Chapter 127

Originally, newbies start the story mode for a detailed tutorial, and the story mode basically starts in solo mode.

Survival mode, on the other hand, jumps straight into multiplayer, and all areas are unlocked at once.

Because of this, the interruption by other monsters is immediately activated.

Of course, in Monster Hunter, there’s a thought process behind it, so interruptions don’t just happen randomly.

The probability is significantly lowered in the early areas, with only a 5% chance.

A giant flying monster that managed to appear despite the 5% chance started dropping explosive scales that would detonate upon impact, shocking Arang.

“Ugh, seriously!”

Arang knew about this monster from previous Monster Hunter games, where it was notorious for always interrupting hunts.

This monster is especially hellish for early-game melee weapons, so Arang cursed internally.

The monster, named Bazel, has scales that only explode upon impact if it’s not in an enraged state, so if you’re careful…

“Ugh… seriously.”

As Arang tried to carefully move away from the explosive scales, the monster she was holding rolled its entire body on the ground, activating all the explosive scales.

The black scales turned red in an instant and exploded.

Arang, who was already low on health during the battle, died instantly.

“Ugh…”

Arang, riding the cart—a trademark of Monster Hunter—returned to the starting camp and jumped up.

“Wow… no… ugh… is this for real? A rank 1 hunter and Bazel shows up? Is this even possible?”

The monster she was fighting was already dying.

“I need to hurry. The skull mark appeared!”

In Monster Hunter, you can’t see the monster’s health directly.

Instead, if a skull mark appears on the monster’s icon on the mini-map or through its behavior, it means it’s almost dead.

Since the health was almost gone, she rushed toward the monster she was hunting.

“There it is!”

Seeing the monster rolling around in the distance, Arang ran toward it, but something else caught her eye.

“Is that a person? Doesn’t look like an NPC…”

Not knowing that Survival mode automatically enables multiplayer for up to 8 players, Arang tilted her head at the sight of a user in the distance but didn’t think much of it and kept running.

“Ah…”

The monster Arang was hunting screamed and collapsed.

“Ah…”

By the time she reached the monster, it was already a corpse.

“Uh? Oh, no, I wasn’t trying to steal this…”

It was clearly another user.

I don’t remember joining multiplayer, so it must be like before where the server automatically searches and connects.

But why did that user steal my kill? Even though I died, they must have known the monster had a skull mark…

Plus, looking at their equipment, they don’t seem like a newbie but more like a veteran.

‘It’s rare to find newbies like me in a game that’s been out for 2 years.’

Then why did they kill it?

“Wait, it’s a misunderstanding. The monster died from Bazel’s explosion damage. I didn’t hit it even once. Really.”

“…”

“I can prove it!”

“Prove it?”

“Yeah. I’m a Monster Hunter streamer, and I’m live right now. Oh, [Chicken Without Legs] isn’t on stream, of course.”

“Really? Then I’ll believe you.”

The user in front of me had a female avatar with a great figure.

But from the way they talked, they were clearly male.

In Monster Hunter, you can customize your character regardless of gender, just like I did with my male avatar.

Since it’s not an 18+ game, there are no genitals or such actions, so there’s no issue.

“[Chicken Without Legs], you’re a newbie, right?”

“Yeah, I just started less than an hour ago.”

“Oh… then it would be much easier to play in single-player mode. If you start in Survival mode, it automatically searches for servers and puts you in someone else’s game.”

“Ah, really? So what’s the difference between solo and multiplayer?”

“Not much, but solo lets you progress step by step, while multiplayer unlocks everything at once. Solo is for newbies, and multiplayer is for those who’ve played the series a bit.”

“So that’s why Bazel showed up…”

“Usually, the chance of Bazel appearing in this area is only 5%… Looks like [Chicken Without Legs] had bad luck. Ah, we need to gather materials before the corpse disappears.”

“Ah, okay.”

As I approached the monster that died thanks to that darn Bazel to gather materials, I touched the monster.

‘Wow…’

The still-warm corpse of the monster.

It doesn’t feel like just a virtual world. The monster lying dead in front of me feels like another living being in this environment.

“Amazing, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Monster Hunter did a great job implementing this compared to other games. That’s why it’s so easy to get immersed in this game, this world.”

Nod.

I clicked the gathering button on the corpse in front of me.

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing, but instead of actually dismantling the monster to get materials, a gathering animation played, and I heard the sound of obtaining materials.

Well, if they implemented the dismantling part in detail, it would probably turn into an 18+ game.

“Congratulations on your first hunt.”

The veteran [Jindaru] clapped.

Honestly, it felt a bit strange.

The user in front of me clearly looked like a woman.

A muscular body built for hunting monsters, with a curvy figure. Equipment that looked like it had high defense, proving they were a veteran.

Probably cosmetic armor, but still, a pretty face, a healthy body, and a beautiful female voice.

But the way they talked, the words they chose, and their body gestures were all male, creating a strong sense of dissonance.

If this were an old computer game, I’d just let it slide, but seeing it in this virtual world felt off.

This is why Leore doesn’t allow gender switching.

Of course, I always played female characters in computer games, and even though I’m female now, I’m playing a male character, so I can’t complain, but it still feels weird.

‘Wait, does that mean others see me like this in Leore…!?’

A 15-year-old—or rather, a 10-year-old-looking girl—was talking and acting like a 30-year-old man.

Of course, I’ve been living as Arang for a while now and have adapted a lot, but some of those gestures and speech patterns still remain.

That’s why I got along well with Uncle Kang Hangeul and Uncle Palgili.

“Want to add me as a friend?”

The veteran [Jindaru] waved his hand a few times and sent me a friend request.

I didn’t have a reason to decline and thought they were a decent user, so I nodded.

“Okay.”

‘Wow… Hunter Rank 742?’

It would take at least 2 years of playing Monster Hunter to reach that rank.

‘Not just a veteran, but a fossil.’

“What’s the meaning behind your nickname? Do you dislike soft skin?”

“Ah, no. I like soft skin. This nickname was made by someone I know who doesn’t have leg wings.”

“Leg wings…? Ah, so your friend doesn’t like soft skin.”

“That’s the vibe.”

===

[Jindaru]

A user who loves the Monster Hunter series.

Having loved Monster Hunter since childhood, Jindaru has been immersed in the series, from the older games to the VR Monster Hunter released 2 years ago, streaming and playing.

As the most famous Monster Hunter-themed YouTuber, Jindaru was, as usual, streaming and playing today.

Though not a full-time streamer, Jindaru enjoys playing Monster Hunter with other users and always streams casually, often finding newbies.

The viewers were shocked to see the newbie [Chicken Without Legs].

-A newbie in a game that’s been out for 2 years! Wow~

-Look at the nickname, is it targeting Arang?

-Who’s Arang?

-Wow, you don’t know Arang?

-Who is Arang?

-If it’s targeting Arang, that’s really trashy behavior.

[Ah, no. I like soft skin. This nickname was made by someone I know who doesn’t have leg wings.]

The viewers who knew Arang were filled with anger.

-How can someone make a nickname like that, mocking someone’s pain?

-Wow, I can’t believe this…

-People like that still exist?

-This isn’t the Leore gallery, why act like that?

-What’s going on? Why is everyone so mad?

-Who is Arang?

After parting ways with [Chicken Without Legs], Jindaru finally checked the chat and was startled by the suddenly hostile atmosphere.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone so mad…?”