Jin-woo logged in at 7:00 AM. He traveled back to Rotwood Forest—two hours of walking again to save the teleport fee.
When he arrived, he headed to a clearing deeper in the forest where he had found good bandit spawns yesterday. The clearing was roughly circular, about forty meters across, with six or seven bandits wandering around at any given time.
Jin-woo approached the first bandit and started fighting. The battle went like yesterday—Power Strike on cooldown, normal attacks between, health potions when needed. The bandit died after two minutes and forty seconds.
+93 Experience
Loot: 9 copper and a dagger.
Jin-woo rested against a tree while his health regenerated. He checked his experience bar: 2,634/4,500 to level 14. He needed about 20 more bandits.
When his health reached 230 HP, he stood up and looked for the next bandit.
That's when he saw another player enter the clearing.
The player was a warrior, like Jin-woo. Heavy plate armor, much better quality than Jin-woo's leather and iron pieces. A two-handed sword on his back—rare quality, glowing with a blue enchantment. His username floated above his head: DarkSlayer - Level 17.
DarkSlayer walked into the center of the clearing. He stopped and looked at Jin-woo. Then he typed in the area chat:
[DarkSlayer]: This is my spot, find your own
Jin-woo looked around the clearing. There were five bandits currently spawned. Enough for both of them.
Jin-woo typed back:
[Jin Park]: There are bandits everywhere
DarkSlayer walked toward Jin-woo. He stopped three meters away.
[DarkSlayer]: Don't care, leave
Jin-woo ignored him. He turned toward the nearest bandit and started walking.
"Wrong choice," DarkSlayer said. His character's voice came through Jin-woo's headset—the player had switched to voice chat.
A notification appeared in Jin-woo's interface:
Warning: Player DarkSlayer has initiated PvP combat with you!
You have 5 seconds to accept or flee. If you take no action, combat will begin automatically.
Jin-woo stopped walking. He turned around. DarkSlayer had already drawn his two-handed sword. The blade was enormous, at least as tall as Jin-woo's character.
The 5-second timer counted down: 4... 3... 2... 1...
PvP Combat Initiated
DarkSlayer charged. He crossed the three meters in less than a second. His sword swung in a wide horizontal arc.
Jin-woo tried to block with his sword, but DarkSlayer's blade smashed through his guard. The attack hit Jin-woo's chest with massive force.
-187 damage
Jin-woo's health: 83/270 HP.
One hit. Just one hit had taken almost 70% of his health.
Jin-woo stumbled backward. DarkSlayer didn't pause. He swung his sword again, this time vertically from top to bottom.
Jin-woo rolled to the side. The sword hit the ground where he had been standing, leaving a small crater in the dirt.
Jin-woo activated Power Strike. He charged the attack while moving backward, trying to create distance. DarkSlayer walked forward calmly, his sword raised.
Two seconds passed. Jin-woo released Power Strike. His sword came up and hit DarkSlayer's armored leg.
-43 damage
DarkSlayer's health: 557/600 HP.
The attack barely scratched him.
DarkSlayer laughed. "Cute," he said.
He activated a skill. His sword glowed red, similar to Power Strike but brighter. He charged forward with incredible speed and swung.
The attack hit Jin-woo's shoulder.
CRITICAL! -198 damage
Jin-woo's health: 0/270 HP.
Jin-woo's vision went black. A notification appeared:
You have been killed by DarkSlayer
Death Penalty:
- 10% of carried money dropped (50 silver)
- 200 Experience lost
- 6-hour login lockout
Respawning at nearest safe zone...
The screen faded. Three seconds later, Jin-woo's character appeared at the Rotwood Forest village entrance. Other players walked around him, going about their business. No one paid attention to the dead player respawning.
Jin-woo opened his inventory. His money count had dropped from 5 silver and 83 copper to 83 copper. The 50 silver he had been carrying—gone. Dropped on the ground where he died, automatically looted by DarkSlayer.
Jin-woo checked his experience bar: 2,434/4,500 to level 14. He had lost 200 experience. That was two bandits worth of grinding, gone.
And now he had a 6-hour login lockout. He couldn't play until 2:00 PM.
Jin-woo sat there in the village, staring at the lockout timer counting down on his screen. 5:59:47... 5:59:46... 5:59:45...
"Shit," Jin-woo said. "Lost money and time."
He logged out. The VR interface disconnected. He removed his headset and checked his phone. The time was 8:03 AM.
Six hours until he could play again. Six hours of sitting in his apartment with nothing to do. Six hours of not earning money.
Jin-woo put his headset down and walked to his kitchen corner. He made rice and ate it slowly. Then he opened his laptop and searched for information about PvP in Eternal Realm Online.
The forums had entire sections dedicated to PvP. Posts about builds, tactics, gear, and—most importantly—how to avoid it.
One post explained: "PvP is enabled in all zones except cities and starter areas. Other players can attack you at any time. If you die in PvP, you drop 10% of carried money and lose experience. Best strategy: don't carry more than you can afford to lose. Bank your money frequently. Avoid high-traffic grinding spots where PvP is common."
Another post: "If someone tries to claim a grinding spot, just leave. Fighting over spots is never worth it unless you know you can win. A death costs more than finding a new spot."
Jin-woo read for an hour. Then he closed his laptop and lay down on his futon. He set his phone alarm for 2:00 PM and tried to sleep.
The lesson was clear: avoid PvP unless necessary. The cost was too high. Money, time, experience—all lost in thirty seconds of combat against a higher-level player with better gear.
Jin-woo closed his eyes. Six hours until he could try again.