*Sploosh.*

The sound of something slipping into the water woke me up with a start.

Reeling in this catch was just like swinging a sword.

Follow the flow of power, steady yourself, and strike the target without wavering.

I tugged on the fishing rod, pulling it taut.

It’s a big one!

The strong fish didn’t come easily. If I wasn’t careful, it might take the bait and leave me with nothing.

I coaxed it, pulling gently and then letting go, over and over.

Then, in one swift motion, I pulled hard and lifted it out of the water!

Swoosh!

"Ah…!"

At the end of my fishing rod, there was nothing but the hook—no bait, no fish.

"Tch, tsk tsk. Fishing is harder than it looks, isn’t it, Rain?"

"...I don’t know."

I sat by the lakeshore, pouting as I cast my line back into the water.

"There’s a skill to this, you know. If you raise your fishing skill rank, you’ll eventually catch bigger ones too. Ugh! Got another one!"

"Ugh!"

My cheeks puffed out in frustration.

Even though both of us had low fishing ranks, Chris was catching way more fish than me.

My bucket held three tiny minnows, while Chris’s bucket was full of various sizes of fish.

"Virtual reality has its pros and cons. You can carry over real-world skills into the game. I used to go fishing a lot with my dad when I was young, so I learned a thing or two."

"Oh."

This was the first time I’d heard about Chris’s dad. Seems like he really liked fishing.

"And, one of our party members, the martial artist? He’s actually an amateur boxer in real life. He’s even won some amateur boxing tournaments. Now, outside of work, he’s a complete gaming addict, though. Hehe."

I thought of the sharp-looking man from Chris’s party—the one who always seemed so serious.

I had run buses with the spirit summoner and magician from Chris’s party before, but never with that martial artist.

I remembered the two who had joined me on the bus runs: Beimerung, the cheerful and energetic female magician, and Cherni, the quiet male spirit summoner.

Beimerung had shown a lot of interest in me, but Cherni had only glanced at me occasionally during the bus runs and never really approached or talked to me.

Even though his avatar seemed familiar, it was probably just my imagination. I didn’t meet many people since I rarely returned to town.

"Rain, what level are you now?"

"I'm 37."

"I'm level 38. Judging by how little experience we're getting here, the entry level for this region’s elite dungeon is probably 38. It hasn’t been discovered yet, though."

Since entering this region, I’d been focusing on side quests, life skills, and crafting content instead of pushing to level up to 38.

I had been rushing forward without a break, so I decided to take it easy and enjoy the *Astra* continent while I didn’t have any elite dungeon schedules.

"It’s nice that the game developers are pacing the content consumption, so we don’t have to rush. Back when I was leveling to 25, I barely slept!"

"Hehe, same here."

I sat by the lake for a while, enjoying fishing with Chris as she chatted away nonstop. Even though I wasn’t much of a talker, Chris kept the conversation going effortlessly.

*Sploosh.*

Another fish seemed to have taken the bait. This time, I wouldn’t let it get away.

Remembering how Chris reeled in her catches, I followed the fish’s movements with my rod.

Swoosh!

"Wow!"

I beamed at the sight of a fish, almost the size of my arm, hanging from the end of my fishing line.

With this, I had completed the side quest's objective.

"I finished my quest!"

"Oh, you caught them all! But, why are you fishing all of a sudden?"

"I wanted to try cooking."

"Cooking?"

Chris’s expression turned a little strange.

In *Astra Online*, food made with the cooking skill didn’t just fill your hunger bar but also granted temporary buffs. When your hunger bar dropped, your stats would decrease. The quality of buffs also increased with the cooking skill’s rank.

Cooking was an essential skill for combat in *Astra Online*.

But for me, with 100% synchronization, cooking had an even more significant meaning: *enjoying the taste*.

In truth, yesterday, I—Lee Seulbi—had gone grocery shopping.

I’d gotten tired of constantly ordering delivery or eating convenience store food, so I felt the need to start cooking for myself.

Seulbi had really wanted some spicy fish stew, so I went to the market and bought some rockfish. I even studied a recipe carefully.

The result? A complete disaster.

The stew was unbearably salty, and the rockfish had fallen apart. I had to eat it all while feeling completely dejected.

"When you complete the fishing quest, you get cleaned fish. But…"

I stared at the large fish in my bucket, mentally preparing myself. This fish would be today’s cooking ingredient.

But what kind of fish was this?

I had come to the lake in the *Silva Plains* to catch fish for stew because I wanted to eat it, but I had no idea what species this fish was.

Chris squatted beside me, peering into the bucket at the fish.

"Looks like a trout. I’m not sure if this world has trout, but we can cook it similarly, right?"

Even though I had caught a fish, I still needed more ingredients for the stew. Just having the fish wasn’t enough. I needed green onions, garlic, and other vegetables, as well as seasoning like red pepper powder to make the spicy broth.

While I was still mulling over the ingredients, Chris had already set up a campfire, a pot, and cooking supplies. She must have bought them from the auction house.

Chris took the fish I caught from me.

"Let me show you my cooking skills, Rain!"

"Is your cooking rank high?"

I had planned to try cooking myself, but Chris seemed intent on taking charge.

"Trust me! I’m not good at all types of cooking, but since I’ve been fishing for so long, I know a thing or two about making fish stew."

Chris skillfully adjusted the water and ingredients, added the fish, and started cooking the stew.

*Bubbling.*

"Oh."

As the water began to boil, the sharp scent of spicy fish stew filled the air.

The stew’s color, just like Chris’s hair, hinted at the addition of red pepper powder.

So, red pepper powder exists in *Astra*, too. Or maybe it’s just something similar? Since players can craft items in this game, maybe it’s just a gameplay element.

"It’s done."

Chris handed me a wooden bowl filled with the stew. I gently stirred the broth.

The spicy aroma and its intense appearance immediately made my mouth water.

I took a bite.

"Hah!"

My mouth opened wide.

Spicy! But delicious!

Spoonful after spoonful, I devoured the stew.

The fish was perfectly cleaned, with no bones left. A simple wooden spoon was all I needed to enjoy the meal.

What I made yesterday wasn’t even fish stew. That wasn’t cooking at all.

Of course, it was probably just my brain tricking me into tasting things, but the detail was incredible.

*Astra Online* is truly a masterpiece!

"Wow, Chris, this is amazing…!"

"Is it that good? Seeing you enjoy it so much makes me full just by watching!"

I praised Chris’s cooking skills, savoring every bite of the stew, tears of joy forming in my eyes.

Unconsciously, my legs started swinging in excitement.

As I eagerly ate the stew, Chris grinned, watching me intently.

"Fishing and then hiking next. Ha, you’re turning into my dad. His hobbies were fishing and hiking, too."

Chris sighed as she followed me up the mountain.

"...If you don’t like hiking, you can go back down, you know."

"No, no! Hiking with you is my favorite thing in the world! Hehehe!"

Chris often complained whenever I decided to climb a mountain to admire the view, yet she never left my side.

We walked along a narrow mountain path.

To the right was a steep cliff, and to the left, a dense forest stretched downward.

Climbing a mountain with my own legs—what a joyful experience.

It was a feeling I never had back in the days when I lived on the *Astra* continent, always driven by duty.

The wind was refreshing, and the view was magnificent.

Few other players ventured into the mountains, as there were fewer monsters to hunt.

And sometimes, you could discover unexpected treasures while hiking.

*Oooom.*

As we rounded a peak, a strange hum echoed through the air, revealing a completely different scene.

"Chris, I think we found something good."

"Huuh, huh? Yes! Captain! I’m keeping up!"

"Sigh…"

I grabbed Chris, who was clearly out of it, and pointed out the sight in front of us. Finally, she saw what I did.

"Huh? What is that?"

"It must be…"

"Ah."

Between two mountains, nestled in a valley, stood a structure.

Unlike the outpost of the demon army we saw before, this was a proper fortress.

There was a sealing magic circle on the bridge connecting the mountain we were on to the fortress—just like the one at the outpost. The opposite side likely had one too.

Chris stared at it in awe, muttering to herself.

"The level 38 elite dungeon."

---

[Entry Level: 38]
[Elite Dungeon (4-player party recommended)]
[Fortress of Aspero]