Chris's sharp eyes didn’t miss the flick of a white wolf tail.

Behind the pile of rocks in the rocky mountain region, near the edge of the dungeon entrance, she keenly spotted the swaying white hair.

"...Rain?"

"Huh!?"

Wobble.

Just as Rain was about to enter the dungeon, her body froze in an awkward posture. Then, she slowly turned her head towards Chris.

"...Chris? Sister?"

Chris, with a broad smile on her face, approached Rain.

"Rain, I missed you! Are you challenging the outpost dungeon too?"

Rain hesitated, looking at Chris.

Then Chris’s eyes fell on the weapon hanging from Rain’s waist.

"...Zarkan’s weapon?"

Chris’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Chris’s party had cleared the dungeon shortly after the *No Name* party, but no weapons had yet appeared in the auction house.

For Rain to be wielding this weapon right now...

"...Could it be?"

Chris looked over at Deathmaster. He shook his head. Other leading parties hadn’t cleared it yet.

Chris quickly grabbed Rain’s shoulders.

"Rain, are you the tank for the No Name party?"

Rain shrank back, her expression turning slightly uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Chris snapped back to her senses.

She had barely gained the trust of this small, cautious creature, and doing something like this could make her wary again.

There was so much she wanted to ask, but Rain clearly had things to do. 

If Rain was the tank for the *No Name* party, she would need to keep farming right now.

It seemed like Rain’s party members had already gone ahead inside the outpost. Rain was the only one here.

Chris let go of Rain’s shoulders.

"S-Sorry. Did I startle you? You must need to farm, and here I am, bothering you."

"It’s fine."

Rain gave Chris a small smile.

Receiving that smile, Chris beamed widely.

"Hehehe! Okay, Rain! Do your best!"

Rain gave a little wave to Chris.

Then, with a leap, she jumped into the dungeon.

Chris gazed longingly at the spot where Rain had disappeared.

"So cute..."

As Chris stood there in a daze, her party members soon approached.

"Kya...! Chris, what was that? Who was that cute white little creature!?"

"Hehe, that’s my friend!"

Chris giggled. Beimerung, seeing her like this, stammered.

"C-C-C-Chris is laughing weirdly!"

"Chris, are you sure about the weapon that kid was holding?"

At Deathmaster’s suspicious question, Chris immediately wiped the smile off her face, switching back to her role as the raid leader.

"Yes, I’m sure. It was Zarkan’s sword."

"As we confirmed earlier, the other leading parties haven’t cleared it yet. Most of them are still struggling with the second boss’s landmine placements."

"No Name party..."

Deathmaster nodded.

"Given the circumstances, it's highly likely."

"That tiny character is the tank for the first-clear team? Beimerung finds that hard to believe."

"No, smaller characters get an agility bonus. It would have given her an advantage on the third boss."

"But, there’s synchronization to consider..."

"The likelihood is high that she’s small in real life too."

"A minor? But this game is 19+."

"Just because someone’s short doesn’t mean they’re a minor. There are plenty of adult women who are under 150 cm tall."

Judging by Rain’s childlike behavior, she could indeed be a minor, Chris thought to herself with a chuckle.

"Is that why you, our *I love white fluffy creatures* Chris, are so interested?"

At Beimerung’s teasing question, Chris blushed slightly and stammered.

"W-Well, I can’t say I don’t feel that way at all..."

"She’s a valuable asset. Good tanks are hard to find. Right now, the main content is the four-person elite dungeons."

"But thinking ahead to the 12-man or higher legendary-level raids, she’s definitely top-priority for recruitment."

"If the *No Name* party and Chris’s raid joined forces, we’d be unstoppable!"

Chris nodded.

She had even more reason to get closer to Rain now.

But being competitive by nature, Chris also felt a surge of rivalry toward the *No Name* party.

"We can’t lose again. Sure, we gave up the first clear this time, but next time, we have to win. Come on, no time to rest! Let’s farm fast, is everyone geared up? Let’s go for our second clear!"

Chris urged her party on, setting aside her regrets.

Meanwhile...

Cherni, who had been quietly lost in thought, muttered to himself.

"...That girl, she’s definitely..."

---

**[Title]**  
**Zarkan Gear Graduation is Harder Than Expected (+76)**

**[Content]**  
From here on, it’s all about random accessory stats. To get the stats you want with the right options, you’ll have to grind a lot. PvP and PvE players have different preferences for options too.  
And the new socket items, Echo Stones, are the biggest problem. There are offensive Echo Stones, HP drain, stat boosts, and even status effect damage for PvP, but the drop rate is abysmal. Even though the front-runners have cleared a lot over the past two days, only a few have dropped. They’re still more expensive than the first weapon sales.  
If you consistently gather *Zarkan Coins* through daily quests, you’ll eventually be able to exchange them, and you can get some from recycling accessories too.  
In the end, what does it mean? You’ll have to grind like crazy.

**[Comments]**  
- The weapons are affordable now, but the drop rate and price of Echo Stones are insane, lol.  
  ㄴ It’ll drop eventually. Once people grind enough, and daily quests make fixed-price items more common, the tradable Echo Stones won’t be as expensive anymore.  
   
- I still haven’t cleared it. The front-runners are already talking about running 3-man bus tactics, but I’m still stuck with a trial party.  
  ㄴ Which party is already running a bus? Chris’s raid? The *DaJeongDoSa* party? No Name party?  
  ㄴ Haha, Chris’s raid lost first clear to the *No Name* party. Where did they even come from?  
  ㄴ Does anyone know any of the *No Name* party members? I asked around, but no one I know has any clue.  

---

The golden glow of the setting sun filtered through the window, gently tickling my eyes.

The sensation stirred me awake.

"Ugh."

Stretching a bit, I looked around the room.

It was the same small haven I always lived in.

But when I rubbed my eyes and checked my phone’s banking app, what I saw was not the same.

**[Lee Seulbi]**  
**[Hanwha Bank]**  
**[Balance: 21,504,010 KRW]**

"Wow."

It didn’t feel real.

But that amount of money was in my account.

I hugged my phone tightly to my chest.

Rain, you’ve worked so hard.

Finally, your day has come.

This time, I hadn’t missed out on the front-runners’ golden timing.

I had defeated the fragile *Lee Seulbi* and her weak body that tormented the hero *Rain* from the continent of Astra.

When I got that first weapon drop and put it on the auction house, I was so nervous that it wouldn’t sell quickly.

The prices of elite dungeon weapons from the previous two dungeons had plummeted within a day or two, so people were hesitant to spend money.

Fortunately, there were still wealthy players who didn’t mind paying a premium. I managed to sell the first weapon at a decent price.

Just like the *Orc King* and *Sealed Demon* series, the weapon prices kept falling after that first sale.

But since this dungeon was more difficult, many parties still hadn’t cleared it, so the price decline was slower than in the beginner elite dungeons.

Thanks to that, I farmed all day and earned a ton of gold.

"Still, I’ve rested for too long."

I let out a soft sigh.

Farming for 18 hours straight, then sleeping for another 18 hours.

But this time, I fully took advantage of the golden timing for the front-runners.

Now, what should I do with all this money?

Is this the common dilemma of people who suddenly come into wealth?

A house? Considering Seoul’s sky-high real estate prices, that’s out of the question for now.

*Astra Online* will continue releasing dungeons on a regular schedule. As long as I keep clearing them quickly as a front-runner, I should be able to earn a lump sum every month or two.

If I keep saving like this, I could eventually buy a house. But do I really need a fancy home?

Given my limited mobility and small activity range, I don’t need a big place.

I looked around my small one-room apartment again.

"This place is big enough for me."

I don’t need to go far, so I don’t need a house in the city center.

It’s just a rented room in a low-income neighborhood, but as long as I keep paying rent, the landlord never bothers me.

If I’m going to save up to buy a place, it might as well be a cleaner, cozier home.

How about a car?

I’ve heard of cars equipped with devices for people with limited mobility, and there’s even autonomous driving now.

But I never go outside. Why

 would I need to drive?

Looking at it this way, there’s no urgent need to hoard cash, but having money is always useful. For example...

"Food."

I opened my food delivery app and smiled brightly.

Not having to worry about saving for meals is reason enough to keep making money.

At this rate, I might even stop licking the yogurt lids one day!

No, Rain. Remember the hunger. Don’t forget how starving felt.

All my current joys exist within *Astra Online*, but...

To enjoy modern, delicious food and keep my energy up, I need to earn real money too.

Before returning to my world, the continent of Astra...

Beep.

I pressed the payment button on the delivery app.

"Oh, maybe pizza today..."