The sun hadn't moved in the sky. Jin-woo had been fighting slimes for what felt like an eternity, but the twin suns hung in the same position they'd occupied when he'd first materialized on Tutorial Island. Time in the tutorial zone was frozen, perpetually locked in mid-afternoon, which made tracking his progress difficult. He had to rely on the quest counter and his own mental estimation.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (2/10)
The second slime had gone better than the first, but not by much. Jin-woo had managed to kill it without taking as much damage—only two hits instead of four—but the fight had still consumed nearly three minutes of constant attacking, dodging, and recovering stamina. His health regenerated slowly between fights, and he'd learned to wait until he was back at full before engaging the next target. Rushing in with partial health was a recipe for disaster.
The third slime tested his patience. It seemed more erratic than the previous two, bouncing in unpredictable patterns that made landing clean hits difficult. Jin-woo chased it around a small hillock, swinging and missing, swinging and connecting, his stamina bar yo-yoing between full and half-empty. When the creature finally exploded into blue particles, he'd been breathing hard and his sword arm ached with simulated fatigue.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (3/10)
Around him, the field was thinning out. Many of the other new players had already completed their ten kills and moved on to the next stage of the tutorial. Jin-woo watched a group of three players—a warrior, a mage, and a priest—walk past him toward the training yard, laughing and chatting about their experiences. They'd probably finished in half the time it was taking him.
The fourth slime was near a cluster of wildflowers. Jin-woo approached with his sword ready, feet positioned the way Knight Marcus had demonstrated. The slime noticed him at ten feet and immediately launched into an attack. This time, Jin-woo was ready. He sidestepped left, let the slime sail past him, and brought his sword down in a vertical chop as it landed. The blade caught it perfectly, dealing damage and stunning it for a fraction of a second. Jin-woo pressed his advantage, stepping in with a horizontal slash before the creature could recover.
The fight lasted ninety seconds. Progress.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (4/10)
Jin-woo's health was at 78/100 after the fourth kill. He sat down in the grass—something he did without thinking, and the game responded naturally—and watched his health bar creep upward. Sitting seemed to accelerate regeneration slightly, maybe 1.5 points per second instead of 1. His stamina recovered faster while sitting, about 8 points per second. He made a mental note of these numbers. Everything in ERO was a system to be understood and optimized.
While he waited, he opened his inventory to examine what he'd collected so far. Four slime gels, four copper coins from the kills themselves, and the original fifteen copper from the tutorial quests. Nineteen copper total. Nineteen cents. The conversion was depressing, but he pushed the thought aside. This was just the tutorial. The real money would come later, once he had better equipment and could tackle more valuable content.
His health hit 100/100. Jin-woo stood and scanned for the fifth slime.
The next kill went smoothly. Then the sixth. Then the seventh. Each fight was teaching him something new about timing, about the rhythm of combat. Attack during the slime's recovery animation. Don't over-commit to a swing if you're low on stamina. Watch for the telltale compression that signaled an incoming jump. The slimes were predictable once you learned their pattern, and Jin-woo was a fast learner when survival depended on it.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (7/10)
By the eighth slime, Jin-woo was starting to feel something that might have been confidence. His kill time had dropped to under two minutes, and he was taking less damage per fight. The eighth slime only managed to hit him once before he cut it down with a series of well-timed strikes. When it died, he barely felt winded.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (8/10)
The ninth slime spawned near the edge of the field, close to where the grass gave way to a small stream. Jin-woo approached carefully, mindful not to back himself into the water during the fight. The slime attacked aggressively, bouncing at him three times in quick succession. He blocked the first with his sword—the blade absorbed some of the impact, reducing the damage to -1 instead of -3. He dodged the second by rolling to the side, the move he'd practiced during the movement tutorial. The third hit him in the shoulder, but he was already swinging, and his blade caught the slime mid-air for a critical hit.
The fight ended in under ninety seconds.
Quest Progress: Slime Extermination (9/10)
One more. Jin-woo's entire body—his virtual body—was covered in a light sheen of sweat that the VR interface had thoughtfully simulated. His arms felt heavy, his legs slightly unsteady. The fatigue wasn't real, but his brain believed it was, and that belief translated into physical sensation. He needed to finish this last kill and move on.
The tenth slime was larger than the others, noticeably so. Where the previous slimes had been basketball-sized, this one was closer to a beach ball. Above its head, the nameplate read: Slime - Level 2.
Jin-woo paused. A level 2 enemy. The previous slimes had all been level 1. Did that mean this one was significantly stronger?
He checked his health—96/100—and his stamina—full. Good enough. He couldn't afford to be cautious forever.
The level 2 slime noticed him from farther away than the others had, its dark-spot eyes focusing on him at twenty feet instead of ten. It compressed itself and launched forward with surprising speed. Jin-woo barely got his sword up in time to block. The impact was noticeably harder than the level 1 slimes, driving him back a step. His health dropped: 91/100. A -5 appeared above his head.
The slime bounced back and immediately attacked again. Jin-woo sidestepped and swung, his blade connecting with a solid hit. -2 damage appeared above the slime. Its health bar showed 18/20.
Twenty health instead of fifteen. That was a 33% increase. Jin-woo filed the information away and focused on the fight.
The level 2 slime was not only tougher but also faster and more aggressive. It attacked relentlessly, giving Jin-woo little time to recover between exchanges. He blocked, dodged, struck back when he saw openings. His stamina drained faster than in previous fights because he had to stay mobile, constantly repositioning to avoid the creature's tackles.
Dodge left. Swing. -2 damage. Slime's health: 16/20.
Block with sword. -4 damage taken. His health: 87/100.
Step back, let stamina recover to 50/100.
The slime compressed for another jump. Jin-woo timed it perfectly, swinging just as the creature left the ground. His blade intercepted it mid-flight, and the notification flashed: CRITICAL! -4 damage. The slime's health: 12/20.
But critical hits seemed to enrage it. The slime landed and immediately bounced three times in rapid succession, attacking from different angles. Jin-woo blocked the first (-3 damage), dodged the second, and took the third full in the chest (-5 damage). His health dropped to 79/100.
Jin-woo gritted his teeth and pressed his attack. He swung twice in quick succession, both strikes landing. SQUELCH. SQUELCH. -2 damage each. The slime's health: 8/20.
His stamina was at 34/100. Getting low. He backed away, creating space, and the slime pursued. It jumped, and Jin-woo sidestepped instead of blocking, conserving stamina. The creature sailed past him, and he brought his sword down on it as it landed. -2 damage. Slime's health: 6/20.
The creature turned and attacked again. This time, Jin-woo didn't have the stamina to dodge. He raised his sword to block, and the slime crashed into the blade. The impact sent vibrations through his arms, and his health dropped by -4. He was at 75/100.
Low stamina was dangerous. Jin-woo made a split-second decision and stopped attacking. He backed away, focusing entirely on defense, letting his stamina regenerate while he dodged and blocked the slime's attacks. It was frustrating—the creature was right there, one or two more hits from death—but rushing in with no stamina would be worse.
Stamina: 40/100. Still too low.
The slime jumped. Jin-woo rolled to the side, the movement costing 10 stamina but avoiding damage entirely. Stamina: 38/100, but it was regenerating at 5 per second while he wasn't attacking.
Stamina: 55/100. Better.
The slime attacked again. Jin-woo blocked with his sword, taking -3 damage but preserving his positioning. His health: 72/100.
Stamina: 62/100. Good enough.
Jin-woo went on the offensive. He stepped forward and swung in a wide horizontal arc, catching the slime as it prepared to jump. -2 damage. Slime's health: 4/20.
The creature launched itself at his face in desperation. Jin-woo ducked and brought his sword up in an uppercut motion. The blade caught the slime from below, lifting it into the air. -2 damage. Slime's health: 2/20.
One more hit. The slime landed badly, its bounces weak and uncoordinated. Jin-woo stepped in and brought his sword down in a two-handed overhead chop, the same move Knight Marcus had demonstrated at the beginning.
SQUELCH.
CRITICAL! -4 damage.
The slime exploded into blue particles, larger and more numerous than the level 1 slimes had produced. The loot materialized: 3 copper coins and two pieces of slime gel.
Quest Complete: Slime Extermination (10/10) Return to Knight Marcus for your reward.
Jin-woo stood there for a moment, sword lowered, breathing heavily. His health was at 72/100, and his stamina was at 48/100. The entire quest—killing ten slimes—had taken him two hours. Two full hours of repetitive combat, learning by trial and error, getting hit and hitting back. Around him, the Slime Fields were nearly empty now. Most of the other new players had long since moved on.
But he'd done it. Slowly, painfully, inefficiently—but he'd done it.
Jin-woo checked his inventory. Ten slime gels, twenty-nine copper coins from the kills. Added to his previous fifteen copper, he had forty-four copper total. Forty-four cents. For two hours of work. The math was brutal, but this was still the tutorial. Things would get better. They had to.
He walked back toward the training yard, his virtual legs feeling the simulated fatigue of extended combat. The grass gradually gave way to packed dirt, and Knight Marcus stood waiting near the stone archway, exactly where he'd been before. Several other players were already there, receiving their rewards and moving on to the next stage.
As Jin-woo approached, Marcus's head turned toward him, those piercing blue eyes focusing with unsettling precision. "Ah, warrior Jin Park. I see you have completed your task. The slimes of the field have fallen before your blade. Though your progress was measured, you persevered. This is the mark of a true adventurer—not speed, but determination."
The NPC's words felt oddly personal, as if he'd been watching Jin-woo's struggle. The AI was sophisticated enough to offer contextual dialogue based on player performance. It was simultaneously impressive and slightly unnerving.
"You have proven yourself capable of combat," Marcus continued. "You understand the fundamentals of battle—timing, stamina management, tactical positioning. Now you are ready to leave Tutorial Island and enter the wider world of Eternal Realm Online."
A quest completion notification appeared:
Quest Complete: Slime Extermination Reward: 50 Copper, Iron Sword, Leather Armor, 100 Experience
New items appeared in Jin-woo's inventory. He pulled up the descriptions:
Iron Sword (Basic) Type: One-Handed Sword Damage: 6-10 Durability: 100/100 Quality: Common Attack: +5 Requirements: Level 1, Warrior Class Description: A simple iron sword. Nothing fancy, but it's sharp and reliable. Better than hitting things with a stick.
Leather Armor (Basic Set) Type: Light Armor (Chest) Defense: 8 Durability: 100/100
Quality: Common Defense: +3 Requirements: Level 1, Warrior Class Description: Basic leather armor consisting of chest piece, arm guards, and leg guards. Offers modest protection against physical attacks.
Jin-woo equipped both items immediately. The wooden training sword vanished from his hand, replaced by the iron blade. It was noticeably heavier, with a proper edge that caught the light. His simple cloth tunic dissolved as the leather armor materialized around his torso—a brown leather chest piece with reinforced stitching, matching arm guards, and leather leg protections over his pants.
His character sheet updated:
Name: Jin Park Race: Human
Class: Warrior Level: 1
Attributes: Strength (STR): 10 Agility (AGI): 10
Vitality (VIT): 10 Intelligence (INT): 10 Wisdom (WIS): 10 Luck (LUCK): 10
Health: 100/100 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 50/50
Equipment: Weapon: Iron Sword (Attack +5) Armor: Leather Armor (Defense +3)
Gold: 0 gold, 94 copper
The stat improvements were modest but real. With the sword and armor equipped, Jin-woo felt marginally more capable. His character looked more like an actual adventurer now instead of a peasant with a stick.
Knight Marcus gestured toward the training yard, and the space behind him shimmered. Three massive portals materialized out of thin air, each one a swirling vortex of colored energy contained within an ornate stone archway. The left portal swirled with green and gold, the center with gray and blue, the right with red and orange.
"Before you lie three paths," Marcus intoned, his voice taking on a ceremonial quality. "Each leads to a different region of Eternal Realm Online. Choose wisely, for this choice will determine where you begin your true journey."
Text appeared above each portal:
SILVERLEAF FOREST - Starting Zone (Levels 1-20) Peaceful woodlands, abundant herbs, low-level beasts. Recommended for crafters and solo players.
IRONFORGE MOUNTAIN - Starting Zone (Levels 1-20)
Rocky terrain, mining opportunities, aggressive monsters. Recommended for players seeking challenge and rare materials.
HAVENCREST CITY - Starting Zone (Levels 1-20) Major city hub, numerous quests, active player population. Recommended for beginners seeking structure and community.
Jin-woo had researched this decision last night during his marathon information-gathering session. The forums had been unanimous: new players should start in Havencrest City. The city offered the most beginner-friendly quest chains, had an active marketplace for selling materials, and provided easy access to multiple leveling zones. Silverleaf Forest was too spread out, making travel inefficient. Ironforge Mountain was dangerous for solo players and better suited for groups or experienced gamers.
The choice was obvious.
Jin-woo walked toward the center portal, the one swirling with gray and blue energy. As he approached, text appeared:
Confirm selection: HAVENCREST CITY? Warning: This choice cannot be changed for 30 days.
"Confirm," Jin-woo said aloud.
The portal's swirling intensified, and a beam of light shot out, enveloping him. The world dissolved into white, and Jin-woo felt the disorienting sensation of movement without actually moving—like being in an elevator that was accelerating in all directions at once.
Loading... Transferring to Havencrest City... Please wait...
The loading screen was mercifully brief, maybe five seconds. When the white faded, Jin-woo found himself standing in a completely different environment.
The sensory overload was immediate and overwhelming.
He was in a plaza—an enormous open square paved with white stone that seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight. The plaza was easily the size of three football fields, and every inch of it was packed with players. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Everywhere Jin-woo looked, he saw player avatars of every conceivable race and class, wearing equipment that ranged from starting gear like his to elaborate armor sets that seemed to be made of crystallized light or living flame.
The architecture surrounding the plaza was breathtaking. Towering buildings of white marble and gray stone rose toward a brilliant blue sky. Gothic spires reached hundreds of feet into the air, their peaks adorned with statues of angels and heroes. Massive banners hung from the buildings, displaying guild emblems and event announcements. Fountains dotted the plaza, their water dancing in choreographed patterns. Street lamps lined the pathways, though they were unlit in the daylight—Jin-woo noticed they were topped with crystals instead of flames.
The noise was incredible. Hundreds of conversations overlapped—players haggling at market stalls, guilds recruiting new members, friends laughing and planning their next adventure. Music played from somewhere, a cheerful medieval melody that somehow managed to cut through the chaos without being too loud. NPCs wandered through the crowd, some of them merchants calling out their wares, others guards in elaborate armor maintaining order.
But what really caught Jin-woo's attention were the high-level players.
A figure flew overhead, and Jin-woo's jaw dropped. An actual player, flying through the air on what appeared to be a dragon made of pure electricity. The mount crackled with blue lightning, its wings leaving trails of sparks. The rider wore armor that seemed to be forged from storm clouds, and above their head, their nameplate read: Thunderlord - Level 247.
Level 247. Jin-woo was level 1.
Another player walked past him, and Jin-woo had to physically move aside. The player was at least eight feet tall—either a giant race or wearing size-enhancing gear—and their armor was a masterwork of black metal and glowing red runes. A massive greatsword was strapped to their back, easily six feet long and wreathed in flame. Their nameplate: Bloodreaver - Level 289.
More players streamed past. A mage in flowing robes that seemed to be made of liquid starlight. A rogue whose armor was so dark it seemed to absorb light, making them appear slightly transparent. A priest surrounded by a gentle golden glow, with wings of pure white light extending from their back.
And then Jin-woo saw the guild.
They marched through the plaza in formation, at least fifty players moving in perfect coordination. At the front, a massive banner floated in the air, held aloft by magic: a stylized blue dragon coiled around a silver sword. Text beneath the image read: AZURE DRAGON GUILD.
The guild members were all high-level—the lowest Jin-woo could see was 198, the highest was 347. They wore matching armor sets in shades of blue and silver, each piece clearly custom-crafted to ridiculous standards of quality. They moved like a military unit, their footsteps synchronized, their formation precise. Other players quickly moved out of their way, clearing a path through the crowded plaza.
Jin-woo watched them march past, feeling smaller with every second. These were the real players. The professionals. The people who made this game their life and their livelihood. He was an ant looking up at giants.
He pulled up his character sheet, as if seeing the numbers would somehow make them less depressing:
Name: Jin Park Level: 1 Gold: 0 gold, 94 copper
Ninety-four cents to his name. Level 1 in a world where the top players were over level 400. Standing in a plaza where the average player level was probably over 100.
The gap was enormous. Almost insurmountable. Jin-woo felt the weight of his situation settling back onto his shoulders. For a few moments—during the portal transfer, seeing the city for the first time—he'd felt something like wonder. But reality reasserted itself quickly.
He was here to make money. That was all. The spectacle didn't matter. The high-level players didn't matter. His own inadequacy didn't matter. What mattered was finding work, earning copper and silver, and paying back that loan in thirty days.
Jin-woo forced himself to look away from the Azure Dragon Guild and scan the plaza for something useful. There—near one of the larger buildings at the plaza's edge—he spotted a wooden notice board covered in papers. Several low-level players were gathered around it, reading the posted announcements.
Quest boards. The forums had mentioned them. Cities had public quest boards where players could pick up simple jobs—monster extermination, material gathering, delivery tasks. Perfect for beginners.
Jin-woo started walking toward the board, navigating through the crowd. A level 156 player nearly ran into him, didn't apologize, just kept walking as if Jin-woo didn't exist. A merchant NPC called out to him—"Finest potions in Havencrest!"—but Jin-woo ignored the pitch. He had no money for potions.
The notice board was exactly what he'd expected: a large wooden frame covered in parchment notices, each one describing a quest. The low-level players around it were reading and discussing which jobs to take.
Jin-woo scanned the available quests. Most were level 1-5 appropriate:
"Rat Infestation" - Kill 30 rats in the city sewers - Reward: 1 silver "Herb Gathering" - Collect 50 Medicinal Herbs from the nearby forest - Reward: 2 silver
"Lost Heirloom" - Find and return a lost necklace somewhere in the city - Reward: 1 silver, 50 copper "Wolf Problem" - Kill 20 wolves in the Plains of Beginning - Reward: 3 silver, Wolf Pelt x5
Jin-woo's eyes locked onto the wolf quest. Three silver. That was three dollars—more than three times what he'd earned in the tutorial. And the wolf pelts could probably be sold for additional money. The quest was clearly meant for level 2-3 players, but Jin-woo was confident he could handle it. The slimes had taught him the basics of combat. Wolves would be tougher, but manageable.
He reached out and touched the quest notice. A confirmation appeared:
Accept Quest: "Wolf Problem"?
Objective: Kill 20 wolves in the Plains of Beginning, west of Havencrest City Reward: 3 silver, Wolf Pelt x5
Difficulty: Easy Recommended Level: 2-3
"Accept," Jin-woo said.
Quest Accepted: Wolf Problem (0/20 wolves killed)
Jin-woo committed the quest details to memory and turned away from the board. The Plains of Beginning were west of the city, which meant he needed to find the west gate. Simple enough.
He navigated through the plaza, following the general flow of low-level players who seemed to be heading in the same direction. The city was massive—the plaza was just one section of what appeared to be a sprawling medieval metropolis. Jin-woo passed market districts where NPCs sold weapons and armor far beyond his price range, residential areas with multi-story buildings where players could purchase housing, and training facilities where combat dummies similar to Tutorial Island's stood waiting.
After ten minutes of walking, he reached the west gate. It was an imposing structure—a massive archway of gray stone with an iron portcullis raised to allow passage. Guards flanked the gate, NPC soldiers in plate armor carrying halberds. Above the archway, a sign read: WEST GATE - PLAINS OF BEGINNING.
Jin-woo walked toward the gate. One of the guards—a stern-looking man with a scarred face—turned toward him as he approached.
"Heading out to the Plains, adventurer?" the guard asked. His voice was gruff but not unfriendly. "Be careful out there. Wolves have been causing trouble for travelers lately. We've posted a bounty for anyone willing to thin their numbers."
It was just NPC dialogue, probably triggered by Jin-woo having the wolf quest active, but the immersion was impressive. The guard's lips moved naturally with his words, and his expression showed genuine concern.
"I'll be careful," Jin-woo replied, though the guard probably wasn't programmed to recognize his response.
The NPC nodded and stepped aside, allowing Jin-woo to pass through the gate.
The transition from city to wilderness was stark. One moment Jin-woo was walking on paved stone beneath towering buildings, the next he was stepping onto dirt and grass with open sky above. The Plains of Beginning stretched out before him—rolling grassland dotted with trees, small hills providing gentle elevation changes, wildflowers adding splashes of color. In the distance, maybe half a mile away, he could see the dark line of a forest.
And scattered across the plains, even from here, he could see movement. Wolves.
The creatures were larger than Jin-woo had expected. Even at a distance, he could tell they were the size of actual wolves—maybe four feet long, standing about two and a half feet at the shoulder. Their fur appeared gray in the afternoon light, and they moved in small packs of two or three, prowling through the grassland.
Jin-woo checked his equipment one more time. Iron sword equipped. Leather armor equipped. Health at 100/100, stamina at 100/100. He was as ready as he'd ever be.
He started walking toward the nearest visible wolf, about two hundred feet away.