"Morning Routine, Ghostly Hunt"
Lua woke up late that day. During the night, she had been awake for no apparent reason, and when she finally closed her eyes again, the sleep dragged on longer than expected. By the time she sat up, sunlight was already flooding the walls, and the sounds of work outside confirmed that the morning was well underway.
With a simple flick of her hand, she cast a drying spell over her body and clothes, getting ready in seconds. She stepped out of her house at a calm pace, watching as the village slowly began to show signs of true reconstruction.
Her own home was steadily taking shape—slowly, but without pause. Steve and a few other players worked on the framework, while the air was filled with the rhythmic hammering and scraping of tools. They didn't need supervision, but Lua decided to help indirectly by casting a spell that accelerated the drying of the freshly placed wood. With the humidity in the area, any advantage was welcome.
Not long after, she spotted Liora and Sally working together near the village plaza. The two of them were crafting spherical lamps using flexible branches, weaving them into round shapes. Sally was handling the structure-building, while Liora, fully focused, inscribed light runes onto the inner surfaces. Even though it was an artisanal task, the result looked refined. Every now and then, they would burst into laughter—usually when a sphere slipped out of their hands or when a rune turned out crooked. The simple, cheerful scene drew a faint smile to Lua's ever-calm face.
Farther along, she found Loli, Sig, and Bert surrounded by leaves, crushed stems, and what looked like a makeshift press. It seemed like some kind of experiment, although Lua had no idea what they were doing. Still, she chose not to interrupt. If there was one thing she had learned from the players, it was that their methods often looked strange… yet worked surprisingly well.
Silver was also working nearby, forging tools using a hammer he had bought from the shop—or rather, from Liora's shop. While Lua was the formal owner, Liora handled everything: managing inventory, selling items, and organizing the space. She received a fair wage for her work and was allowed to sell her own crafted goods as well.
Rachel and Segler were nowhere to be seen, and while no one confirmed it, they had most likely gone hunting. Edward, as usual, had ventured off alone. A solitary hunter by nature, he rarely accepted group missions. Still, it seemed that on this particular day, his outing coincided with theirs.
Meanwhile, Joe and Dean were fully occupied with construction duties. Joe had been directly responsible for the incident that got the entire group punished, and Dean—his closest friend—ended up dragged into the mess alongside him. Although they were both seasoned fighters, this time the punishment was different: every time they killed an enemy, they lost a small amount of experience as a penalty. The slow but steady drain frustrated them enough to change their priorities. Instead of monster-hunting or exploring, they decided to focus on building the village's first proper homes.
First on the list was Lua's house. After that, they would move on to the forge, which was also considered a top priority. Then came the rest of the houses, according to the construction order already decided.
At the same time, Sig was already thinking ahead with a far more ambitious plan. Since land in the village was owned by the players, she saw a long-term opportunity. Her goal was to build a massive workshop equipped with everything needed for every kind of profession—workstations, specialized tables, storage racks for materials, and most importantly, decorations and enhancements that could improve each profession's efficiency. If she could complete such a structure, she could rent out rooms to players looking for optimized workspaces, and over time, it could become a steady source of income.
In addition to that communal workshop, Sig was also managing shared housing arrangements. She and Loli would share one house. Dean, Alfred, and Joe would share another. Bert would live with his grandfather, and Edward would have a house to himself. The remaining plots would be used to build rental homes.
She was thinking long-term. She knew that more players would eventually join, and that land prices would rise sharply once demand increased. That's why she planned to purchase as many plots as possible before that happened. The more land she controlled, the more flexibility and leverage she would have in the future.
The only thing holding her back was the need to bring in more of her team to support the expansion—and that required a significant investment. Still, if she could coordinate timing, resources, and people effectively, the village's growth wouldn't just be sustainable—it would flourish.
Instead of focusing on gathering more mana stones or leveling up, that week everyone was prioritizing comfort, infrastructure, and community life. They couldn't keep living in a half-destroyed village with makeshift roofs and muddy floors. Not after the ant attack, and not when they knew that other monsters could show up at any time.
And although Lua was a powerful force who inspired confidence, her presence wasn't constant. She often vanished—and the village needed to be able to stand on its own, even when she wasn't around.
…
Meanwhile, in the forest…
"Hey… those rabbits look really aggressive," Rachel said as she floated a few inches above the ground. She watched several of the horned creatures charge through her, unable to harm her. After all, she was a ghost.
"Just kill it already!" shouted Segler from the branch of a tree. He had climbed up there specifically to avoid getting rammed.
"Maybe we should've bought a weapon before coming out here," Rachel muttered while throwing a punch at the nearest rabbit. It barely took 1 point of damage.
"We don't have the money to buy anything. And second… why don't you try using one of your skills?" Segler suggested, sounding both annoyed and resigned.
"Oh, right," Rachel said, as if she had just remembered.
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🌐 [Player Information]
Name: Rachel
Level: 1
Race Level: 0
Race: Ghost (Initial Class, Magic-Type)
Title: None
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📊 Stats
HP: 80 (base reduced due to spiritual condition)
MP: 245 (200 base + 7.5 × 6 INT)
Damage: 1
Defense: 1
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 4
Dexterity: 3
Luck: 4
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✨ Skills
• 🌠 Minor Possession – Level 1
Type: Utility
Mana: 15 MP | Cooldown: 20 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 100
Effect: Temporarily inhabit a small object, weapon, or enemy. Possession lasts 5 seconds if used on an enemy, or 10 seconds if used on an inanimate object. While possessing, limited movement and manipulation are possible. Cannot be used to self-harm or inflict direct damage on the host.
Damage: —
Bonus: Can bypass simple locks, interrupt basic enemy actions, or carry lightweight items.
🌠 Spectral Touch – Level 1
Type: Direct Magic Damage
Mana: 20 MP | Cooldown: 10 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 120
Effect: Releases an ethereal strike that ignores physical armor and damages the target's vital energy, causing minor magical damage. May inflict temporary numbness.
Damage: 0.3 × INT
Bonus: Reduces target's movement speed by 10% for 3 seconds.
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"Wow… these are actually really cool," Rachel said, fascinated as she reviewed the panel. She didn't notice the rabbit sneaking up behind her until it lunged.
She reached out and touched the closest one with Spectral Touch. The creature slowed down a little, and the damage was just slightly better than her punches. "Hmm… still kind of useless," she muttered.
Then she turned to a second rabbit and activated her other skill. Her body shimmered, becoming even more ethereal, and she easily slipped into the small creature's body.
The rabbit's eyes changed from glowing red to ghostly blue. Without hesitation, Rachel—now controlling the creature—charged forward and slammed into another rabbit's stomach with her horn.
The second rabbit let out a sharp cry, stunned by the unexpected attack. It tried to turn and counter, but the 10% speed reduction was enough for Rachel to sidestep and stab again with a clean strike.
Blood began to splatter onto the damp grass.
From the tree, Segler observed with quiet curiosity as Rachel skillfully took control of the situation.
She managed to land one more attack before she was forcibly ejected from the rabbit's body. As soon as she was out, the two animals turned on each other. The possessed one still looked dazed, and the other, full of rage, struck back immediately.
What followed was a chaotic brawl. They gored each other again and again until both collapsed, bleeding out.
Rachel floated down to the base of the tree just as Segler jumped down.
[You have killed a Horned Rabbit.]
[You have gained 50 EXP.]
"Oh! Looks like I got the kill credit," Rachel said with a wide grin. "So, what skills do you have?" she asked curiously.
Segler glanced at her, then looked away with a slightly annoyed expression as he landed silently on the ground.
"How much luck do you have?" he asked suddenly.
"Four," Rachel replied without hesitation.
"Same here."
"Then let's split the drop and see who gets the better item," Rachel suggested, clearly excited by the idea.
"Fine," Segler agreed calmly.
They opened the loot window. Despite their little experiment, the results were identical for both:
Loot Obtained:
• 1 Mana Stone Fragment
• 1 Rabbit Hide
• 2 kg of Meat
• 1 Rabbit Horn
"Alright then, let's keep going," Rachel said, smiling even more than before. She was enjoying the hunt far more than she expected.
"Let's go," Segler replied.
And with that, the two of them headed deeper into the forest, continuing their strange but effective style of hunting.
Elsewhere in the forest…
Edward walked in silence, flanked by his small army of slimes. He had entered a swampy zone. Muddy puddles covered the ground, even clinging to tree roots. Luminous fungi hung from the branches, and enormous webs stretched between them.
There were gathering materials everywhere, but Edward paid them no mind. His eyes were focused on something else: enemies.
Suddenly, from one of the murky pools, a frog the size of a medium dog leapt out. Without warning, it lashed its tongue at Edward. The attack passed straight through him.
Physical damage. Useless against a spirit.
Edward raised one hand. "Attack."
His slimes sprang forward, surrounding the frog. It kept lashing out with its tongue, but to no effect.
📛 Swamp Frog – Level 1
🩸 HP: 780 / 780
"It has even less health than the rabbits," Edward noted, flatly. Then—smack—he felt something behind him. Another tongue strike from a second frog.
He turned swiftly. Another frog. Then another. And another.
In seconds, he was surrounded by at least ten of them, all flicking their tongues in his direction.
"Makes sense," he muttered.
Still, his strategy didn't change. As long as he didn't take actual damage, his slimes could do all the work.
One by one, the frogs began to fall.
[You have killed a Mud Frog.]
[You have gained 60 EXP.]
"Huh… more EXP, lower HP, even weaker overall. This really is a good grinding spot," Edward remarked, eyes narrowing with interest.
But then he heard it—a low, dragging sound.
He turned around.
A massive snake with dark scales and a body as thick as a fortress wall slithered slowly past, not far from where he stood. Its movements were heavy and deliberate… and fortunately, it didn't seem to notice him.
Edward froze.
Maybe, he thought, the lack of body heat helped him go undetected.
When the creature disappeared into the trees, he let out a soft sigh.
For a moment, he considered heading back. But then he shrugged. If he died, he'd just respawn back in town anyway.
"I'll let Lua know… later."
And with that, he resumed his hunt, slimes trailing behind him as the swamp growled in silence.