After crossing the rocky mountain outpost in the *Roselia Plains*, I arrived in a new adventure area—*Silva Plains*, specifically the first village, *Kirine Village*.

At this point, more players had finished farming the outpost and were advancing to the next region. As I flowed along, starting my exploration in this new area, I decided to focus less on leveling up quickly and instead try a few side quests here and there.

I had been focusing too much on leveling and collecting gold up until now, so I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leisurely roam around the continent of *Astra* while doing some small quests.

Part of my motivation was also to gradually learn more about the current state of the *Astra* continent through side quests.

After all, this was the world I would be living in from now on. It wouldn’t hurt to understand the lives and cultures of the NPCs in this era of *Astra* in more depth.

Some side quests involved killing monsters, directly contributing to leveling up, while others were simple tasks within the village, like delivering items, letters, or gathering ingredients.

Today, I was working on one of those small quests in *Kirine Village*.

But...

"Now I understand why only story enthusiasts do these kinds of quests."

[Kopopo’s Egg]
[Quest Item]
[It seems like it needs to stay warm.]

Thud, thud.

I was carrying an egg, about the size of my head, from a bird species.

It was a simple egg delivery quest with no significant reward or apparent purpose. 

But most side quests were of this type.

Since I had already accepted the quest, I felt responsible for completing it.

The *Kopopo Egg Delivery* quest seemed simple on the surface, but it required a great deal of focus.

The route was from the *Kopopo Farm* on the outskirts of the village to a restaurant inside the village. Along the way, I had to stop at several braziers to warm the egg, ensuring it stayed at the right temperature. If the egg cooled down even slightly, the restaurant wouldn’t accept it.

Why, though? They’re just going to cook it anyway.

There were a lot of things I wanted to complain about, but since that’s what the quest required, I had no choice but to follow the instructions.

The first brazier was just ahead. All I had to do was place the egg over the fire for five seconds, warm it up, and continue on my way.

Thunk.

I placed the egg on the first brazier and took a brief moment to rest.

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

The *Kopopo* egg I had placed on the brazier suddenly disappeared.

In my field of vision, I spotted another player running off with the egg.

I stood there, dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold.

Why did they take it? It’s just a quest item.

The player, a blue-haired human male, was standing a little distance away from the brazier, holding the egg and smirking.

Please give it back.

I can’t finish my quest without it.

I wanted to say that, but I have an extreme aversion to interacting with others, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to return it.

I had no choice. Not knowing why that player took my egg, I returned to the *Kopopo Farm* to get a new one.

As I was warming up the second egg at the brazier...

Whoosh!

That same player came by and stole the egg again.

"Ugh..."

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Now I was sure. This player just wanted to mess with people doing quests.

I stared at the player with a sad look on my face as they ran off with my egg.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the mischievous player gasped, avoided my gaze, and sheepishly returned the egg to the brazier.

“Oh.”

For some reason, the egg was back.

With a smile, I picked up the egg and moved on to the next brazier.

---

"Hmm. So *Kopopo* is like a chicken on Earth."

Still, it wasn’t like I hadn’t gained any knowledge from doing the side quests.

Back when I was active in the *Astra* continent, there was a significant shortage of food. The land had been contaminated by magic, making it difficult to cultivate crops, except for a few that had adapted to the conditions.

The *Kopopo* is a large, flightless bird, almost the size of a person. It’s probably like a tasty ostrich on Earth.

The people of this era on the *Astra* continent had successfully domesticated the *Kopopo*. The first skewers I tasted when I arrived on this continent were made from *Kopopo* meat.

While accepting another side quest to defeat some monsters on the plains, I opened my messenger.

[Onmyoji 'Chris' (Online)]

- What are you up to, sis?
- Hunting in the *Roselia Forest*!

I smiled at Chris’s quick response.

Lately, we’ve been messaging each other like this.

Compared to the past, when I always had my messages on do-not-disturb, my communication skills had made significant progress. Of course, I still turned off notifications when soloing dungeons.

The *Roselia Forest* is a PVP zone.

Hunting there likely meant she was fighting the minions of the *Betarion Empire*.

I thought back to the blue-haired human player who had stolen my egg.

From the outfit he was wearing, it was clear he belonged to the *Betarion Empire*.

Most regular players would take off their faction uniforms outside of PVP zones, but if he was wearing it in a regular field, he must be a hardcore PVP player.

Since Chris was busy hunting, I decided to leave her a quick message and close the messenger.

- Good luck, sis! And if you see a blue-haired player there, teach him a lesson for me.

"Alright."

Just like the *Roselia Plains*, the next elite dungeon in the *Silva Plains* is probably sealed as well.

There hasn’t been any news of the elite dungeon being discovered yet, and the game is pacing its content consumption, so I’m sure it’s still locked.

There’s no need to rush leveling up. I can refine my skill rotation, complete side quests, and enjoy a relaxed adventure.

The monsters found in the *Silva Plains* are mostly large, bipedal creatures. Ogres and trolls, with high attack power and a lot of HP.

Still, the players who made it this far were all veterans who had finished farming the outpost. They wouldn’t be taken down easily by these monsters.

Having a lot of HP made these monsters the perfect practice dummies for testing out my attack cycles.

I decided to test each of my newly ranked-up skills.

Tatata!

Targeting an ogre in front of me, I quickly approached.

"Graaargh!"

Whoosh!

As soon as the ogre noticed me, it swung its massive club.

[Counterattack (C)]
[Move to the enemy’s rear (Cooldown: 8 seconds)]
[(Rank D) Grants invincibility while casting]
[(Rank C) Automatically switches to *Draw Stance* when used]

[Block (A)]
- Blocks attacks in a 180-degree frontal area.
- (Rank A) Successfully blocking within 0.2 seconds grants a 10-second *Vitality Buff*, increasing all damage.

Clang!

Timing it perfectly, I blocked the club, and the *Vitality Buff* enveloped me.

I then activated *Counterattack*, moving behind the ogre and switching into *Draw Stance*.

Slash, slash, slash!

"Graaargh!"

Thud.

The ogre, slashed repeatedly with my *Starlight Slash*, fell, its HP depleted in an instant. Its slow attack speed didn’t give it a chance to counter.

"Eh."

I stared blankly at the fallen ogre.

Even field monsters weren’t enough to last through my skill cycle anymore. Not even an ogre with so much HP.

Perhaps my skill ranks had increased from diligently using *Counterattack* while fighting *Galoban* in the outpost.

At rank C, *Counterattack* no longer required *Draw Stance* to be active. Instead, it automatically switched me into *Draw Stance* when used.

If used from *Draw Stance*, it would behave as before.

If used from a regular stance, it would switch me into *Draw Stance*.

In other words, I could now switch into *Draw Stance* every 8 seconds without relying on *Moonlight Slash*. The *Vitality Buff* that lasted for 10 seconds paired perfectly with this.

Every 10 seconds, I could trigger a 0.2-second *Just Guard*, gain the *Vitality Buff*, maintain *Draw Stance*, and unleash powerful attacks without missing a beat.

Swordsmanship was a simple and powerful job.

Let’s hope it doesn’t get nerfed.

---

[Title]
Today's *Kirine Village Kopopo* Egg Quest Harvest.jpg (+92)

[Content]

(Image file)

Isn't this the same person who was the first to own the full *Orc Warrior* set from *Orc Forest*?

I saw them earlier today, carrying an egg while I was on my way to do daily quests in *Rosel Forest*. They looked so cute, I stole it.

But when I saw their sad expression, I felt super guilty and returned it. ;;;

[Comments]

- That's them, LOL! Still cute as hell.
- OMG... LOL.
- Wow, what a demon. How could you steal an egg from such a cute person?
- Are they really a minor? Or just using a smaller character model

? I'd love to run dungeons with them.
- Hey, you're from the *Betarion Empire*, right? Don’t go to *Rosel Forest* now. Chris is rampaging. All *Mana Stones* are getting looted.
  ㄴThe poster has blue hair too. Blue-haired characters are her main targets right now. Chris charges at them like a bull.