"I didn't even notice that," Max admitted. "But now that you mention it, I did see players with Chinese and Korean names, and I understood everything they typed."
"It's remarkable technology. Terrifying, but remarkable." Yuki started preparing vegetables. "So, how was it? Your big debut as a... what was it, soul-binder?"
"Soulbinder. It was incredible, Mom. The world—it's not like any game I've ever played. It's real. I could smell the air, feel the wind, taste blood when I bit my lip during a fight."
Yuki's expression darkened. "You tasted blood?"
"Virtual blood. It wasn't real, but the sensation was." Max paused, seeing her concern. "I promise I'm being careful. And I made progress—cleared a dungeon, got to level 5, earned some gold."
"Did you make any money in real currency?"
"Not yet. But I'm building a foundation. Once I understand the systems better, I can start creating content, guides, maybe stream high-level raids."
Yuki was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I trust you. Just... don't forget to eat actual food and see actual sunlight occasionally."
"Deal."
They ate a quick breakfast together while Yuki told him more stories from the hospital. Apparently, three nurses had called in sick today, and everyone knew they were just playing Aetheria Online instead.
After she went to her room to sleep off the night shift, Max returned to his computer setup. His Discord had exploded overnight—over two thousand new messages. He did not bother reading them all.
Instead, he opened a web browser and navigated to the official Aetheria Online forums.
AETHERIA ONLINE OFFICIAL FORUMS
TOTAL USERS ONLINE: 47,283,901
The number was staggering. Forty-seven million people browsing forums simultaneously. The server infrastructure alone must have been insane.
The main page was organized into sections:
[GENERAL DISCUSSION – 2.3M threads]
[GUIDES & STRATEGIES – 890K threads]
[CLASSES & BUILDS – 1.1M threads]
[DUNGEONS & RAIDS – 456K threads]
[ITEMS & EQUIPMENT – 734K threads]
[TRADING POST – 1.8M threads]
[BUG REPORTS – 89K threads]
[LORE & STORY – 234K threads]
Max clicked on ITEMS & EQUIPMENT first, curiosity getting the better of him.
The threads were insane:
[LEGENDARY DROP] Shadow Reaper's Blade found in Level 15 dungeon!
Posted by: DarkEdge99 – 3 hours ago – 15,234 replies
List of all known armor sets and their bonuses [COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE]
Posted by: ArmorSmith_Pro – 8 hours ago – 8,901 replies
PSA: Don't vendor the "Broken Amulet" items! They're part of a hidden quest chain!
Posted by: SecretHunter – 5 hours ago – 24,567 replies
Max clicked on the amulet thread. Apparently, certain "trash" items that seemed worthless were actually pieces of long quest chains that led to unique rewards. Players were already documenting hundreds of these hidden mechanics.
He moved to DUNGEONS & RAIDS.
[Tomb of the Fallen King (Level 8+ Dungeon) – Strategy Guide]
Posted by: RaidMaster_Jin – 4 hours ago – 6,789 replies
[WARNING: The Corrupted Grove boss can permakill your character if you fail the dark ritual check]
Posted by: DeathAvoider – 7 hours ago – 31,456 replies
[First Guild to clear Level 20 raid: "The Void Citadel" – Video inside!]
Posted by: Guild_Phoenix_Leader – 2 hours ago – 48,921 replies
Max's eyes widened. A guild had already cleared a level 20 raid? The game had been live for barely twelve hours. These players must have power-leveled with insane efficiency.
He clicked the thread and watched the video. A coordinated team of twenty players took on a massive boss—some kind of void entity with tentacles and multiple phases. The fight lasted forty minutes and required perfect execution. When the boss finally fell, the loot that dropped included weapons and armor that glowed with purple energy.
[MYTHIC TIER EQUIPMENT] the chat exploded. [FIRST MYTHIC DROPS IN THE GAME]
The comment section was chaos:
"How the fuck are they level 20 already???"
"Guild Phoenix are notorious grinders. They did this in the beta too"
"RMT incoming. That gear is gonna sell for thousands of real dollars"
Real money trading. Of course that was already happening. Max made a mental note—high-level content could be genuinely profitable if he could get there fast enough.
But first, he needed to understand his class.
He navigated to CLASSES & BUILDS and selected the class subforum list:
WARRIOR – 245,678 threads
MAGE – 198,234 threads
ROGUE – 156,890 threads
RANGER – 134,567 threads
PALADIN – 121,345 threads
SUMMONER – 98,765 threads
NECROMANCER – 87,654 threads
BERSERKER – 76,543 threads
DRUID – 65,432 threads
VOIDCALLER – 45,678 threads
CORRUPTION SAGE – 34,567 threads
SHADOWBLADE – 28,901 threads
BEASTMASTER – 23,456 threads
RUNEKEEPER – 18,765 threads
CHRONOMANCER – 15,234 threads
SOULBINDER – 1,847 threads
Max stared at the number. Less than two thousand threads for Soulbinder, compared to nearly a quarter million for Warrior. The class was rare.
He clicked into the Soulbinder subforum.
The threads were few:
[Soulbinder class - Worth it or trash?]
Posted by: NewbieSB – 9 hours ago – 234 replies
[Best starting contracts for Soulbinder?]
Posted by: SpiritSeeker – 8 hours ago – 189 replies
[Soulbinder skill tree analysis [INCOMPLETE]
Posted by: TheoryMax – 7 hours ago – 456 replies
[Is Soulbinder viable for endgame content?]
Posted by: RaidLeader_K – 6 hours ago – 312 replies
Max opened the skill tree analysis thread. The poster had documented the basic skills:
[SOULBINDER CONFIRMED SKILLS]:
[Soul Contract (Rank F) – Form contracts with entities]
[Soul Sight (Rank F) – Perceive spiritual essences]
[Basic Combat – Weapon proficiency]