Jin-woo found his second group at 12:15 PM. The party was all level 11 or 12 players. They entered the dungeon and cleared it in one hour and forty minutes. The Goblin Chief dropped an uncommon sword: Goblin Cleaver, 32-38 damage, STR +3.
Jin-woo rolled 78. The next highest roll was 54. He won the sword.
After the dungeon, Jin-woo went straight to the marketplace. He found the weapon vendor section and checked prices. Uncommon swords with similar stats were selling for 70 to 90 silver.
Jin-woo set up a temporary stall. He listed the Goblin Cleaver for 80 silver.
A warrior browsed past his stall, stopped, examined the sword's stats. "I'll take it," the warrior said.
Trade completed. Jin-woo's inventory: +80 silver.
He checked the time: 2:08 PM. He went back to Goblin Cave.
His third run started at 2:34 PM. The party cleared the first room without problems. The second room took longer—one of the warriors pulled an extra goblin by accident, and the priest had to work harder to keep everyone alive.
The Goblin Chief fight went smoothly. The boss enraged at half health. The tank held aggro. The DPS burned the boss down before the healer ran out of mana.
The Chief dropped uncommon boots and 50 silver. Jin-woo rolled 23. Another player rolled 81 and took the boots. Jin-woo got his 10 silver split.
The run ended at 4:21 PM. Jin-woo had earned 10 silver in two hours.
He found his fourth group at 4:45 PM.
This party had better coordination. The tank marked targets with symbols—skull for kill first, X for kill second. The DPS followed the marks. The first room cleared in four minutes. The second room cleared in six minutes.
The Goblin Chief went down in three minutes. Smooth fight, no deaths.
The chest opened. Inside: Band of Minor Strength (uncommon ring, STR +1) and 50 silver.
Jin-woo had never equipped an accessory before. Rings, necklaces, and trinkets were rare drops. Most players at level 10 didn't have any accessories.
He rolled 67. The next highest was 39. Jin-woo won the ring.
He equipped it immediately. His character sheet updated:
Strength: 41
The run ended at 6:38 PM. Jin-woo's total earnings: 10 silver plus one ring worth maybe 30 silver if he sold it. But he kept the ring. The STR bonus was worth more than the silver.
Jin-woo's fifth run started at 7:02 PM.
This party was different. Two players were level 10. The tank was level 11 but had poor gear. The healer was level 12 but kept standing too close to the fights.
The first room went badly. A goblin got past the tank and attacked the healer. The healer panicked and ran deeper into the room, pulling three more goblins. The party wiped.
They respawned outside the dungeon and tried again.
The second attempt went better. They cleared the first room. They cleared the second room. They reached the Goblin Chief.
The Chief enraged at half health. The tank's health dropped fast. The healer cast heals, but the Chief's damage output was too high. The tank died at 1,200 HP remaining on the boss. The Chief turned and killed the healer. Then he killed both DPS warriors. Jin-woo was the last alive.
He tried to solo the Chief with 1,200 HP remaining. He got the boss down to 400 HP before the Chief's axe hit him for 141 damage and killed him.
Party wipe. Respawn outside.
"One more try," the tank said. "We almost had it."
They entered the dungeon a third time. They cleared the first two rooms again. They reached the Goblin Chief again.
This time, the DPS focused better. The healer stayed at range. The tank held aggro through the entire enrage phase. The Chief died with everyone still alive.
The chest dropped: uncommon boots (Defense +9, AGI +2) and 50 silver.
Jin-woo rolled 44. He won the boots. The other players had rolled lower.
The run ended at 9:47 PM. Total time for this dungeon: two hours and forty-five minutes because of the two wipes.
Jin-woo left the dungeon and went to the marketplace. He checked boot prices. Uncommon boots with AGI were selling for 40 to 50 silver. He listed his boots for 45 silver. They sold in three minutes.
Jin-woo opened his inventory and counted his total wealth:
Started today: 32 silver, 41 copper
Run 2 sword: +80 silver
Run 3 split: +10 silver
Run 4 split: +10 silver (kept ring)
Run 5 boots: +45 silver
Total: 177 silver, 41 copper
He had also earned experience. His experience bar showed he had leveled up twice during the dungeon runs. He was now level 12.
Name: Jin Park
Level: 12
Strength: 41
Vitality: 26
Agility: 11
Jin-woo logged out. He removed his VR headset and checked his phone. The time was 10:03 PM.
He opened his banking app. He needed to convert silver to real money. He opened the ERO website and went to the currency exchange. He converted 145 silver to USD.
The transaction processed. His bank account updated: -$73.12 became +$71.88.
Jin-woo stared at his phone screen. His bank account was positive for the first time in three months.
He had earned $145 in one day. Five dungeon runs. Fourteen hours of playtime.
"Dungeons are better money than grinding," Jin-woo said.
He put his phone down and looked at his apartment. The eviction notice was still taped to his wall. He still owed $1,232 for the payday loan in 23 days. He still owed his sister $8,000. He still had $31,000 in student loans.
But today, he had made $145. Tomorrow, he could make another $145. Maybe more if he got lucky with drops.
The math was starting to work.
Jin-woo ate a bowl of rice with eggs. Then he went to sleep.