Chapter 23 – Partying with Others is Hard

The couple walked to the small hill and found a few parties fighting Armored Boars at the foot of it. They were a 3-men party, and their level ranged from 12 to 13. 

However, the monsters they faced were level 15, which made them struggle to kill even one due to their lacking mechanic in game.

"Sorry to intrude, but may I ask if anyone has problems taking on more boars? We can help." Atlas approached the nearest party and greeted them politely while pointing at the boars on top of the hill. "I have experience killing them so I can teach you some tricks on how to fight it."

"Nah, we don't want to share our EXP. Sorry, but please find another party."

"Yeah, please leave us alone. We're busy."

"Take care."

The three guys ignored him and focused on their hunt. They didn't even glance at Atlas and Ferin while they kept talking and joking between themselves without caring about their surroundings.

Atlas froze. Did they just reject him?

"Wait, did they just...?" He was shocked that his offer was declined immediately without hesitation, "Fer, was I being too humble when I offered help to them? You don't think they're mocking me, right?"

"Hahahaha..."

He couldn't believe that his good will was wasted just like that. Maybe he had seen too much good and polite people in his previous life that he had forgotten how real life worked?

"Is this what a rejection feels like..."

"At, don't worry! Those idiots are the ones missing out here." Ferin comforted him with a sweet smile on her face and whispered in his ear. She was still laughing though, "They won't get your skill that can kill a boar in a few seconds!"

Back in the past, many people lined up, trying to cozy up to him so they would be invited to the party. His skill and power were sought after by many people back then, but now...

It felt weird when he offered to party up only to get rejected.

"I guess I don't fit a party play. Let's just go and kill those boars ourselves." Atlas shrugged his shoulders and decided to hunt them alone with Ferin, "Those guys will only hold us down."

"Alrighty~" Ferin giggled happily and skipped her steps behind him while humming a cheerful tune, "That's so you, At. Always so cool~"

The couple walked up the hill, heading toward the less crowded area. Nor Armored Boar could be sighted. Every time it spawned, a party would immediately gather to kill them. It would disappear within minutes as every boar was killed in quick succession.

'And this is a less crowded area. Horizon Online is really amazing.' Atlas was amazed at the scale of this world. It was so real that every new sight would always catch him by surprise.

They chose a small clearing as their battlefield and waited for the Armored Boars to appear. A few parties around him still fought against the monsters on their own. Once a boar was slain, it would respawn in the random area within a minute or two.

After standing around and looking at how the players fight the boar, a party finally slain one. Its HP was almost gone, though. It died within a few seconds after the last attack landed on it.

"At! Armored Boars have arrived!" Ferin told him in excitement as she saw it. "I will get the first hit~"

She was too impatient to wait for them to get closer and ran forward, dashing around. Her eyes moved around. Once she spotted a boar, she would immediately attack it.

"Slow down, Fer." Atlas could only sigh at her eagerness. "Don't play around and focus on the target first."

"I know!" Ferin replied with a bright smile on her face. "Ah, there it is. A fresh boar has arrived~"

She kicked the ground and sped toward her target with her sword raised high in the air. But unfortunately...

"Ugh!"

A new Armored Boar appeared out of nowhere in front of her path and surprised Ferin with its sudden appearance. Another party had slain another one, and now there were two of them spawning at once.

'That's rare.'

It was highly unusual for two boars to appear at once near the same location, but...

"Lucky~"

Ferin got the first hit on both boars. The party who tried to take one of the boars shouted at them angrily and started to run toward them to confront them. But it was too late.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ferin stabbed her sword into one boar's face twice, dealing critical damage onto it and damaging its eyes severely. Atlas had also moved and activated his spell.

"[Fireball]"

The ball of fire hit the other boar and exploded. The explosion attracted many players' attention. No player managed to make such a commotion like him since the start of the game.

Their appearance was extremely eye-catching, too. Everyone was staring at the couple curiously.

"This is so fun~" Ferin grinned brightly as she stabbed her sword into the boar's face again, taking half of its HP already. "Haha~ How about this, At?"

She didn't hesitate to kick the boar in its side and launched it into the other boar that Atlas had burned. She also got a critical hit on the first hit and her weapon penetrated its skin deeply into its body.

Atlas immediately used [Mana Bolt], which was now Lv 9 to attack its weak spot and slay it within seconds. The players nearby were watching in disbelief at their fast kill and questioned how they could be so powerful at this point in time.

"Another one is coming!"

Ferin shouted as a new Armored Boar spawned near them. Hearing her voice, many players moved at once.

"Don't let them take that! Charge!"

"That boar is ours!"

"Hey, don't touch my boar!"

Many players were rushing toward them in an attempt to steal their kill. This was common in open-world PVP games like this, and Atlas expected this kind of result for trying to do solo play here.

Still... 5 seconds had passed since his first attack. [Fireball]'s cooldown had been reset.

"[Fireball]"

No matter how fast Level 12 players were, they couldn't be faster than his spell. The fiery ball shot out from his staff and flew toward the boar in a straight line, creating a wave of fire behind it.

Boom!

The monster was damaged by his spell. The explosion sent a shockwave that stopped other players from approaching.