Four days passed. Jin-woo ran Goblin Cave twice per day. Sometimes three times if he found groups quickly. His level increased to 13. His bank account increased to $387.23.
He was starting to pay down his overdraft and credit card minimum payments. Not enough for the full loan payment yet, but progress was visible.
On his eighth dungeon run of the week, Jin-woo joined a group at 2:17 PM. The party was efficient—a level 15 tank, two level 13 DPS, a level 14 healer, and Jin-woo at level 14.
They cleared the first room in three minutes. Six Goblin Warriors died without anyone dropping below 80% health.
They cleared the second room in five minutes. The shamans died first. The remaining warriors died quickly after.
They reached the Goblin Chief's room. The boss stood in the center, holding his axe.
"Standard kill," the tank said. "Burn at enrage, healer watch your mana."
The tank charged. The fight began.
The Chief's health dropped steadily. The party's DPS was higher than most groups Jin-woo had run with. 5,000 HP became 4,000 HP in forty seconds.
At 3,500 HP, the Chief enraged. Red aura, faster attacks, more damage.
The tank's health dropped quickly. The healer cast heals on cooldown. The Chief's health kept dropping. 3,000 HP. Then 2,500 HP. Then 2,000 HP.
At 1,200 HP, the Chief roared and spun in a circle. His axe hit everyone within melee range. Jin-woo took 89 damage. The other DPS warrior took 94 damage.
They kept attacking. Power Strike on cooldown. Normal attacks between cooldowns. The Chief's health dropped below 500 HP.
The healer's mana was at 15%. Just enough for one more heal.
The Chief swung at the tank. Hit for 156 damage. The tank's health: 87 HP. The healer cast the final heal. The tank's health: 167 HP.
The Chief's health: 231 HP.
Jin-woo activated Power Strike. He charged for two seconds and released. His sword hit the Chief's neck.
CRITICAL! -128 damage
The Chief's health: 103 HP.
The other DPS warrior swung his sword. Normal attack, 34 damage. The Chief's health: 69 HP.
The tank swung his sword. Normal attack, 29 damage. The Chief's health: 40 HP.
Jin-woo swung again. Normal attack, 31 damage. The Chief's health: 9 HP.
The Chief raised his axe for one final swing. But the other DPS warrior's sword hit first.
-11 damage
The Chief's health: 0/5,000 HP.
The boss collapsed and dissolved into light particles.
DUNGEON COMPLETE
+500 Experience
The chest appeared. Golden light surrounded it, but this time the light was brighter—tinged with blue.
"Oh shit," the tank said. "That's a rare drop."
He opened the chest. The loot window appeared:
Loot:
Gloves of Minor Magic (Rare) - Defense +12, INT +5, Cast speed +3%
50 silver
The gloves icon was blue instead of green. Rare quality. The stats were much higher than uncommon items.
"Rolling," the tank said.
Jin-woo clicked the roll button. A number appeared above his head: 96.
Tank: 32
Warrior: 18
Healer: 67
Mage: 41
Jin-woo had the highest roll.
"Nice!" the mage said. "Those sell for at least 2 gold!"
The gloves transferred to Jin-woo's inventory. He examined them:
Gloves of Minor Magic
Quality: Rare
Defense: +12
Intelligence: +5
Cast speed: +3%
Required Level: 12
They were caster gloves. Useless for Jin-woo's warrior build. But worth a lot of money.
The dungeon ended. The party disbanded. Jin-woo left the cave and ran straight to Havencrest City's marketplace.
The marketplace was crowded—dozens of player stalls, hundreds of players browsing. Jin-woo went to the armor section and set up a temporary vendor stall. The game charged 5 copper for one hour of stall rental.
He placed the gloves in the stall display and checked the marketplace prices. Other rare gloves were listed between 2 gold and 3 gold 50 silver. Most weren't selling—the prices were too high.
Jin-woo listed his gloves for 2 gold 50 silver. ($250)
He stood at his stall and waited.
Players walked past. Some stopped to look. Most kept walking. Rare items were expensive. Most players at this level didn't have 2 gold saved up.
Six minutes passed. A mage in blue robes stopped at Jin-woo's stall. The mage examined the gloves, checking the stats and the price.
"I'll buy them," the mage said.
The trade window opened. The mage placed 2 gold 50 silver in the trade slot. Jin-woo placed the gloves in his slot. Both players confirmed.
Trade completed
The gloves disappeared from Jin-woo's inventory. His gold count updated: 2 gold 83 silver.
"Good price, thanks," the mage said. Then he walked away.
Jin-woo closed his stall and stood in the marketplace. He opened his inventory and looked at his gold count. 2 gold 83 silver. That was $283 in real money.
He had never seen this much money in the game before. He had never seen this much money in his bank account in months.
Jin-woo logged out immediately. He removed his VR headset and grabbed his phone. His hands were shaking slightly.
He opened the ERO currency exchange website. He entered the amount: 2 gold 00 silver. (He kept 83 silver in the game for expenses.)
The conversion rate showed: $200.00 USD.
Jin-woo confirmed the transaction. The website processed for three seconds. Then it displayed:
Transaction Complete
2 gold 00 silver converted to $200.00 USD
Funds transferred to linked account
Jin-woo opened his banking app. He refreshed the page.
Account balance: $587.23
His credit card payment was due tomorrow—minimum payment of $85. He opened the credit card app and scheduled a payment for $200. The payment processed immediately.
Credit card balance: $3,247.18 → $3,047.18
It was the first time in six months that Jin-woo had made more than a minimum payment on his credit card.
He put his phone down and sat on his futon. The apartment was quiet. Outside, cars drove past on the street. Somewhere above him, his neighbor's TV played a muffled action movie.
Jin-woo looked at his phone screen again. $387.23 in his bank account. $3,047.18 on his credit card instead of $3,247.18.
The payday loan was due in 19 days. He needed $1,232 total. He had made $587.23 so far. He needed $644.77 more.
At his current rate—$100 to $150 per day from dungeons—he could make that in five or six days. Maybe sooner if he got another rare drop.
"This is actually working," Jin-woo said.
He stood up and walked to his kitchen corner. He still had rice and eggs. He cooked a bowl and ate it slowly. Then he drank water from his electric kettle and went back to his futon.
The VR headset sat on the floor, charging. Jin-woo looked at it. He could log back in. He could run another dungeon tonight. Make another $30 or $40 before sleep.
But he was tired. His eyes hurt. His neck was stiff. His head had a dull ache from twelve hours of VR use.
Jin-woo lay down on his futon without logging back in. He set his phone alarm for 7:00 AM. Tomorrow he would run dungeons all day. Tomorrow he would make more money.
Tonight, for the first time in months, Jin-woo fell asleep without anxiety crushing his chest. The debt was still there. The eviction notice was still taped to his wall. The problems hadn't disappeared.
But the math was working. He was making progress. And for tonight, that was enough.