Within the world of Tri-Realm, Akki returned to Marches Village after spending the entire night pushing his body and lightning power to the brink of exhaustion.
He opened the lid of the second-hand VR capsule and slowly crawled out.The moment he returned to the normal gravity of the real world, his body felt unbearably heavy.
Morning sunlight streamed into the small rented room he shared with his sister.
Akki glanced at the bed beside him. Araya, his younger sister, was still asleep.After spending several consecutive days immersed in the game, this room remained the only refuge the two of them had.
He quietly prepared breakfast—rice porridge and two boiled eggs.A simple meal, yet one he carefully balanced to provide enough nutrition.
While waiting for his sister to wake, he picked up his phone and called Mekha.
Mekha (through speaker):"Yo, Akki! Finally resurfaced, huh? You disappeared for two whole days! You went into Tri-Realm already, right?"
Akki:"Yeah."
Mekha:"Man, you're slow as hell! I'm already in Syncope Main City now! How was it? Get a divine sword or some crazy skills yet? I unlocked the Divine Alchemist class—absolutely broken!"
Akki:(shakes his head with a faint smile)"I chose… a regular Warrior."
Mekha:"What!? You idiot! Why a basic warrior!? What element, at least?"
Akki:"Lightning."
Mekha:"…Okay, lightning's still workable. So how much money've you made? Don't tell me you're still at one gold."
Akki:"Right now… about 2.5 gold."
There was a brief silence.
Mekha:"Holy hell! In just two days!? You're insane! Keep going, man! You'll be making way more real money soon!"
What Mekha didn't know was that Akki's 2.5 gold hadn't come from monster hunting—but from scrubbing toilets and washing laundry inside the game.
3.2 Reflections of the Real World (Flashback)
Mekha's voice pulled Akki back to the reason he had chosen to dive into VR gaming in the first place.
[Flashback]
Akki and his sister sat in front of their home as bank officials sealed it shut.
He remembered his parents—once brilliant engineers—who had collapsed under massive debt after a failed stock market investment.They died in an accident, leaving behind nothing but debt and the responsibility of raising his younger sister.
Akki, who had once dreamed of studying engineering like his father, was forced to bury that dream entirely.He worked countless jobs just to survive.
He became a father.A mother.A teacher.And the one who cleaned the house.
All of it unknowingly forged him with:
[Life Skills: Advanced]
[Endurance: Advanced]
[Return to the Present]
Mekha was the only friend who knew everything about him.A die-hard VR gamer, Mekha had believed in the potential of Tri-Realm long before anyone else.
Mekha (on the phone):"I know you're better than most people, Akki. You're careful, precise—and tougher than those rich kids playing this game for fun. I believe you can earn enough to wipe out your debts and take your sister somewhere better. Trust me. Get into the game and sell your skills."
Those words became the final push that made Akki spend his last savings on a second-hand VR capsule.
Akki logged back into Tri-Realm.
This time, he wasn't sharpening blades or washing blankets.His initial capital was ready.
He walked out of the village toward a field once crowded with beginner players—a grassy plain filled with Black-Furred Rabbits, the weakest monsters in the game.
[Encounter: Black-Furred Rabbit]
The rabbit leapt toward him.
Akki didn't draw a sword.He relied solely on his bare fists, honed through an entire night of training.
Movement:Akki dodged swiftly. (Agility skill begins to take effect.)
Attack:He drove a punch into the rabbit's flank.
[Unarmed Combat: Normal Attack — Minor Damage]
The monster was still alive.
Akki rushed in again—this time using focus and fatigue as catalysts.
"Thunder Fist!"
CRACK!!
A deeper blue lightning spark burst from his fist and slammed into the rabbit.
[Skill Used: Thunder Fist][Critical Damage: Black-Furred Rabbit defeated instantly!][Lightning Element Proficiency increased by 1%][You received: 10 Copper Coins]
Akki gasped for air.
Even releasing a small amount of lightning made his entire body tremble.Triggering elemental power consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
"…It's exhausting," he muttered."But it works."
He continued forward—developing Unarmed Combat alongside Lightning Element mastery.
Defeating low-level monsters one by one using his own raw power steadily strengthened his skills—without any level cap standing in the way.
At last…
Akki began to see a clear path—a way to convert sweat inside the game into currency in the real world.