For Whom Does the Hammer Toll
Zawazawa… zawazawa…
"Uh, excuse me—?"
"S-Sorry!"
"…"
Fresh from university lectures, Pepper logged into Shangri-La Frontier and was immediately tormented by Lycaon's Curse Marking.
In Fasteia, NPCs caught one glimpse of the scratch-like scar on his right hand and scattered like startled spiders. Other players shot him wary, alienating glances, their stares prickling his back.
Faced with this, Pepper ducked into Fasteia's armor shop. The clerk flinched at his presence, making negotiations tricky, but he managed to snag a Traveler's Cloak accessory.
Draping the cloak to hide his right arm, he moved on to the item shop. There, despite the clerk's intimidated demeanor, he sold drops from battles in the Rampant Forest and against the Gluttonous Serpent, stocking up on rations and antidotes. Finally, at the weapon shop, he requested repairs for the Lock-On Breaker, its durability tanked from the Lycaon fight.
As an aside, the weapon shop's owner, though startled by Pepper's scar, cheerfully accepted the repair job. Pepper was so grateful he nearly teared up.
"Now… time to allocate stats."
While waiting near the weapon shop for the unique weapon's repair, Pepper, having leveled up significantly from the Lycaon encounter and amassed extra points, decided to distribute them with the curse's effects and his Backpacker role in mind.
"Monsters fleeing means I need enough agility and stamina to chase them down.
But if I can't catch up, throwing attacks are the quickest bet, so dexterity, technique, and strength are must-haves.
Dexterity's covered from dumping points during the Lycaon fight, so this time I'll put some into technique and agility, a bit more into stamina and strength… and the rest into vitality and luck. That should do it."
The result of his allocation left Pepper's current stats as follows:
PN: Pepper
Level: 26
Main Job: Backpacker
Sub Job: None
Vitality: 15Magic: 10Stamina: 60Strength: 50Agility: 56Dexterity: 31Technique: 30Endurance: 22Luck: 15
Remaining Points: 0
Equipment
Left Hand: NoneRight Hand: Lycaon's CurseHead: Leather CapTorso: Leather ArmorWaist: Leather BeltFeet: Leather Boots
Accessories
Chainmail (+10 Endurance)
Traveler's Cloak (+2 Endurance)
Currency: 3490 Maani
Skills
Slash → Ladder Slash
Thrust → Roaring Thrust
Flash Counter
Boom Throw
Spike Edge
Step Work → Hydrate Work
Swing Strike
Raise Impact
Heavy Strike (Level 1 → Level 3)
Accel (Level 1 → Level 4)
Rush (Level 1)
Foresight (Level 1 → Level 2)
High Press (Level 1)
One-Step Vault → Two-Step Vault
Tap Step → Slide Move
Boot Attack
Horizontal Slash (Level 1)
Vertical Slash (Level 1)
Sider Turn
High Beat (Level 1)
Actus Dash (Level 1)
Stick Piece (Level 1)
As planned, Pepper allocated stats to fulfill his Backpacker role and reviewed his skills.
Some skills were newly acquired from leveling up, others evolved or upgraded, and some gained proficiency from the Lycaon fight. But no matter how many cards he held, they'd be dead weight if he couldn't master them.
*The Gluttonous Serpent is an area boss, so it probably won't flee… right? If it does, Lycaon's curse is gonna be a real problem…
If it doesn't, it'll be the perfect test dummy for my new skills…*
With the curse preventing leveling via regular monsters, Pepper decided to use the Gluttonous Serpent to test his skills' feel and mechanics.
Soon after, the Lock-On Breaker's durability was restored. Thanking the shopkeeper, Pepper set out from Fasteia, determined to reach Secandil this time.
"Wow… they're really running…"
Entering the Rampant Forest and racing toward the suspension bridge where the Gluttonous Serpent lurked, Pepper witnessed the curse's power firsthand.
Despite hiding his right arm under the Traveler's Cloak, monsters poised to attack turned tail the moment they sensed him—fleeing back the way they came, scrambling up trees, or burrowing into the ground, exactly as the curse described.
"Saves on weapon durability, which is nice… but getting avoided like this? Kinda depressing…"
Sighing, he ran the shortest, fastest route, mindful of stamina consumption unlike his first trip. Pepper reached the suspension bridge area once more.
There, just as before, the Gluttonous Serpent loomed, its massive coiled form rooted firmly in place.
"…You're not running, huh, Gluttonous Serpent?"
Whether by programming or sheer audacity, the Serpent didn't flinch at Lycaon's curse. Instead, it hissed low—"Shaaaa!"—glaring at the intruder in its territory with menace.
"Alright then… Since you're not running, I'll show you everything I've got!"
With that declaration, Pepper pulled a White Iron Dagger from his inventory and launched into his second battle with the Gluttonous Serpent.
Dodging charges, poison, and swallowing attacks, he cycled through his new skills, switching weapons between slashes and strikes repeatedly.
Over 30 minutes, Pepper methodically tested his arsenal, getting a feel for each move. In the end, he carved open the Serpent's throat with the Vorpal Chopper, using the evolved Ladder Slash—which boosted damage on reverse-grip attacks—followed by a finishing Spike Edge.
Collecting the Serpent's drops and crossing the bridge, Pepper stayed hyper-vigilant after the Lycaon incident. Once interrupted by the night raider and forced to restart from Fasteia, he now pressed forward.
Stone buildings rose around him, the path ahead sinking into lush marshlands. Pioneers prepared here for the swamp crossing. Pepper had finally arrived at Shangri-La Frontier's second city: Secandil.
At Last, Secandil
Pepper's Skills: Select Highlights
Roaring Thrust: Evolved from Thrust. Damage scales with higher Strength.
Hydrate Work: Evolved from Step Work. Halves stamina consumption for step actions.
High Beat: For 1 minute after activation, boosts Agility; for 1 minute after, reduces stamina recovery. Proficiency extends duration.
High Press: Boosts knockback chance with blunt weapons. Proficiency increases effect.
Foresight: For 1 minute after activation, boosts evasion. Effect is stronger against lower-level monsters. Proficiency enhances effect.