Chapter 3: The Newbie in the Swamp

Episode 3

After all the warnings, Jong-un added a few more explanations about Odin’s Frontier.

According to him, Odin was a game full of guilds but paradoxically designed for solo play. You could clear the final content entirely on your own, so players were too busy grinding daily quests to bother joining guilds. In other words, for someone like Gyeongheon—stuck in the hospital for weeks—Odin was the perfect game.

After receiving the account ID and password, Gyeongheon grinned with confidence.

“I’m hitting max level.”

Jong-un, sitting on the corner of the hospital bed while saving his senior’s apartment door code into his phone, responded dryly,

“To hit max level, you’ll need to play even after you’re discharged. Oh, and once you’re max level, you can reincarnate your class—so ditch archer and switch to something else.”

“Hey, Cha Jong-un. If you put in the work, you can do anything. Why the hell would I switch?”

“Yes, well… People like you are the ones who quit the fastest.”

After sending off his junior—who insisted repeatedly that reincarnation was the only answer—Gyeongheon immediately did one thing: he changed the nickname.

Because the very first moment he saw that elf standing on the grassland, a single name struck him like lightning.

“‘Lulu’ has no guts. No presence.”

Conveniently, the storage still held one unused name-change ticket.

<Would you like to change your nickname?
Once used, nickname changes will be unavailable for two months.>

Staring at the pop-up window, he smiled with satisfaction.

Without hesitation, Yoon Gyeongheon began the sacred work of renaming.

<Use nickname change ticket: Y/N>
<YES.>
<Please enter your new nickname below.>

His ten fingers hit the keys with the force of destiny. A single word emerged—Gyeongheon’s identity, the very symbol of the infamous “Strong Team 7 Macho” persona.

<MachoKing.>

<Change nickname to ‘MachoKing’? Y/N>
<YES.>
<Nickname successfully changed.>

Thus, the elf named MachoKing was born.

The first thing Gyeongheon did afterward was open his phone and visit the Odin’s Frontier strategy forum.
According to Jong-un, he should read the entire forum before starting—but of course, he didn’t.
He skimmed through it like someone strolling through a neighborhood market while waiting for the login screen to finish loading.

While casually reading the recommended thread, [Newbie Must-Read Guide], the screen shifted with a burst of radiant light.

And with a soft gasp, he felt a surge of national pride for Korea’s cultural industry.

“Look at this picture quality. This isn’t a game—it’s a damn road movie.”

The fog-covered mountain ridges inspired by the Norse highlands shifted into golden sandstone plains shimmering with light. Dozens of characters dashed across the landscape. Then the screen transformed again—sun and moon rising together on each side of the monitor, darkness and light coexisting in surreal harmony.

A greeting appeared amidst drifting snow.

<Welcome to Odin’s Frontier! May Baldr’s blessing shine upon you today!>

The message dissipated like a mirage, revealing MachoKing standing in front of a grand sanctuary marked by a circular celestial clock.

Satisfied, Gyeongheon nodded at the majestic entrance his character had made. As expected, a character of his exuded presence.

He started by leading MachoKing around the small village. Contrary to Jong-un’s dismissive comments, the town brimmed with detail—shops, sanctuaries, fountains, blacksmiths, more than enough to explore. After a full lap, he opened the map to examine the surrounding terrain. He’d waded in shallow waters—time to experience the deep.

He clicked on the point beyond the village boundary. Watching MachoKing march forward, he returned his gaze to his phone.

Remembering Jong-un’s words—that reading the strategy forum was enough to avoid rookie mistakes—he continued with the newbie upgrade guides. Teleportation, guild selection… A variety of topics.
But one particular guide stood out:

[And for the love of god, newbies—DO NOT go outside the village to hunt mobs;;
Game has ultra-short PVP cooldowns. One inhale, one exhale, boom—you’re dead.]

Apparently, he wasn’t supposed to leave the village.

Gyeongheon blinked at the warning. Then he heard a loud alert and looked up—only to see an unfamiliar character approaching MachoKing.

A message floated between them. It was the opening funeral hymn for Gyeongheon’s debut.

<PVP request received. You are outside the jurisdiction zone. PVP will commence immediately.>

[General] WifiFi: Excuse me;;

Still stunned, Gyeongheon glanced at the chat window.
MachoKing—having dropped his quiver from the earlier defeat—was facing off against a swordsman with two blades at his hips.

[General] WifiFi: Did you buy this account or something?
[General] WifiFi: You didn’t read the forum? Should’ve stayed in town and farmed;; Why’d you even come out here;;

With one fight, WifiFi had already diagnosed him as a newbie. Any elf who couldn’t shoot a bow was obviously cursed.

[General] WifiFi: Honestly I’m telling you this cuz I feel kinda bad
[General] WifiFi: Harvest season is soon
[General] WifiFi: Join the event thenㅇㅇ Newbies should farm

This was exactly why Odin had trouble attracting new players.

The game was old, the vets were many, and no matter what server you joined, newcomers never got a moment to breathe.

Worse, the game was crawling with players who challenged anyone on sight, causing PVP alerts to pop up more often than actual patch notes.

Witnessing the disaster unfolding on his screen, Gyeongheon muttered incredulously,

“What the hell is… what kind of game is this?”

[General] WifiFi: lol I’ll use your items wellㅎㅎ Hurry before the cooldown’s up

As if to add insult to injury, the bastard left without even glancing back.
Flustered, Gyeongheon pounded the keys.

[General] MachoKing: Hey w8
[General] MachoKing: Hold on

But WifiFi casually summoned a hawk mount and vanished into the sky.
A moment ago he was giving wise life lectures; now he fled faster than a tax evader.

There was no way Gyeongheon would let someone who looted him on day one get away.

MachoKing launched into a sprint.

And immediately fell into a swamp.

“Why the—why the hell again?!”

Beside the village entrance sat a mud pit surrounded by stones—something any veteran instinctively avoided. But MachoKing, tunnel-visioned from rage, trudged straight into it and began struggling as muck swallowed him whole.

Covered head-to-toe in mud, MachoKing flailed his arms wildly. The animation was so vivid that even Gyeongheon’s hips lifted off the chair in panic. Poor thing—suffering because of its idiot owner. He had to find a way to save MachoKing before death hit.

Just as he opened the strategy forum—

He noticed a towering warrior standing at the swamp’s edge. Dual greatswords strapped to his back. The kind of build that screamed trouble.
Two question marks floated over the warrior’s head.

[General] TrashSwordsman: ??

Gyeongheon’s expression twisted.
This felt way too familiar.

The swordsman slowly unsheathed one of his weapons.
A bad sign.
PVP cooldown… was it three minutes?
While Gyeongheon frantically scrolled through the guides, the swordsman’s chat popped up line by line.

He asked bluntly if Gyeongheon was a newbie.
With no answer, he jumped to his own conclusion.

[General] TrashSwordsman: Should’ve stayed in town and farmed

“What is it with these idiots and agriculture? Every single one tells me to pick up a sickle and harvest rice.”

Bubbles began floating above MachoKing’s head.
According to the guide, being stuck in a swamp for fifteen seconds meant instant death. Once dead, he would respawn at the spot before falling in—giving a tiny chance to escape.

Just five seconds.
Survive for five seconds.

As MachoKing gurgled and sank, Gyeongheon frowned deeply.
TrashSwordsman typed again:

[General] TrashSwordsman: lmao

[General] MachoKing: Please just leave. Srsly.

Five seconds later, MachoKing respawned and bolted back into the village—only to realize the swordsman was tailing him.
These kinds of players had nothing better to do than latch onto a newbie and harass them all day, waiting for the moment they snapped and initiated PVP—so they could loot whatever dropped.

Veterans had long since learned to avoid these pests by switching locations or relogging.

But Gyeongheon…

Well.

.

.

.

<‘TrashSwordsman’ has obtained ‘Loki’s Arrow’.>

He fell for the taunt.

He lost his quiver, and now his arrows.

By the time he came to his senses, MachoKing was standing before the sacred sanctuary in the village square—half-naked except for wooden armor and a yellow cape.

An archer with no arrows had very few options.

A cornered newbie had even fewer.

Odin’s Strategy

Post: Can I play without spending money? — by kk

Hi, I can’t spend money for personal reasons. Is Odin playable without paying?
And if so, how can I build my gear? I can put in lots of time.

Replies:
-Yeah possible. Barely.
-lol possible but you gotta play 10 hours a day and nothing elseㅋㅋ
-Damn y’all dedicated;
-It’s not the game that sucks, it’s the players.
⌎ Nah the game sucks more.

Odin’s Strategy

Post: How to make money — by kk

Hi,
Please explain how to make gold as a F2P. I can grind all day.

Replies:
-Finally, an honest title + honest content.
-If you’re a newbie, go mining. But do it alone in a hidden spot. If someone looks tasty, steal a bite.
⌎ +1 mining/gathering works even if you know jack shit about Odin. Selling stuff is actually harder.
-I heard someone bought a house just from diggingㅋㅋ two PCs and you hit minimum wage.
⌎ no no I saw someone earn 5M KRW a month with macros
⌎ That’s literally a bot farm dude
⌎ Obviously, who the hell digs 24/7 manuallyㅋㅋ
-Gathering = good in Rimic’s Garden. Mining = Cecilia’s Mine is bestㅇㅇ

From that moment on, Yoon Gyeongheon and MachoKing hid deep inside a mine and started digging.
He had checked out the garden for gathering, but predators were everywhere—waiting to snatch whatever a newbie collected.
With no gear left and zero combat ability, becoming part of the industrial labor force was the only path.

So MachoKing retreated into the deepest, least populated section of the mine and began his new life underground.