The next two days blurred together in a monotonous cycle of grinding, selling, and grinding again. Jin-woo had found his rhythm: six to eight hours of killing wolves and goblins, collecting their drops, returning to the city to sell materials in the marketplace, then heading back out to grind more.
His efficiency had improved dramatically. He knew the optimal spawn points, the best pulling techniques, the exact rotation of abilities that minimized stamina waste. His kill times for level 2-3 wolves had dropped to under forty seconds. Level 3-4 goblins took about fifty seconds. The repetitive motion had programmed itself into his muscle memory—or whatever the VR equivalent of muscle memory was.
His level crept upward. Level 5 became level 6 after another eight hours of grinding. The stat allocation followed the same pattern: 3 points to Strength, 2 to Vitality. His stats at level 6:
Strength: 25
Vitality: 19
Agility: 11
Health: 190/190
The power increase let him tackle level 4-5 enemies more comfortably. He started hunting in zones slightly above his level, where the experience gains were better but the danger was higher.
Jin-woo converted another 15 silver to real money during this time, bringing his bank account balance to -$81.48. The overdraft was shrinking, but slowly. Too slowly. He'd earned $30.75 in two days. At that rate, he'd make maybe $400-450 in a month. Nowhere near the $1,232 he needed, plus rent, plus food, plus utilities.
The math remained brutal no matter how he calculated it.
On the morning of his third day grinding, Jin-woo woke to find his food situation had become critical. He'd eaten his last package of instant noodles yesterday. His cupboard was completely empty. He had maybe $5 worth of real money available if he converted all his in-game copper, but he needed that copper for stall rentals and emergency potions.
Jin-woo stood in his kitchen, staring at the empty shelf where his food used to be, and felt the weight of his situation crushing down on him again. He was working sixteen-hour days in a video game, earning less than minimum wage, and now he couldn't even afford to eat.
He grabbed his phone and opened the mobile banking app. Current balance: -$81.48. He navigated to the overdraft settings and saw that his account had a maximum overdraft limit of $500 before it would be completely frozen. He was already $81.48 into that limit.
If he bought $20 worth of food—cheap, bulk items that would last a few days—he'd be at -$101.48. Still manageable. Barely.
Jin-woo grabbed his thin jacket and walked to the convenience store three blocks away. He bought: two large bags of rice (10 lbs total, $8.99), a dozen eggs ($3.49), a loaf of white bread ($2.29), peanut butter ($3.99), and a pack of cheap tea bags ($2.49). Total: $21.25. His card declined the first time—not enough in the account—so he put back the tea bags and tried again. $18.76. The transaction went through.
His new balance: -$100.24.
Jin-woo walked back to his apartment carrying the plastic bags, feeling the familiar cocktail of shame and desperation. He was a 28-year-old man with a Computer Science degree, buying food on an overdrawn account because he'd gambled everything on making money in a video game.
Back in his apartment, he cooked rice and eggs on his electric kettle—it wasn't designed for that, but it worked if he was patient. The food was bland but filling. He ate mechanically, not tasting anything, already planning his next grinding session.
By 8:30 AM, Jin-woo was back in ERO, logged in and ready to continue the endless grind toward level 10.
Four more hours of grinding. Jin-woo's experience bar crept toward level 7. He'd been fighting level 4-5 goblins in the northern camp, his increased stats making them manageable. His inventory filled with the usual drops—goblin ears, torn leather, damaged weapons.
And then, at 12:43 PM in-game time, it happened.
Jin-woo had just killed his sixty-third goblin of the session when the notification appeared—not just in his personal interface, but floating in the sky above Havencrest City, visible to every player in the region. A massive golden announcement banner unfurled across the heavens, accompanied by the sound of trumpets:
🎉 SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉
Party 'Dragon Slayers' has cleared THE CRYPT OF THE DAMNED (Nightmare Difficulty)!
First clear on Nightmare difficulty! Rewards distributed to party members.
Party members:
Dragonlord (Level 389)HolyPriest (Level 367)ShadowStep (Level 374)FireStorm (Level 361)IceQueen (Level 356)
The announcement hung in the sky for thirty seconds before fading. World chat immediately exploded:
[World Chat] RandomPlayer1: Holy shit! Crypt on nightmare! [World Chat] CrafterGuy: Dragon Slayers are insane [World Chat] NewbieTank: What's nightmare difficulty mean? [World Chat] VeteranMage: Nightmare = hardest setting, enemies hit 3x harder and have 5x HP. Most parties can't even clear normal difficulty [World Chat] RandomPlayer1: Dragon Slayers average level 369. They're basically gods
Jin-woo stood in the goblin camp, watching the golden announcement fade, and felt a wave of inadequacy wash over him. Level 369 average. He was level 6. The gap between where he was and where the top players existed wasn't just large—it was astronomical.
But the announcement had reminded him of something important: dungeons existed. He'd been so focused on open-world grinding that he'd completely forgotten about instanced content.
Jin-woo opened his menu and navigated to a section he'd never explored: the Dungeon Finder. A list appeared, showing available dungeons sorted by level requirement:
AVAILABLE DUNGEONS (Level 1-20)
Goblin Cave
Level Range: 10-15
Difficulty: Easy
Recommended Party Size: 5 players
Description: A cave system inhabited by goblin raiders and their chieftain. Monsters include Goblin Warriors, Goblin Shamans, and the boss: Goblin Chief.
Estimated Clear Time: 30-45 minutes
Rewards: Guaranteed rare equipment drops, increased experience
Spider Nest
Level Range: 15-20
Difficulty: Easy-Normal
Recommended Party Size: 5 players
Description: An abandoned mine overrun by giant spiders. Boss: Spider Queen.
Estimated Clear Time: 45-60 minutes
Rewards: Rare silk materials, equipment drops
Bandit Hideout
Level Range: 12-18
Difficulty: Easy
Recommended Party Size: 4-5 players
Description: A bandit camp hidden in the forest. Boss: Bandit Leader.
Estimated Clear Time: 20-30 minutes
Rewards: Gold, equipment drops
Jin-woo's eyes fixed on Goblin Cave. Level 10-15 range. He was level 6, nearly 7. Four more levels and he could attempt it. The description mentioned guaranteed rare equipment drops—those could sell for silver or even gold on the player market. And the experience gain was increased compared to open-world grinding.
Dungeons represented a significant earning opportunity, but they also required groups. And Jin-woo had already experienced how disastrously party content could go when players panicked.
Still, the potential was there. Get to level 10, find a competent party, clear the dungeon, sell the loot. It could be a game-changer for his earnings.
Jin-woo closed the dungeon finder and pulled up his character sheet. He was sitting at 687/1,500 experience toward level 7. He needed 813 more experience. At roughly 20-25 experience per goblin kill, that was about 35-40 more goblins.
"I need to get to level 10," Jin-woo said aloud to himself, his voice echoing in the empty goblin camp.
And then he'd try his first dungeon.
He tightened his grip on his iron sword and scanned the camp for his next target. A level 5 goblin was wandering near the eastern tents, carrying a crude spear. Jin-woo approached, his movements practiced and efficient now after three days of constant grinding.
The goblin noticed him at twenty feet and shrieked its war cry. Jin-woo didn't flinch. He stepped forward and swung his sword in a calculated arc, catching the goblin across its midsection before it could fully charge.
-24 damage
The goblin's health: 56/80 HP.
Jin-woo pressed his advantage. Horizontal slash. Downward chop. Thrust to the chest. His rotation was mechanical, optimized through hundreds of repetitions. The goblin managed one hit—a glancing blow with its spear that dealt -9 damage—before Jin-woo finished it with a critical strike to the neck.
CRITICAL! -32 damage
The goblin dissolved into light particles.
+23 Experience
Quest Progress: None active
Jin-woo collected the loot—4 copper, a goblin ear, a torn leather scrap—and immediately moved to the next target. No wasted time. No breaks. Every second not fighting was a second not earning.
Another goblin. Another kill. Another 23 experience.
The afternoon wore on. Jin-woo's experience bar climbed: 710/1,500. 756/1,500. 812/1,500.
At 3:17 PM, he killed his fortieth goblin since the server announcement, and the notification appeared:
LEVEL UP!
You have reached Level 7!
+5 Stat Points available to allocate
Health increased to 200/200
Stamina increased to 150/150
Jin-woo opened his character sheet and allocated his points: 4 to Strength, 1 to Vitality. He was following the forum guide's recommendation to front-load Strength for faster kill times, with just enough Vitality to survive mistakes.
His stats updated:
Name: Jin Park
Level: 7
Experience: 12/1,800
Attributes:
Strength: 29 (was 25)
Agility: 11
Vitality: 20 (was 19)
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Luck: 10
Health: 205/205
Stamina: 150/150
Gold: 0 gold, 2,847 copper
Level 7. Three more levels until he could attempt Goblin Cave. Three more levels until he could access the iron ore mining zones that Blacksmith Joe had mentioned. Three more levels until his earning potential would increase significantly.
Jin-woo checked his real-world phone through the VR interface. He'd been logged in for about 6.5 hours today. His headset battery showed 41% remaining—maybe another three hours of play before he'd need to recharge and rest.
He could grind for those three hours and maybe reach level 8. Or he could convert some of his copper to real money and buy actual food that wasn't rice and eggs.
The responsible choice was food. But Jin-woo was learning that the "responsible choice" was often the one that kept him poor. He needed to push harder, grind longer, level faster. Food could wait a few more hours.
He returned to the goblin camp and found his next target.
Level 10. He needed to reach level 10.
Whatever it took.
Total money earned so far: Jin-woo checked his records. Over the past three days of playing:
Day 1: $22.52 (vendoring + quest rewards)Day 2: $31.75 (marketplace sales + grinding)Day 3 (so far): $27.50 (marketplace sales + grinding)
Total: $81.77
His bank account had gone from -$126.48 to -$100.24 in three days. He'd reduced his overdraft by $26.24 while also spending $18.76 on food.
The progress was real, but agonizingly slow. At his current rate, he'd have about $750-800 after a full month. Not nearly enough to cover the $1,232 loan payment, let alone rent and other expenses.
Jin-woo pushed the math out of his mind and focused on the goblin in front of him. One kill at a time. One level at a time. One silver at a time.
Level 10 was three levels away.
Goblin Cave was three levels away.
Better money was three levels away.
He just had to keep grinding.