*Whooooosh!*
A chilling sandstorm swept across the barren land. Just outside the gates of the Roeide Duchy, in the eastern wilderness.
After passing through the gates and venturing quite a distance, the sight of ferocious monsters began to appear sporadically. Perhaps they had been affected by the demonic energy stirring beyond Erin's Gorge. These monsters were much stronger and larger than the ones I'd encountered before.
"I understand now why the Alpharion Empire hasn't bothered to conquer the eastern wilderness beyond the Roeide Duchy."
I nodded in agreement with my own observation.
It wasn’t just that the monsters living here were strong—this land held no value as territory. Unlike a desert, this was a different kind of barren wasteland. Even beyond it lay nothing but the endless expanse of Erin’s Gorge.
Sure, the coast beyond the gorge could be used as a port, but all trade in this world happened within the continent. And besides, the Alpharion Empire already had other territories along the coast, so the value of the eastern coast wasn’t significant. Perhaps when this world begins to evolve, with contact from other dimensions or continents, that might change. But for now, it was just a wasteland.
Yet, even though no one lived here and it was seemingly useless land, it was still technically the territory of the Alpharion Empire. Having such a massive, uninhabited area within the Empire’s borders, where the state’s influence didn’t reach, would surely be an eyesore for the empire.
"But still..."
*Slash!*
*Screech!*
I slashed down a giant spider in front of me, extremely annoyed.
"What is this!?"
From the wound on the spider I had cut, no creepy green or unsettling red blood came out.
Why on earth was the monster’s wound pixelated, and why was white milk coming out instead of blood?
Is this because of that?
Is this why?
*[Safety Filter]*
I glared at the faint green barrier floating in front of my eyes.
It wasn’t particularly obstructive or blocking my view.
But it felt like the monsters were somehow ‘censored.’ The appearance of the spider wasn’t turned into something cute like a teddy bear, but the blood and wounds looked off.
Now that I had carefully read the patch notes, I could guess the reason.
"Astria Online has become a 12+ rated game today."
The once adult-rated *Astria Online* had been lowered to a 12+ rating with today’s patch.
Now, minors could play this game too.
In fact, this had been announced earlier. Since it wasn’t expected to affect the existing adult players much, I hadn’t paid attention.
The advertisement that I didn’t watch until the end, the one where I appeared, was already promoting *Astria Online* as a 12+ rated game.
So, this must be the cause.
"This Safety Filter thing."
Waving my arms in frustration, I swiped at the faint green barrier in front of me as if to clear it away. But the Safety Filter stubbornly remained.
This was a big problem for me.
I play this game to feel immersed, but with this filter, it makes the game feel artificial.
Why? I’m an adult, so why is this affecting me?
This is clearly a bug.
Hana Games became a major company after the release of this game, but judging from how they’re handling things now, it seems like they haven’t quite shaken their habits from when they were a small studio.
Annoyed, I opened up the interface and fiddled with the settings, before eventually using the GM call function. I was going to report this bug.
*Wooong.*
After a short wait, the image of a blonde woman in a mage’s robe appeared in front of me.
It was Team Leader *Han Yeoreum*.
She was in charge of the marketing department that handled my advertisements, and a mysterious person who knew the state of Astria Continent before it became a game.
I pouted as soon as I saw her face.
Was she the only GM available?
The figure floating in the air was a hologram. It seemed like only a video projection.
Why isn’t she coming in person? This is urgent!
- "Oh my, our adorable Rain! What’s the matter? Sorry, things are hectic today because of the patch. Ah, no, it’s nothing too serious."
Team Leader Han Yeoreum seemed to be handling another user’s inquiry at the moment.
Nothing serious? A major bug just happened!
I waved my hands frantically in frustration.
"Excuse me! What’s with this green filter? Why is milk coming out of monsters?"
Her busy movements paused for a moment.
- "Oh? The Safety Filter applied to you, Rain?"
"Yes. Can you please remove it quickly?"
The hologram of Han Yeoreum looked troubled.
- "Why did that apply to you? Maybe while processing the pre-created accounts for minors, they accidentally applied it to your avatar too? Ugh, this is such a hassle. Rain, can you wait a little longer? I’ll fix it by the end of the day."
"By the end of the day? Can’t you do it now?"
- "Well, it’s complicated to interfere with your avatar while the live service is running. Of course, if you want, we can force everyone offline and do an emergency server maintenance to fix it immediately..."
"No, no! Take your time, please!"
I hurriedly waved my hands.
If they shut down the servers just for me, I’d feel bad for everyone else who was enjoying the game.
---
*Sigh.*
After ending the call with Han Yeoreum, I let out a long sigh and lowered my sword.
I wasn’t in the mood to keep hunting.
I squatted down, absentmindedly dragging my fingers through the dirt in the wasteland.
Now what?
It’s not like I was in a rush to hunt. The quests were sequential, and no elite dungeons had been discovered yet. At least, not until players advanced to the gorge area, Erin's Gorge, far in the distance. Even if an elite dungeon were found soon, it would take time before it was fully opened.
I had planned to level up ahead of Chris and find a good experience farming spot to carry her through, but now...
I looked back at the distant walls of the Roeide Duchy.
Come to think of it, Eleanora did say I should visit the duchy sometime.
I planned to level up first, explore the duchy, and then stop by the estate.
*Whoooosh!*
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew nearby.
I turned my gaze toward the sound.
"Oh."
I let out a small gasp as I saw a magnificent tornado swirling in the wasteland.
A whirlwind of sand rising from the ground, sucking up several giant spiders as it spun.
"Is that *Aerial*?"
It was a new spell for mages in the Tower of Ice, called *Aerial*.
A skill specialized in mob gathering. It wasn’t a significant damage dealer in named boss fights, but in leveling zones like this, it was extremely useful. Against named bosses, it had the added effect of reducing visibility and lowering the accuracy of attacks. It wasn’t a damage-dealing skill per se, but more of a utility and debuff spell.
Of course, mages had their extreme damage skill, *Arcane Burst*, so having something like *Aerial* was a good balance.
*BOOOOM!*
*Screeeeech!*
The *Arcane Burst* exploded right on top of the giant spiders gathered by *Aerial*. The spiders collapsed, spurting milk. It was a perfect skill combination.
The mage who cast *Aerial*, a man, turned to look at me. He looked a bit surprised.
"Oh, Rain? It’s been a while."
"Eh?"
He recognized me. Who was this? His face seemed familiar.
"I'm *PooKikil* from the Scada raid team."
"Oh, PooKikil! Nice to see you."
I chuckled. His nickname was strange enough to remember. He was a mage who had been part of the *Scada & Red-White 2nd Team* when we first formed the alternate character raid.
That alt-raid team had disbanded after we finished farming, and many of the Red-White guild members had raised their alts. We split up the teams to run buses for those who had completed their farming in the main team.
It had been nearly a month since I’d seen him, after the banquet in the Alpharion Empire’s capital.
"Why are you just sitting here? I thought you’d be one of the first to push forward."
I stuck out my tongue and gave an awkward smile.
I couldn’t exactly say, "I don’t feel like hunting because monsters are spewing milk."
"Well... I don’t feel the need to rush right now."
"Really? How about going to the *Orc Forest*?"
"Orc Forest?"
I tilted my head.
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The *Orc Forest* was a beginner hunting zone, also known as the 'Newbie Zone' in *Astria Online.*
"Today’s patch brought in a lot of newbies. Even though the expansion is out, only those who’ve fully farmed the Abyssal Tree can hunt properly here in the wilderness."
"What’s happening there?"
"They’re running newbie boosts and bus services for the *Orc King’s Cave.*"
I stood there, mouth agape.
On the day of the expansion release for *Endless Gorge*, *Astria Online* had become a 12+ rated game.
So, the newbies starting today were mostly minors, although there were probably some adults too.
Running bus services for kids and taking their money?