…
"Hey Roderick!" Seoyeon yelled out,
Roderick looked towards him and smiled, "Seoyeon! Over here!"
Seoyeon glanced up at the sign of the apartment block,
"Mattea Apartments"
"Mattea?" Seoyeon asked,
Roderick laughed,
"Ah! That's because the apartment also has a tea store inside of it!"
"Really? Woah." Seoyeon's gaze fell onto the interior of the apartment's lobby.
It was clean, neat, and elegant.
The chandelier at the top, the plants around the lobby, the modern chairs and table, the marble floor.
"Damn, this is WAY nicer than my old apartment back on Earth." He thought to himself.
Roderick approached the main desk with Seoyeon,
"Hey there, miss! This is my friend, he wants to get a room here for 200 Credits!"
The friendly receptionist smiled, she brought out a flyer,
"Ah! Of course, sir. Here we have our 200 Credit rooms but we can also upgrade your room to a nice, spacious, suite for another 200 Credits!"
Seoyeon shook his head,
"It's fine. Just give me the 200 Credit room please."
The receptionist nodded,
"Of course, we charge the payment every week but the payment is upfront. You'll pay now and get the room for a week until you'll have to pay again."
"Oh, alright." Seoyeon replied,
He brought out his system and manifested 200 Credits into the palm of his hand.
…
[Han Seoyeon]
[2,700 Credits]
…
He thought to himself,
"Right, clearing the
The receptionist took the 200 Credits and absorbed it, then she went under the desk and brought out a key.
"This is the key to your room, your room is room 8 on the second floor." She said as she waved goodbye to Roderick and Seoyeon, both of whom went up the stairs.
"Well, my room's on the 3rd floor, I'll be seeing you around, Seoyeon!"
Seoyeon walked past several doors on the way to his room,
"Room 08"
He inserted the key and twisted it as the door unlocked, creaking when he opened it.
*Click*
The dark room lit up as Seoyeon flicked the light switch on.
The room was big, bigger than his previous apartment on Earth, the bed was nice and comfortable, there was a bathroom with all the necessary essentials, and a flatscreen TV was mounted on the wall facing the bed.
It was modern and sleek, something you'd see in Mokdong, a room that Seoyeon never even imagined of being in.
He went to the bed and jumped face-first, the comfortable bed softened his fall as the soft and cozy pillows smothered his face.
"Maan… This is awesome!"
Seoyeon rolled around in bed before pulling out his phone.
[6:32 PM]
…
"Hm, I'd normally open my phone up to a bunch of messages from them…"
"Man… I need to find them again, Jieun and Hyeonjun…"
"Well, no point in worrying about it now. Besides, they're skilled too, I'm sure they're leveling up somewhere in a dungeon."
He raises his head and looks at the TV—looking around for the remote—he grabs the remote from the bedside drawer beside the lamp and turns the TV on.
" —Now for player-related news…" The TV buzzed and flicked on, the sound of the news reporter filling the once quiet room.
"Oh?" This piqued Seoyeon's curiosity.
" —Player Andy Kailer, and Player Li Yichen have reportedly cleared the
However, American spokesperson and Level 28 player, Wilson Alegra, has stated that while the two are working closely together, there is more of a friendly rivalry between the two as they strive to defeat the Horizon Tower as quickly as possible and return back to Earth.
Chinese Level 37 Player Li Yichen reportedly has a "Brotherly bond" with American Level 34 Player, Andy Kailer—"
"Well… I didn't quite expect this." Seoyeon remarked.
"The governments of Earth have already formed their own factions, huh? Are they mere diplomatic factions or actual guilds?"
Guilds—a common feature amongst MMORPG games, in Withering Moon, guilds allowed hundreds, thousands, or even millions of players to band together and unite under one banner.
However, it was also a fragile balance, as betrayal was highly likely amongst the top guilds, and Withering Moon suffered constant strife and war between large guilds.
Seoyeon laughed,
"Ah… Politics will get in the way of many players, I'm sure the large guilds of the past Withering Moon are already starting to reunite… It won't be long before a large guild becomes more powerful than a nation's government."
…
"Anyways… That's a problem for the future…"
He yawns,
"Jeez, I'm tired."
"Come to think of it, manhwa protagonists always seem to have an endless amount of stamina… I mean, they fight for hours on end in dungeons and then take a 5 minute sit and they're suddenly recharged…"
"How do they do it…—"
As Seoyeon ponders the question, he falls asleep.
…
Some time later.
…
Seoyeon rubs his eyes as his long hair cascades past his shoulders, he gets up and looks in the mirror.
His hair's messy, his clothes are unkempt, and his eyes feel heavy.
He yawns,
"What's the time…"
Opening up his phone, the dim light blinds him as he readjusts his vision…
"Huh!?"
[9:44 AM]
"How tired was I…"
Then, he notices a notification on his phone, it was from Roderick.
[Roderick Martin | 7:33 AM]
["Hey Seoyeon! Seems like you're still asleep, I tried knocking but you didn't respond, I'm out on a dungeon clearing quest with a party. If you happen to wake up before 10:30 AM, make your way to Veilon Hills ASAP so you can join us! See you there!"]
…
Seoyeon hurriedly went into the bathroom and took a shower, making sure not to waste even a single second.
He sprinted out of the bathroom after showering and put on his only set of clothes which were still messy and had some blood leftover from the fight he had yesterday.
"Ah… The receptionist and Roderick must see it all the time given that this is a player apartment, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see a player with bloodstained clothes, especially after a raid or a quest."
…
After putting on his clothes and combing his hair with his fingers, he grabbed his phone and headed out of the apartment with his key in his pocket.
While sprinting down the stairs, he had a thought;
"Wait, can't I…"
He put the keys to his apartment in his palm…
…
"Nggh!!" He focused as much as he could…
However, the keys didn't go into his inventory, "Ah… I guess there are still constraints."
"Whatever." He muttered as he put the key back in his pocket.
He passed by the front desk as he waved the receptionist goodbye, heading out of the apartment.
Seoyeon raised his hand and called for a taxi as a car pulled up next to him,
He went in, the driver glanced at him and asked,
"Where to?"
"Veilon Hills, please."
The driver rushed off as the car screeched, going fast across the highway.
Veilon Hills—a common location for beginner players as it contained some basic dungeons that could be raided over and over again, resetting every 24 hours.
Then,
"Speaking of 24 hours…"
Seoyeon remembered and manifested the SSS-Class Credit Card.
[SSS-Class Credit Card]
[Level 1]
…
"Since this thing resets every 12:00 AM at midnight…"
[You have converted 150 Stored Credits into 150 Credits.]
"Nice."
…
Then, he remembered the XP he obtained from yesterday, and decided to try leveling up the item.
[Would you like to allocate available XP to
[Yes]
…
[SSS-Class Credit Card]
[Level 3]
"Sweet!"
[Capacity: 300 Credits]
[Stored Credits 150/300 Credits]
…
[You have converted 150 Stored Credits into 150 Credits.]
"Okay, great, with this I should now have…"
[Han Seoyeon]
[3,000 Credits]
"Alright! Now I just need to increase the level even more and soon enough I'll have free Credits every day without even going into dungeons… Still, I need to level up myself as fast as I can so I can get started with the
The Gacha system is a feature unlocked when a player reaches Level 10 (Seoyeon's current level: Level 8). It allows players to summon characters and unlocks an entirely new element of gameplay for Withering Moon—team management, character management, and base building.
…
As the taxi drove on the highway, Seoyeon saw many cars, trucks, and buses pass by, all filled with people.
He thought to himself,
"It really is strange, isn't it… Just a few days ago, I would've thought nothing more of it… Now, it's no longer just a game… And they're no longer just characters on a screen."
…
Skyscrapers, malls, stores, restaurants, apartments, hotels, and houses—varying buildings—all scattered across the city as the taxi passed by them all.
All of which were filled with people who all had their own stories and lives. Withering Moon was no longer just a game… Or maybe it was never a game to begin with.
An ominous and foreboding pressure weighed down on Seoyeon.
"..." He fell silent, deep in thought…
…
Soon after,
"We're here!" The taxi driver yelled out.
Seoyeon got out of the taxi after paying the fare and gazed at the beautiful rolling hills with blades of grass and flowers spanning the horizon.
Then, at the center of it all, stood a massive stone gate with a crowd of people surrounding it.
…
Seoyeon walked towards them. As he slowly got closer, he heard several players talking about the dungeon.
Then,
"Seoyeon!"
Seoyeon heard a familiar voice calling out to him; he turned his head and saw Roderick waving.
He approached Roderick who seemed to be accompanied by 3 other players.
"Hey, Roderick!" Seoyeon yelled out as he got near.
The two greeted each other as Roderick turned to face his teammates.
"This is Seoyeon." He said as he gestured towards him.
"She's the newbie that'll be joining us?" One of them asked,
"HE is. He's new to Withering Moon and I wanted him to come with us to experience his first dungeon raid!" Roderick said enthusiastically.
Seoyeon raised his eyebrow but didn't dare speak up,
'I probably shouldn't reveal that I'm a veteran at this game just yet—let alone the one who defeated floor 100…"
"He? Ah, it doesn't matter. Welcome to the team, as long as he can fight then it's fine with me."
…
"Oh, right. Seoyeon, let me introduce you to them!"
He pointed at the team members one by one…
However, Seoyeon already knew more about them than Roderick with his newfound ability.
…
"This is Fritz Wagner, he's from Germany."
Roderick pointed to a friendly man who seemed to be the same age as him, with long gray hair and a long, messy beard. His unkempt clothes—a white shirt, gray pants, and long brown coat—were as dirty as the longsword he had on his waist.
His face was wrinkled, with scars on his mouth, and lips dry…
Fritz smiled and put out the cigarette he had been smoking, he approached Seoyeon and gestured for a handshake, "Nice to meet you." He said.
Seoyeon took his hand for a handshake, he remarked of Fritz' strong and firm grip with his large hands and muscular arms.
"Fritz is the main swordsman of the team, so make sure to rely on him when you're in trouble, alright? Haha!" Roderick added.
Roderick turned and redirected Seoyeon's attention to a young woman with long dark blue hair and deep blue eyes—she donned mage's robes with blue linings and symbols. Her staff was made of wood with a blue gemstone on the staff's head.
"This is our mage, Alice Alarough! Can you guess what element her skills are mainly based off of?" Roderick asked Seoyeon with a sly smile.
"Uh… Water—" Before Seoyeon could finish, Roderick interjected,
"Wrong! Don't let her appearance fool you! She's a fire mage!"
…
"Oh! Cool." Seoyeon remarked as Alice approached for a fistbump with Seoyeon,
"Welcome to the team."
"She's the same age as you, Seoyeon!"
"Oh, really? Cool."
…
Roderick's face went flat as he mocked Seoyeon,
"Could you be any colder… ???"
"Hm? That's just how I talk." Seoyeon smirked,
"Geez… Whatever." Roderick scratched his head, amused by Seoyeon's attitude.
…
"Last but not least! We have the party's team leader! Gorou Matsumoto! He's just a year older than you!"
Roderick pointed to a stern-looking, handsome young man, Seoyeon had a hard time describing it, but when looking at him, he thought that Gorou looked like a protagonist from a Japanese Manga.
"Nice to meet you."
Gorou reached out for a handshake.
"Same here." Seoyeon replied.
Roderick,
"Well, now that everyone here is acquainted with each other! Let's start the raid!"
Before leaving, Seoyeon made sure of all the information at his disposal before starting the raid, making sure not to leave a single stone unturned, remembering every tiny miniscule detail.
…
[
Then, Seoyeon saw several interfaces open up, listing down the stats and information of everyone around him.
…
[Fritz Wagner]
[Level 6]
[Skills: Sword Mastery LVL 3, Combat Intuition LVL 2, Sword Handling LVL 2]
[Stats: Agility (Evasion) 11, Luck 10, Strength 15, Dexterity 13, Speed 10, Vitality 10, Mana 10]
…
[Alice Alarough]
[Level 5]
[Skills: Archmage's Fireball LVL 2, Infernal Lair LVL 1, Lava Pool LVL 1, Fire Creation LVL 4]
[Stats: Agility (Evasion) 12, Luck 12, Strength 10, Dexterity 11, Speed 10, Vitality 10, Mana 14]
…
[Roderick Martin]
[Level 7]
[Skills: Greatsword Lifting LVL 4, Shield Adept LVL 2, Honorable Charge LVL 2, Dignified Stand LVL 2]
[Stats: Agility (Evasion) 11, Luck 10, Strength 16, Dexterity 11, Speed 10, Vitality 15, Mana 10]
Roderick manifested his greatsword and shield from his inventory as he made lifting the greatsword look easy despite its massive size.
[Han Seoyeon]
[Level 8]
[Skills: Eye of Criticality (NO LVL)]
[Stats: Agility (Evasion) 14, Luck 12, Strength 14, Dexterity 12, Speed 12, Vitality 12, Mana 12]
…
However, one person's stats stood out from the rest…
Seoyeon's eyes widened as he looked at Gorou's stats,
"No way…"
…
[Warning! The target's level is higher than the user, information will be limited.]
…
[Gorou Matsumoto]
[Level 16]
[Skills: Demon Swordmaster's Sword Aura LVL ?, Swordmaster's Absolute Swordsmanship LVL ?, Imperial Defense and Endurance LVL ?, Rapid Cognition LVL ?, Combat Intuition LVL ?]
[Stats: Agility (Evasion) ?, Luck ?, Strength ?, Dexterity ?, Speed ?, Vitality ?, Mana ?]
"What the hell!?" Seoyeon thought.
"How did this get so many skills… Wait… Did he arrive earlier than the rest of us? That'd make sense…"
…
"Jeez… Is this guy really the protagonist or something!?"
He sighed,
"Well… At least there's someone strong on the team."
"What're you waiting for, Seoyeon? C'mere!" Roderick called out to Seoyeon to follow him.
Seoyeon walked up to them as they went near the dungeon gate.
Then, they overheard some players arguing nearby,
"Hey! Are you crazy!? You said this was an F-Class Dungeon!? So why the hell were there orcs in there?"
The player held another player onto the ground, ready to punch him.
"It is! I swear! My ability
The other players nearby started gossiping and arguing amongst themselves too…
"Now, now. Everyone, calm down! What seems to be the problem?" Roderick asked the furious player.
"Huh!? What's it to you, geezer?"
Seoyeon felt a momentary murderous intent from Gorou as he unsheathed his sword and put it up to the player's neck,
"Didn't you hear him? Calm down."
A drop of sweat rolled down Seoyeon's face as he smiled nervously,
"I'm glad he's on our team. Hehe…"
"F-fine! My teammates! They're all still stuck in there because of a bunch of orcs! Orcs normally never spawn in F-Class dungeons!"
…
The others looked at each other in confusion… Suddenly,
"An ambush dungeon." Seoyeon spoke up with convictment, the others looked at him, his face was serious and stern.
"I've never seen him this serious, he looks scary… Like someone you should never cross swords with…" Roderick muttered to himself.
Seoyeon continued to elaborate, "An ambush dungeon is a special type of dungeon… It's pretty rare but with how many dungeons there are in the world… Always prepare for one when raiding a dungeon."
…
"Ambush dungeons appear low-ranked on the outside, but when a certain trigger is activated within the dungeon itself, the difficulty increases significantly… If orcs are spawning, then it's likely to be a D-Class dungeon."
"A-A D-Class dungeon!?" The player yelled out.
Gorou interrupted him,
"Calm down. I'm level 16, me and my teammates will clear the dungeon and save your team."
The player had a sparkle of hope in his eyes,
"T-thank you so much!"
Gorou turned back to the rest of them,
…
"Our goal now is to save those players."
The rest nodded as they walked closer to the dungeon's gate—the gate opened up and a portal was revealed…
Roderick, Seoyeon, Gorou, Fritz, and Alice all walked into the portal together.
"A D-Rank dungeon, huh? Exciting." Fritz said unenthusiastically.
"Let's not die, alright fellas?" Alice laughed.
"Ha! As if I'd let any one of you die on my watch!" Roderick's enthusiasm and optimism shone like a beacon of hope.
…
Gorou glanced at the others before looking forwards once more,
"Let's do this."
…
Seoyeon smiled,
"Mhm."
"Let's go."
[You have entered the dungeon: