**[Pilia Village, Oasis of the Desert]**

“Oh.”

I had finally arrived at *Pilia Village*, after crossing the *Pames Desert*.

For a village situated in the middle of the desert, it was quite large. Though smaller than the first city I had passed through, *Ehrenburg*, it was still equipped with all the necessary shops that adventurers would need to prepare for dungeon expeditions.

In the center of the village was a large oasis.

Since not many players had reached this region yet, the village still seemed to have more NPCs than players.

Although I hadn’t visited the real *Pames Desert* on the Astra continent, I imagined a similar village must have existed there as well.

*Tap, tap.*

I casually walked through the village, scanning the shops that would be important for preparing for my adventures.

First stop, the general store.

“Welcome!”

A middle-aged man with a turban and a friendly mustache greeted me.

The general store NPC in *Pilia Village* seemed much friendlier than the grumpy one back in *Ehrenburg*.

I chuckled to myself, remembering that rude NPC from before.

[HP Recovery Potion (Medium)]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Restores 200 HP over 10 seconds.]

“Oh.”

The HP potions here were more effective, likely scaled to match the higher levels of players in this region.

The price was 1 silver.

“Yikes.”

I let out a small gasp.

A small HP Recovery Potion had cost 30 copper, so these were more than three times as expensive.

The performance was twice as good, but the price was three times higher.

Still, if I wanted to hunt effectively in this region and prepare for the next elite dungeon, it was an essential investment.

Good thing I had saved up some gold from selling elite weapons during my *Orc King’s Cave* farming runs.

Holding back tears, I bought 50 HP potions.

I was determined to ration them until I graduated from this region.

---

After buying potions and some convenient food from the general store, I stopped by the weapons shop.

But the weapons there were disappointing.

Their attack power was only slightly better than the elite weapons I already had from the previous region, and they lacked special options—plus, they were expensive.

Now that I could farm elite dungeons, there was no reason to waste money on store-bought weapons.

In the higher-level areas of the *Pames Desert*, there would probably be rare weapons from field bosses, just like the *Orc Warrior’s Weapon* from earlier.

I could level up using the *Orc King’s Sword*, farm field boss weapons, and then move on to the next elite dungeon gear.

Shaking my head, I left the weapons shop.

---

My next stop was the clothing shop.

"We have many fine outfits here!"

“Oh.”

The fabric shop.

This was the type of store for players who enjoyed dressing their characters in various outfits—so-called “fashion gamers.”

I glanced down at my current outfit with some dissatisfaction.

I had been wearing this *Orc Warrior Outfit Set* for a while now.

At the beginning of the game, it felt unique to me, but now it wasn’t rare at all. It had become a common sight among players in the *Orc Forest* region.

If I had gotten the uniform from the *Orc King’s Cave*, I would’ve switched to that by now.

“It kind of looks worn out.”

Even though game clothes didn’t wear out over time, they somehow seemed faded to me.

It was about time I got a new outfit.

I looked around at the clothing on display.

And then, I spotted an outfit set that I immediately fell in love with.

“Oh my.”

It was marked as a limited-edition item—a rare set!

The simple shirt and slightly open shorts looked like they’d be very comfortable for combat.

A white beret was displayed alongside it, and it seemed like it would complement my hair color perfectly.

And the best part? A long, stylish coat that gave off a military uniform vibe.

It looked a bit too warm for the desert, but I remembered hearing that long coats help prevent moisture loss in dry desert climates.

I imagined how amazing it would look, swirling around as I swung my sword.

With my mouth agape, I checked the price.

[Desert Admiral Outfit Set]
[1 Gold]

“Eek!”

I couldn’t help but scream.

1 gold? That’s 1 million won in real-world currency!

How could an in-game outfit cost so much?

Sure, the game had just launched, so gold was still expensive, and eventually, as the economy balanced out, such items would be easier to buy.

But still, “That’s way too expensive.”

I checked my remaining gold with a tearful expression.

After converting some of it into real money to help with living expenses and buying all the potions and supplies for hunting, I had about 1 gold and 30 silver left.

“I-I could afford it.”

As in-game currency, it was steep, but I could buy it.

But when I thought about the real-world equivalent—1 million won—I started to feel dizzy.

I’d never spent more than 30,000 won on clothes for myself in real life.

*Sniff, sniff.*

With tears in my eyes, I tried to tear myself away from the outfit, but just as I turned to leave—

*Thud.*

I bumped into something soft.

When I looked up to see what it was, my eyes met with something red.

The red object was looking down at me with a beaming smile.

“Hello?”

“Gasp…”

---

*Tap, tap.*

*Tap, tap.*

“Why are you following me?”

Not only had this red-haired woman stolen my *Pames Scorpion*, but now she had even snatched up the limited-edition *Desert Admiral Outfit Set*, which I had been eyeing but couldn’t afford.

And now she was following me around the village.

How long had she been watching me?

“Oh, I bought it because it looked cute, but I think the *Orc King’s Outfit* suits me better. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought it?”

To make things worse, she was even mocking me now.

I swallowed my tears of frustration and hurried my steps.

*Tap, tap.*

*Tap, tap.*

“Hey, um, Rain?”

“...”

I kept walking without turning to look at her.

“It’s just... I feel bad about wasting this outfit, and I don’t want to deal with auctioning it off or constantly checking its price.”

“Huh?”

What was she getting at?

“So, how about you take this outfit set?”

“W-What?”

I was stunned by her unexpected offer.

She was offering to give me the outfit that cost 1 gold for free?

The *Desert Admiral Outfit Set* swayed in front of my eyes as she held it out.

“Oh!”

I stared at the outfit, hypnotized by its movements, before snapping back to my senses.

*Smack!*

I slapped my cheeks with both hands.

Get it together, Rain.

There’s no such thing as a free gift in this world.

What if this wicked woman was using the outfit to lure me into her party and force me to be her tank?

Before I knew it, I’d be trapped, stuck doing tank duties as a fill-in forever.

But... but that outfit set was just too perfect.

Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad if I accepted, worked as a fill-in tank once, and then left.

1 gold for a fill-in tank job wasn’t such a bad deal, right?

“...”

Slowly.

*Cautiously.*

I carefully approached her and snatched the outfit set from her hand.

“Oh my.”

The red-haired woman smiled brightly.

*Beep.*

[You have sent a friend request to Exorcist ‘Chris’.]
[You are now friends with Exorcist ‘Chris’.]

“Just so you know, I’m not available when I’m busy.”

Especially when I’m doing solo elite dungeon runs.

I was planning to turn off all message notifications during those times.

“Really? You’ll party with me?”

“Only once.”

“Kyaa!”

She jumped for joy like a fool, her smile stretching wide—like I had been when I first logged into the game.

She’s acting so childish.

Though, of course, I’m technically an adult too.

---

The red-haired woman, whose username was *Chris*, waved at me until I was completely out of sight.

Thankfully, she seemed satisfied with sending a friend request and didn’t continue following me.

Once I was sure she was gone, I took out the *Desert Admiral Outfit Set* from my inventory and put it on.

“Heh.”

*Twirl.*

*Flap, flap.*

The coat fluttered stylishly as I spun from side to side.

It looked amazing! So cool!

*Hop, hop.*

Even jumping felt comfortable in it.

For 1 gold, this outfit was worth every bit—it didn’t even have the slightest bit of discomfort.

I was thoroughly satisfied.

I was now the proud owner of a 1-gold, limited-edition outfit!

*Click, click.*

I spent some time taking tons of screenshots in front of the oasis, showing off my new outfit.

---

Chris was in an excellent mood.

“Hehe!”

*Boom!*

She sent out a talisman, and with her powerful exorcist skill *Demon Binding Array*, monsters in the *Pames Desert* fell like autumn leaves.

“Wow, Senior, you’ve already reached level 18? Wasn’t the next elite dungeon for level 25?”

*Cherni*, the spirit summoner of the *Chris Raid Party*, approached her, surprised.

“Yup! I’m going to focus on leveling up for now. Hehe!”

“...

?”

Cherni looked at Chris skeptically.

“Senior, did something good happen? You don’t usually smile like this.”

“Hmm~? What’s our dear junior so curious about my personal business for?”

Cherni’s jaw dropped.

“S-Senior! Did you catch some kind of illness from Beimerung? You never smile like this! You’re even talking in third person like a fool—ow!”

*Thud!*

Chris kicked Cherni in the shin.

“Ugh... It’s definitely you, Senior.”

“Shut up. If you have time to chat, then you should focus on leveling up. We’re in the same hunting grounds, so get lost. Shoo, shoo!”

Chris waved her hand as if shooing away a fly, then resumed hunting.

Scratching his head, Cherni moved to a different part of the desert to avoid overlapping monster spawns.

“Hehe! Hehehee!”

For a while, there were strange rumors among the advance players that a red-haired beauty could be seen hunting monsters in the *Pames Desert*, smiling like a fool the whole time.