did.

"I will let you test it on me in a duel."

"Duel...?!"

Just as he expected, Ain got excited at the word, “duel”.

"But Hyun, you're a Support. Can you win against me?"

"What else can I do? Hit me as much as you wish."

"Then let's do it."

After challenging Ain to a friendly duel, he finally calmed her down.

Ain had always enjoyed dueling more than anything.

The other day, when he logged in to Asra Online, she had sent a duel request almost immediately.

Of course, there was no way he'd be able to beat her. He didn't have offensive skills, and his specs were lower than hers.

The winner was already defined.

'Hmm...? This seems to work great as a training session.'

He lost, but as they dueled repeatedly, he was starting to get used to moving in virtual reality.

Asrian Online was the first virtual reality game in which moving felt real, as if you were really using your muscles. It was different from other games where you had to use the controller to move.

"This is what it feels to toy you, huh?"

"Oof... Let's duel a little bit more."

"Huh? Even if we did, you wouldn't be able to beat me."

The duel junkie was Ain. But at that moment, Hyun was more eager than her to keep dueling.

One hour after they began fighting, Hyun could imitate how he moved back in Asra Online.

Both of them began to move with more precision. Ain began mixing fake movements with the attacks; that's why each duel didn't get longer.

They were so concentrated on dueling that they didn't notice that three hours had passed and that they hadn't yet begun ghost hunting.