"You guys are so cute that I feel bad killing you," I said as I hurled a stone using my sling at another peaceful [Lvl. 8 Snowy Swineling], drawing it to me.

Unlike the Fulgurian Boarlet which had the appearance close to an actual wild hog, these Swinelings looked like half Mirdabons. Their plump dome-shaped bodies, about the size of my helmet, were covered with swirling white fur. They walked on six stubby legs that were normally hidden beneath their bodies—I only saw them because one flipped over trying to clamber over another Swineling in its effort to attack me.

Once I aggroed them, the most they'd do was make frustrated oinking noises and try to gorge me with their short golden tusks. They dealt laughably low damage that I wasn't in any danger even if I didn't have my shell on. It was clear they were supposed to be the monsters for beginners, not the Mirdabons.

My farming method was quite simple: leisurely walk around this part of the Golden Forest with sparse trees and hit every Snowy Swineling I'd see. Whenever I'd find a densely populated area where I could hit many of them without moving, I'd place a [Rusting Ground] at my hooves like a picnic blanket and have a meat feast. I could gather around a dozen little furry piggies at a time, so it was much slower-paced farming compared to the Mirdabons.

To make things more annoying, Swinelings didn't have a fast attack speed; it took some time for retribution damage to kill them even with armor decay. They also couldn't pop my shell before it expired and exploded on its own.

Desperate to hasten my farming speed, I made myself less tanky so [Greater Pyro Shell] would deal more AoE damage when its duration ended. I removed my armor pieces without retribution damage—a trick I learned from farming Hermit Crabores.

Thatched Buckler | Item Level: 3

Common | Shield | Off-hand

32 Armor

20% Chance to Block 32 Damage

Head-On Block 75 Damage

Requires: 9 Might, 12 Vigor

Fortified Helmet | Item Level: 3

Rare | Med-Armor | Helmet

17 Armor

10 Constitution Rating

Requires: 12 Might, 12 Vigor

--------------------

+5 Might

+5 Vigor

Mehubanarath's Old Bracer {1} | Item Level: 3

Rare | Med-Armor | Wrists

20 Armor

Requires: 10 Might, 10 Vigor

--------------------

+30 Health

+30 Ancestral Shroud

+ 5 AS per Second

Leather Crupper | Item Level: 5

Common | Med-Armor | Legs

35 Armor

Requires: 15 Might, 10 Vigor

I had looted the Leather Crupper also from the Hermit Crabores. Since it was covering my ass, I wasn’t butt-naked anymore. My pieces of armor with retribution damage were:

Thorny Worn Targe | Item Level: 7

Rare | Shield | Off-hand

68 Armor

23% Chance to Block 75 Damage

Head-On Block 150 Damage

Deal 150 Retribution Damage to the enemy each time you execute a Head-On Block

+20 Constitution Rating

Requires: 20 Might, 35 Vigor

--------------------

+35 Retribution Damage (Physical)

+12 Vigor

Bramble Chest Plate | Item Level: 5

Rare | Med-Armor | Upper Chest

35 Armor

15 Constitution Rating

Requires: 18 Might, 22 Vigor

--------------------

+20 Retribution Damage (Physical)

+10 Vigor

Worn Duelist Peytral {1} | Item Level: 5

Rare | Med-Armor | Lower Chest

36 Armor

15 Constitution Rating

Requires: 20 Might, 18 Vigor

--------------------

+15% Fire Damage Reduction

+7 Might

Bramble Laced Flanchard | Item Level: 6

Rare | Med-Armor | Flanks

37 Armor

16 Constitution Rating

Requires: 20 Might, 25 Vigor

--------------------

+25 Retribution Damage (Physical)

+12 Vigor

Checking my inventory, I noted I lacked armor pieces for my Shoulders, Boots, and Hands slots. I had found several of those types of equipment when I farmed the Hermit Crabores, but they were all broken—I sold them all to the NPC because it wasn't worth having them repaired. Besides armor slots, I also needed two rings and one amulet for my accessories.

How much budget should I aim for before I went on a shopping spree for gear? I wanted gear that would last me for several levels, preferably sets to take advantage of their bonuses—I do love having more value for my money.

[ Loot: 55 Artas, 2 Snowy Swineling Fur, 1 Small Tusk, 2 Raw Swineling Meat ]

A pathetic squeal interrupted my thoughts as a Snowy Swineling shuffled away from me, deflated to the ground like a popped pimple, and faded in a puff of lights. I felt like I was the evilest person to have walked this planet of Hierakon.

There were only two Swinelines left bumping their snouts and almost harmless tusks at me. I stomped on them and hit them with my sling to hasten their deaths, trying to ignore the pitiful noises they made, so I could find another area to clear.

I passed the eastern gate of Kurghal Village to explore the right side of the Swineling area when someone called out to me.

"Hello! New guy!" What made me immediately stop was her human voice. A female Mardukryon player cantered from the gates to catch up to me—‘Megantress’ was her name.

Did she set the system to use her normal voice or at least a human one? It didn't help that her voice was very upbeat and friendly even if she was shouting. It was uncanny seeing a Mardukryon speak like she should be a camp counselor.

I was the only 'new guy' around here. If I had to guess, she probably wanted to contract me for low-level materials as Chimichangaroo did. Smiling at my potential new customer, I said, "Hi there."

"Uh, hi! Whoops, I also said 'hi'." She wore layered robes similar to Chimi, probably also a caster-type. Unlike my first customer, her clothes didn't match at all—they weren't full sets. Her attire reminded me of a quilt made from different types of fabric. Two long branches encrusted with several gems hang from her belt. Dual-wielding wands?

"I can say 'hi' again and we can keep the cycle going." Both of us chuckled. It didn't sound like her laughter was forced or that she was doing it out of politeness. Deciding to lower my guard a tad, I asked, "How can I help you?"

"Firstly, you can call me Megan." She did an awkward curtsy with four feet by bending back her right front left and left hind leg. She also extended her hands to her sides while holding her robes like she was wearing a skirt. "People think that 'Megantress' is short for mega enchantress or something, but it's just my nickname plus 'tress'. I suck at making names, okay?"

"I think that’s a fun name. I'm Herald."

She checked my name above my head. "Herald...Herald Stone? Like the owner of Dolly's?"

"You know about Dolly's?" I said. She wasn't only a potential MCO customer, but an actual customer of mine. "Are you from Eyrie?"

"Yes! Such a small world, isn't it?" she said in such a bubbly way that it was uncomfortable seeing her voice come out of a Mardukryon's mouth. "Dolly's everywhere here. So…Herald, I hope I'm not disturbing whatever you're doing..."

"No, no, I'm just farming Snowy Swinelings."

"And selling their loot for high prices? That's smart. I wish I did that when I was new instead of leveling full speed ahead. I just love running from NPC to NPC—Ah! I'm rambling again." Megan frantically waved her hands as if she was attacked by a swarm of bees. What a peculiar person she was. "Anyway, I'm inviting you to join our party for the Great Hunt."

"The Great Hunt?" I said. That sounded vaguely familiar. I looked at my sling. The Big M mentioned something about his father making this weapon from the hair of a beast he killed during the Great Hunt.

"Oh yeah, since you're new here, you don't know about that," she said. "The Great Hunt is an event for us Mardukryon players that occur every like six weeks, give or take a few days. We'll know when the schedule is near because more and more huge monsters appear and the Mardukryon NPCs are busy preparing for an expedition."

"Here in the Golden Forest? Or at the caves?"

"Past the caves, you'll exit to the wider mountain area." She pointed at the massive cliff wall bordering Kurghal Village. "On the other side of that is where the Great Hunt happens. It lasts for like five days and it's an awesome opportunity to farm rare monsters with increased drop rates and special items. Depending on the levels of the players who'll join—sign up is at the Hunter-Warrior Lodge because it's an NPC-led expedition—Elites and special boss monsters also show up.

“On top of the loot from the monsters, we'll also get Totems. Sort of like marks for our accomplishments helping the Hunter-Warriors. We can exchange the Totems for certain items with the Chief. Or you can save them for something more expensive. It's really just a freakin' great hunting opportunity...and that's why it's the Great Hunt!"

I laughed at her joke. She seemed pleased with herself and beamed at me. I said, "And you want me to join your party for this event?" I knew that initial impressions were usually wrong—that could very well apply to me—but I had misgivings about any party Megan was a part of.

Not that I thought she was bad at the game. I was a newbie and knew less than a Swineling about MCO; I was hardly in a position to judge any other player. But Megan didn't seem to possess a competitive inclination for the Great Hunt. And even if I hadn't experienced it before, I knew an event like that was going to get plenty competitive. I was apprehensive that different....'playstyle intensities', if I had to pick a term, would cause friction in a party.

"Yep, that's right," she said. "It's so much better to have a party during the Great Hunt. Much safer, faster kills, and so on."

"I see..." A party would especially benefit me as a tank. I'd be hard-pressed to get any kills in the Great Hunt if I went solo. I had no idea how strong the monsters would be, but even if I could facetank and slowly chip their health over a century, some asshole DPS could come prancing by to get the kill—I had this happen to me so many times in various RPGs in the past.

"Kezo, he's sort of the leader of our small party, wanted to gather members early so we have plenty of time to prepare." She deeply sighed and slumped down her shoulders. "Buuuut...full disclaimer! Kezo told me to make this clear to you so that there won't be any hard feelings later."

"Hard feelings? Why would there be any?" Was she going to tell me that her party was doing the event 'casually' so I shouldn't expect much?

"There are only three of us. Four if you join. And we likely won't get any more members because everyone else already has their own parties. Kezo actually had a party before, but his friends switched to other races and left him alone here. He has experience in Great Hunts and is kinda strong, but Nitana, she's my real-life friend, and I are pretty useless. Sooo...you know? Join us at your peril. You get what I mean with the 'hard feelings' thing?"

"Yes, I understand." This was a problem I hadn't considered when I chose Mardukryons. A vast majority of the 'surviving' Mardukryon players were veterans and would already have established connections with each other. Nonetheless, I believe that a powerful tank could still find a party because of how rare they were...but I'm not a powerful tank right now, am I?

"Me and Nitana," Megan continued, "we kinda picked Mardukryons because we wanted to visit those dangerous-looking mountains like Mt. Fox Sparrow without actually going there. We're nearing our third month as Mardukryons and thought we should try a Great Hunt at least once before we change our race. With that said...I'll fully understand if you reject—"

"I accept."

"Eh? You do?"

Even if Megan's party was probably the worst one out of all the Mardukryon parties, it was also the only one who'd accept a weakling newbie like me. More importantly, their party needed the divine intervention of Herald Stone. Who am I to reject the prayers of the people? "Yes. I'll join your party."