Chapter 4: The Realm of Sensation(4)

To check the overall market prices of items, I manipulated the auction house a few more times to confirm the prices.

As a result, combat-related items were priced high, while items related to life skills and gathering, which were more tedious, were priced low.

Could it be that bots run by gold-farming workshops have infiltrated the game?

It was certainly a plausible explanation.

Having gathered the necessary information, it was time to head to the capital city of Lunaris.

There, I could acquire the necessary job and start the main story quest in earnest.

As I began walking along the road, I noticed many gazes turning toward me.

Envy, jealousy, and admiration.

These were stares I hadn’t received since the time I achieved the first kill of a raid boss a long time ago.

Such looks were now directed at me.

After a brief moment of reflection, I realized why I was drawing their attention.

The game had already entered the realm of senses.

This meant that for ordinary players, it was difficult to obtain the kind of equipment I had, even if it was basic gear that could be acquired in the beginner zone.

The tokens I obtained from hunting orcs were also fetching a high price, as they were necessary items for a repeatable quest.

As I walked along the well-maintained road, a sudden message popped up before my eyes.

[Guild Invitation]
Guild Name: Starlight
YES/NO

I was startled by the unexpected invitation and looked around.

There, a knight dressed in a full set of shiny plate mail was waving at me.

“Hello~”

He had a refreshing and confident voice.

His nickname and guild name floated above his head, catching my eye.

He was the one who had sent me the guild invitation.

“What’s your objective?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to check your info but must have clicked the wrong button.”

Was he telling the truth?

Either way, there was no point in arguing.

I nodded and pressed the NO button.

[Guild invitation declined.]

I cleared away the message window in front of me, but the knight still stood in my way.

I hoped he would move, so I looked up at him with that intention, and he smiled and said,

“Haha. Are you playing solo by any chance?”

He was asking if I had any party members.

I calmed my breath and drew my sword.

Was he targeting solo players?

While gathering information online, I had already learned that there were PKers targeting solo players.

But that didn’t seem to be his intention.

When I drew my sword, he visibly flinched and hurriedly said,

“Oh, it’s not like that! I was just curious. We’re currently recruiting guild members.”

“Guild recruitment?”

“Yes, there aren’t many people who’ve reached level 10.”

I glanced around at his words.

Besides him, other high-level players were stationed around this path, waiting.

All of them were watching the level 10 players passing through this road.

“But there seem to be quite a few level 10 players.”

The knight responded to my comment with an awkward laugh.

He was openly showing goodwill toward me.

It was so obvious that it didn’t even make me uncomfortable.

It was far easier to deal with someone like him, whose intentions were clear, than with those who hid their true motives while approaching me.

I scanned the surroundings again.

Level 10 players were receiving guild invitations as they walked by.

But there was something all those being invited had in common.

They were either fully equipped with the gear obtained from repeatable quests or were in small parties.

In other words, they were trying to recruit players with skills or financial resources into their guilds.

I wondered how I appeared to this knight.

I was acting alone, without a party, yet I was fully equipped with all the available gear from this area.

“Do you think I’m qualified to join your guild?”

“Of course! Someone like you, with such resources, would be welcomed with open arms in any guild, not just ours.”

At his words, I sheathed my sword.

The smile on his face grew even wider, as if he believed I would accept his invitation.

But no, I wasn’t planning to join a guild just yet.

From what I remembered of the future—or rather, a similar world—the guild “Starlight” wasn’t very famous.

Nothing about them stood out enough to leave a lasting impression.

It was just an average, friendly guild.

“I don’t really have any interest right now…”

As I trailed off and turned my head, he waved his finger in the air.

Immediately, a translucent window appeared before me.

[Friend Request]
Nickname: Nakbi
Level: 22
Class: Knight
YES/NO

“Would you accept my friend request?

If you ever change your mind, feel free to message me.”

It seemed like a good idea to accept.

If I rejected him completely, the other people standing behind him might start bothering me.

I nodded.

Soon, my friend list was updated.

He was just someone who would be deleted by the end of the day anyway.

I wouldn’t even remember his nickname.

Accepting the friend request worked.

As I continued down the road, no one else approached me.

But friend requests kept coming in.

Not wanting to be bothered, I accepted them all.

By the time I arrived at the capital city of Lunaris, my friend list had grown to over 20 people.

As the name suggests, the Lunaris Empire is a nation that venerates the moon.

It’s a place where one can learn myths, religions, and even obtain moon-related professions.

The structures, said to be crafted from the soft moonlight itself, were mesmerizing.

Instead of controlling a mouse and keyboard to see this on a monitor, I was seeing it with my own eyes and feeling it with my own skin.

In reality, the capsule was just sending signals to trick my brain, but it didn’t feel bad at all.

It was time to choose a profession.

I had already planned my career path in my head, so without much thought, I moved forward.

As a reward for unlocking the “First Entry into the Capital” achievement, a few potions were added to my inventory.

I passed by the professions that could be quickly acquired in the capital city: swordsman, mage, archer, warrior, knight, and so on.

There were several other professions as well, but the one I chose could only be acquired halfway up a mountain, some distance from here.

I left the capital city and began climbing the small mountain beside it.

There were many people, as this was a map set up for gathering materials, but my destination lay further up.

It wasn’t some hidden, secret profession or anything.

The job trainer NPC was just located in an inconvenient spot.

When I reached the middle of the mountain, I found a man sitting on a large rock.

[Balthheim]

Highlander Job Trainer.

Highlander. That was the name of the job I was about to choose.

The job change requirements were simple.

I just had to talk to him and hand over a small amount of silver, and the job skills would be unlocked immediately.

“Are you interested in becoming a Highlander?”

I nodded.

Upon seeing my response, Balthheim stood up and drew his sword.

Shing— The clear light of the blade scattered in all directions under the bright sunlight.

I frowned at the sight of the blade, which distorted my vision.

“In order to become a Highlander, you must pass a simple test.”

A test. Of course, I knew all about it.

All I had to do was give him the required amount of silver.

Just as I was manipulating my inventory to take out the money, a sharp light flickered in Balthheim’s eyes, and he suddenly struck.

A thrust from below.

The trajectory of the blade stretched out in a long blue flash.

My subconscious reacted to the sudden attack.

My eyes moved quickly, reading the path of the strike.

It was a blow aimed at my head.

If I stayed still, the strike would split my skull from the chin upward.

One step.

I moved to avoid the attack.

As I stepped slightly to the side, the thin blue light barely grazed the tips of my bangs.

“You’re qualified!”

Right after avoiding the attack, a series of translucent messages appeared before me.

I could only stare in bewilderment.

Had the test changed?

Of course, that possibility wasn’t out of the question.

This world was the same yet different.

I could accept that there might be minor differences.

But this was so sudden.

If I had been a normal player, I would’ve been dead before even getting the chance to change jobs, my head split in two.

As a reward for the job change, I was given a weapon.

It was a weapon I could equip immediately at level 10, and since it could be repaired, I’d likely use it for quite some time.

[Highlander]

Attack Power +65

Level Requirement: 10

This is a weapon obtained upon becoming a Highlander.

It has excellent basic performance and substantial durability.

It’s a sword that can switch freely between one-handed and two-handed use, and its effectiveness depends on the skill of the user.

It’s longer and heavier than a typical one-handed sword.

I drew the sword and swung it with both hands, resting it on my shoulder.

It felt fairly stable.

I then checked my skills.

[Victory Upon Victory]

Each time you defeat a monster or player, you gain a stackable buff.

For each stack, movement speed and attack speed increase by 1%. Maximum of 10 stacks.

The buff remains active until the battle ends.

[Unyielding Spirit]

Physical damage taken is reduced by 10%.

[Skeptic of Supernatural Powers]

Magic damage taken is increased by 10%.

[Counterattack]

[Counterattack]

Counterattacks the opponent’s attack.

If used at the precise moment, it deals a critical blow.

[Intimidating Shout]

Taunts all opponents within a certain range.

Taunted opponents receive a debuff that increases the damage they take.

[Vitality]

Increases natural health regeneration speed.

[Charge]

Charges forward at high speed.

If an opponent is hit at the end of the charge, they are stunned.

While charging, the user becomes unstoppable.

This is not an ideal job for beginners.

While the Highlander’s passive abilities and charge skill are appealing, it lacks powerful active skills to deal significant damage.

In previous seasons, players would choose this job to benefit from the passives after unlocking higher-tier jobs, but for the current season, it was one of the less popular choices.

Now that I had completed my job change, it was time to test out my new equipment and skills.

The thoughts I had about Harang had long faded from my mind.

The hunting ground near the capital city of Lunaris was called the Forest of Verdure, where animal-type monsters like Dire Wolves and humanoid monsters like bandits appeared.

At the entrance to the forest, many people were wandering around.

Some were searching for parties, while others were heading out to hunt.

All of them had poor equipment.

It was clear that not many people had proper gear like mine.

Due to my well-equipped appearance, people started glancing in my direction.

I quickly left the area.

Once I entered the core hunting grounds, dazzling skill effects were exploding everywhere.

There was no space available.

Each respawn point for monsters was occupied by a party waiting for them to appear.

As soon as the monsters respawned, blades would pierce their throats, killing them instantly.

Watching this made me frown.

Could that really be fun?

I bypassed them and headed deeper into the forest.

Soon, I arrived at the bandits’ territory.

Like orcs, they were humanoid monsters.

This area was quieter, with very few parties hunting here, and those that were only circled the outskirts, occasionally hunting the few stray bandits that wandered out.

A savage smile spread across my face.

My heart began to pound as if in anticipation of what was about to happen.

In response, my legs moved forward, and I braced myself.

A strange energy surged through my legs as they kicked off the ground.

I was preparing to activate my skill.

The sword, trailing behind me, stretched out like a tail.

A blue mana enveloped my body, protecting me and increasing my speed.

[Charge]

I shot toward the bandits at a speed far beyond what normal running could achieve.

But just at that moment:

[Shutdown Notification]

You can no longer play the game.

The server connection has been terminated.

“Ah…”

A short sigh escaped as the game shut down.