REWCS 07

Episode 7: The Constellation’s Game [Leica]

While I was briefly stunned, the number of viewers, which had gone up to 9, suddenly dropped to five. The one saving grace was that the first Constellation to enter, ‘The Wandering Goblin,’ kept me grounded.

└ But why aren’t you answering my question?
-Ah, you asked where I’m going?

└ yep, shouldn’t you be hunting here if you’re level 9?

Thanks to that, I was able to continue the conversation with the Constellations.

-Well… that’s true, but I have a separate destination.

As we talked, two more people left…

[‘The Returner with the Butterfly Mask’ has disconnected.]
[‘The Ranker Living Thrice’ has disconnected.]

[ON Air: ☺ 3]

Even so, there wasn’t much I could do. Well, it stings to see potential donors dropping off… But instinctively, I felt that trying to do something without even knowing what the Constellations liked might backfire.
So, I decided to thank ‘The Wandering Goblin’ for talking to me and just continue with what I was doing—heading to the ‘Shadow Gorge’ to hunt wolves.

└ Destination? It might get dangerous if you go further from here.
-Really? What’s dangerous?

But then, a Constellation with a unique nickname, who hadn’t said a word until now, suddenly chimed in.

└ Eh, what’s so dangerous? It’s just a wolf zone, after all.

And the next moment, my eyes widened again in surprise.

[‘Mad Scoundrel 2nd Imperial Seat’ has donated 30 LP.]

Crazy. 30 LP?
At this rate, my teeth are going to rot…

└ Streamer, you were heading to Shadow Gorge, right?

Phew phew.
Maybe because I earned 400,000 won right after logging in, my heart started racing rapidly.
But there’s no time to space out. Can’t upset the Constellation in
I need to answer the question quickly.

-That’s right. I was on my way there.

The Constellation’s next words followed.

└ There’s an epic mob among the spawn able monsters there called ‘Moon shadow Wolf.’ Have you heard of it by any chance?

Of course I’ve heard of it.
Hmm.

To be honest, it’s more than just ‘heard of.’
It’s one of my favorite monsters in this early field area.
It drops Tier 2 equipment occasionally, albeit at a low rate…
And with really good luck, it can even drop up to Tier 3 equipment. I’ve hunted it countless times.
It’s a creature I definitely planned to hunt today.
So I answered without much thought…

-Hmm…? Moon shadow Wolf? I know it, yes?
└ Well, then things might get a bit easier.

I really didn’t expect the conversation to go this way.

└ How about 100 LP if you hunt it within an hour?
-What do you mean by that…?
└ Streamer, don’t tell me you don’t even know what a Mission is? lol

Thanks to that, when the next system message appeared…
I was so happy I almost did a back flip.

[‘Mad Scoundrel 2nd Imperial Seat’ has registered a new mission.]

〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓
Hunt the Moon shadow Wolf
Classification: Mission
Difficulty: ??
Clear Conditions

• Defeat Moon shadow Wolf (Lv15) [Epic]
  Time Limit

• 00 : 60 : 00

Reward: 100 LP
〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓

100 LP? Is this for real…?

[Will you accept the mission?]

Faced with an unimaginably huge sum of money (?), I didn’t even think of hesitating.

-I’ll accept!! Accept!!!

They’re offering to just give away a million won.
If I hesitate and the Constellation in changes their mind, it’s a huge loss, isn’t it?

[You have accepted the mission ‘Hunt the Moon shadow Wolf’.]
[Upon mission success, Honor increases by 1.]
[Upon mission failure, Honor decreases by 1.]

Moon shadow Wolf is a level 15 Epic monster.
So, it’s quite a strong one.
But even so, as that Constellation said… it’s still just a lousy wolf zone.
The probability of me failing to clear this mission converges to zero.
Well, they probably gave this mission because they don’t know I’m a veteran…

‘But still… is Moon-Wolf really that much?’

Honestly, even if you’re not a beta tester, a level 15 Epic monster… shouldn’t you be able to kill it by any means necessary? Like pulling mobs in the field…
Right.
Considering my current gear and assuming a normal level 9 newbie, it would definitely be difficult.
Thinking back to my first play through, I would have struggled for sure.
They probably want to see me struggle and hunt it with difficulty.
As I was thinking that, countless question marks started flooding the chat. Even though there were only two viewers besides the one who issued the mission.

└ ?
└ ???
└ ??
└ Streamer, are you crazy by any chance?
└ No, you’re taking this?  Hahahahahahaha

Uh…
Is it possible that Moon shadow Wolf isn’t the white-furred guy I know?

Moon shadow Wolf (Lv15)[Epic]

But no matter how much I think about it, it’s the same guy.
The level info matches exactly, and it’s even an Epic monster.
There are no Epic monsters with the same name within the Leica world.

└ 2nd Imperial Seat, you’re really a bad guy lol
└ Oh my gosh streamer dude lol you said you know what Moon shadow Wolf is? lol no way dude lol you really know? lol

Excuse me.
It’s written right there in the mission info, kindly stating it’s a level 15 Epic monster…?
No matter how I look at it, it seems like the friend I know… right?

“Uh…… Hmm……”

I really don’t know why they’re acting like this.
It seems like I can just go and beat it up…

└ I did nothing wrong? It’s the fault of the guy who accepted the mission lol

Yes.
I don’t even know what the fault is, but if there is one, it’s obviously my fault.

└ I was about to leave because it was boring, but I’m suddenly getting a bit interested?

Yes. That’s exactly it, Constellation in
Then, will you also bet some money?

└ Streamer, if you succeed in this mission, I’ll give you the next mission lol

Indeed, the three guys remaining in this room seem to be Constellation in who know something.
Then, as a streamer… I have to live up to expectations, right?

[You are leaving ‘Starter Forest’.]
[You are entering ‘Shadow Gorge’.]
[This is an area shrouded in the aura of night.]
[The power of all ‘Dark’ attributes slightly increases.]

As the guy called ‘Mad Scoundrel 2nd Imperial Seat’ said, this ‘Shadow Gorge’ was worthy of being called a wolf zone. Over 90% of the monsters inhabiting this field were beast-type wolf monsters.
And among them, the most commonly encountered monsters were wolves named ‘Gray Wolf’ at level 13.
So, my original plan was to grow to level 12 first by hunting these Gray Wolves as much as possible.
From level 13, I wouldn’t receive the ‘Giant Slayer’ title effect when hunting them, so I intended to maximize efficiency until then.
But now the story has changed.
The most important thing for me now is to find the ‘Moon shadow Wolf’ as quickly as possible.
Even if I wandered around moderately, it was a creature I could meet within an hour, but I absolutely couldn’t rule out the one-in-a-million chance of having utterly terrible luck.
Why?
Because under no circumstances can I let my precious 100 LP go to waste.
Haha.
I can’t hide the grin on my lips from the strong scent of easy money wafting from the Constellations.
So, I was brimming with motivation.

“Does anyone know where Moon shadow Wolf spawns frequently?”

Since there weren’t any other players around, I just asked the Constellations out loud.
The guys in my room seem a bit lacking, but they’re still Constellations, right? There might be parts they know better than me?

└ Hahahaha so funny.
└ Is this guy serious?
└ He must be serious if he accepted the mission

And the Constellation in, finding something so amusing, started chiming in one by one, giggling.

└ Well, there are a few spawn points even inside Shadow Gorge.
└ How about going up to the highlands?
└ Eh, that’s too far. You’d probably waste all your time getting there lol
└ lol but the situation itself is laughable lol

Sadly, none of it was helpful.

“But hey, guys, I’m being serious, why do you keep laughing?”
└ lol it’s funny because you’re serious lol

By the way, my address for the Constellations had now become ‘guys.’
If you have money, you’re ‘considered (big bro/respectful term for older male).
Since they’re throwing around tens of LP each, they’re obviously much richer than me.
And the Constellations seemed to like my address quite a bit too.

└ This guy, I really like how respectful he is?

The guy who keeps calling me ‘this guy’ is the Constellation with the alias ‘The Grape Count.’
Among the three Constellations remaining in my room, he’s also the only one who hasn’t donated yet.
He’s also the one who publicly stated he’d give me the next mission.
So, getting mission money out of this guy today too can be considered my personal side quest.

└ Come to think of it, since it’s daytime now, the spawn chance for Moon-Wolf might be a bit lower.
└ It’s fine, there’s definitely one near the laurel tree anyway.

Oh, you even know such details?

└ Eh, but that place is too dangerous. Honestly, telling the streamer to go there is too heartless~

Listening to these guys talk, I feel something off.
At first, I thought they might be some divine beings because of the grandiose name ‘Constellation’…
But judging by their speech patterns, they’re not much different from the Earthling players commonly seen on Awakened community sites.
So, regarding the true identity of Constellations, opinions are divided even among players.
But the one thing everyone commonly says is that Constellations know this game very well.
I still find that hard to agree with, though.

‘Well, it hasn’t even been an hour since I started streaming.’

Thinking that, I kept moving, when a wolf started sniffing and slowly approaching me.
Hmm.
Until now, I avoided most fights, but it seems better to fight this time.
To run away without fighting here, I’d have to completely change direction, which would actually take more time to reach my destination.

Krrrr-!

As I took a combat stance towards the low-growling wolf, the Constellations posted chats as if interested.

└ Oh, streamer. Finally going to show something?
└ Haha you’re not gonna get wrecked here, are you?
└ Eh, if he didn’t even have the confidence to hunt a normal wolf, would he have accepted a mission to hunt Moon-Wolf?

Glancing at that content, I gripped my beloved iron shovel.

Ding-!

[Equipped the ‘Sturdy Iron Shovel’ item.]

But it seemed my weapon… really struck a chord with the Constellations.

└  What the heck??
└ A shovel, what?
└  Haha ..
└ Is this bastard a comedian?
└ Unexpectedly based lol

Do they have comedians in the Constellation world too?
Having such a frivolous thought briefly, I adjusted my grip on the iron shovel.
Since it’s my first time showing them me fighting, I’m a bit nervous for no reason.
Can’t let our generous benefactors be disappointed…

Howl-!

So, with a determined heart, I began a fierce shoveling towards the charging wolf.

Tadadot–

I lightly deflected the wolf’s charging attack while simultaneously scraping up its abdomen diagonally with the sharp edge of the iron shovel.

Choaaaak-!!

-!!

[Inflicted critical damage to Gray Wolf!]
[Gray Wolf is now bleeding.]

Following that, I leapt into the air…
and then stabbed the shovel straight into the spine of the creature panicking from the pain.

Crunch-

Along with an unpleasant sound, the creature’s spine broke.

Screech-

It’s a natural result.
I didn’t just poke it with the shovel; I put all my weight into it with both feet, as if driving the shovel into the ground.

[Inflicted critical damage to Gray Wolf!]
[Gray Wolf’s movement is greatly slowed.]

But I still can’t relax.
If I get complacent and get bitten even once, a good chunk of my precious HP will disappear.
I need to conserve HP for dealing with the Moon shadow Wolf too.
In that sense, I drove my fist straight into the staggering creature’s abdomen.

Thump-!

This isn’t just a punch.
Then what is it?

[Accurately struck a weak point!]
[Gray Wolf has been stunned.]

It’s a liver shot to make it dizzy.
By now, the creature is probably in a state where even breathing is difficult.
So now I just need to finish it cleanly.

Crack!

[Inflicted critical damage to Gray Wolf!]
[Successfully defeated Gray Wolf!]

And just like that, the battle ended in an instant.

[Successfully hunted a monster.]
[Gained experience.]

True to being a level 13 monster, the experience is quite sweet.
Despite being level 9 where the required experience is quite high, this single battle filled nearly 6% of my experience bar.
If I hunt about four or five more on the way, I might even reach level 10 before facing the Moon shadow Wolf.
Hmm.
Maybe I shouldn’t just avoid wolves blindly to save time?
Thinking that, I looted the drop item…

└ What the heck?

A chat that gave me a sense of before suddenly popped up before my eyes.

└ A shovel, what?

It’s clearly the exact same chat, down to the last letter, but the meaning feels a bit different.

└ What the hell is this guy…?
└ A shoveling master?
└ Or is that shovel maybe an artifact?
└ No, he fights better than expected?

But regardless of the Constellations’ reactions, I busily moved first.
Streaming is streaming, but I still have work to do, right?

[Beginning ‘Flaying’ of the ‘Gray Wolf’ carcass.]
[The carcass is in good condition, increasing flaying success rate.]

The basic drop was just a small fang, but flaying guarantees me the Gray Wolf’s hide.
And this hide is a whopping 1 LP per piece!
I can’t just leave King Sejong the Great lying on the street and walk away.

[Current Progress: 0%……1%…15%……100%!]
[Flaying succeeded!]

But the Constellations’ reaction to seeing me do my main job was a bit strange.

└ Flaying…?
└ What kind of concept is this?
└ F*ck lol  does a player who took this trait actually exist?
└ How can your first trait be a non-combat trait…?

Sigh.
I need to revise my evaluation of the Constellations.
It seems these amateurish Constellation guys… don’t really know much about Leica.