Jin-woo was about to head back to the quest board when text appeared in the corner of his vision—a message in what the interface labeled as "World Chat." It was a public channel visible to all players in the region.
[World Chat] SwordKing: LF2M wolf pack hunting, levels 3-5, east plains. Need DPS and healer.
Jin-woo paused. LF2M meant "looking for two more" players. Wolf pack hunting. He'd been solo grinding this entire time, but parties could tackle bigger challenges, handle groups of enemies that would be suicide for a solo player. More enemies meant more drops, potentially more money.
But parties also meant coordination, communication, trusting other people not to make fatal mistakes. Jin-woo had been burned by other people his entire life—coworkers who got him fired, employers who exploited him, even his own inability to work well with others had contributed to his current situation.
Still, he was level 4 now, with decent stats. And if this party was hunting wolf packs, the drops would be better than solo grinding.
Jin-woo opened his interface and navigated to the whisper function. He selected SwordKing's name from the world chat and typed a message:
[Whisper to SwordKing] Jin Park: I'm level 4 warrior, can I join?
The response came back within seconds:
[Whisper from SwordKing] SwordKing: Sure, we need another tank. Come to east plains, near the big oak tree. You'll see us.
Jin-woo felt a small flutter of anxiety. Tank. That meant he'd be on the front line, taking hits, keeping enemies off the more fragile party members. He'd been doing that solo anyway, but in a party, other people would be counting on him not to screw up.
He pushed the anxiety down and headed for the east gate. The walk took about ten minutes, and when he emerged onto the plains, he could see the landmark SwordKing had mentioned—a massive oak tree, easily fifty feet tall, standing alone in the grassland about three hundred yards from the gate.
Three players were waiting beneath the tree. Jin-woo approached and examined them.
SwordKing was a male human warrior, level 5, wearing a full set of iron armor that was noticeably better than Jin-woo's basic leather. A proper iron sword and shield were equipped, and his nameplate glowed with a faint blue aura that suggested some kind of title or achievement. His character was tall and broad-shouldered, the kind of avatar that screamed "main tank."
MageGirl99 was a female elf mage, level 4, wearing flowing blue robes and carrying an ornate wooden staff topped with a glowing crystal. Her character had the typical elf features—sharp features, pointed ears, ethereal beauty. Sparkles of magical energy occasionally flickered around her hands.
HealBot was a male human priest, level 3, wearing simple white robes with a holy symbol hanging around his neck. He carried no weapon, just a leather-bound tome that presumably contained his healing spells. His avatar looked younger than the others, maybe a teenager.
"You Jin Park?" SwordKing asked as Jin-woo approached. His voice came through the game's voice chat system, slightly tinny but clear. He sounded like he was in his early twenties, confident.
"Yeah," Jin-woo replied, his own voice activating his microphone. "Level 4 warrior."
"Cool. I'm SwordKing, main tank. That's MageGirl99, our DPS. And HealBot is our healer." SwordKing gestured to each player as he introduced them. "You'll be off-tank. That means you grab any wolves I can't hold, keep them off the mage and healer. Can you do that?"
"I can do that," Jin-woo said.
"Sweet." SwordKing opened a party interface, and an invitation appeared in Jin-woo's vision:
Party Invitation from SwordKing Accept?
Jin-woo accepted. His interface updated, showing four health bars now—his own plus his three party members. Party chat became available, separate from world chat.
"Alright, here's how this works," SwordKing explained. "Wolf packs spawn in groups of four to six. We pull a pack, I grab aggro on as many as I can, Jin tanks the ones I miss. MageGirl hits them with Fireball—she's got area damage. HealBot keeps us alive. Clear?"
"Clear," Jin-woo said.
"I'm good," MageGirl99 chimed in. Her voice was young, maybe high school age, enthusiastic.
"Ready," HealBot said quietly. His voice was even younger, definitely a teenager. Maybe fourteen or fifteen.
SwordKing started walking east, and the party followed. Jin-woo noticed the formation naturally falling into place—SwordKing in front, Jin-woo slightly behind and to the left, MageGirl99 and HealBot in the back. It was the classic MMO party formation: tanks in front, squishies in back.
They walked for about five minutes before spotting the first wolf pack. Six wolves were gathered around what looked like the remains of a kill, growling and snapping at each other over the carcass. Their nameplates read: Pack Wolf - Level 4.
Level 4 wolves. Jin-woo had only fought level 2-3 wolves before. These would be tougher, but he had the party now.
"Standard pull," SwordKing said, his voice calm and professional. "I'll grab first. Jin, watch for any that peel off. MageGirl, count to three then start casting. HealBot, focus heals on me until Jin gets aggro, then split between us. Ready?"
A chorus of confirmations.
SwordKing charged forward, his sword and shield raised. He crashed into the pack with a skill Jin-woo hadn't seen before—his body glowed briefly, and when he hit the wolves, there was a shockwave effect. All six wolves immediately turned on him, their attention fully focused.
"Taunt skill," SwordKing said calmly, even as six wolves began biting and clawing at him. His health bar dropped quickly: 180/200. 165/200. 151/200.
"Healing!" HealBot called out, and his tome glowed with golden light. A beam shot from the book to SwordKing, and the warrior's health bar jumped up: 180/200.
"Fireball!" MageGirl99 shouted, and her staff erupted with flame. A sphere of fire the size of a basketball launched from the crystal and sailed toward the wolf pack. It exploded on impact, engulfing three of the wolves in flame.
Damage numbers appeared: -22, -24, -21.
The wolves' health bars all dropped significantly. But the explosion also broke SwordKing's taunt on two of the wolves. They turned and spotted MageGirl99, identifying her as a threat. They broke from the pack and charged toward her.
"Jin! Grab them!" SwordKing yelled, his voice still calm despite being swarmed by four wolves.
Jin-woo was already moving. He intercepted the two wolves before they reached MageGirl99, positioning himself between them and the mage. He swung his sword at the first wolf, landing a solid hit: -19 damage.
The wolf's attention shifted to him. It lunged, and Jin-woo blocked with his sword. -8 damage through the block. His health: 147/155.
The second wolf attacked from his side, biting his leg. -12 damage. His health: 135/155.
"Healing you!" HealBot called, and golden light washed over Jin-woo. His health jumped: 155/155.
Jin-woo focused on keeping the two wolves engaged with him. He swung at one, then the other, making sure both stayed focused on him instead of running past to the squishies. It was harder than solo fighting—he had to manage two enemies while being aware of party positioning, making sure he didn't accidentally back into the mage or healer.
Behind him, he could hear MageGirl99 casting another spell. "Fireball!"
Another explosion, more damage numbers. SwordKing's four wolves were getting low on health. One died, dissolving into particles. Then another.
Jin-woo's two wolves were also weakening. He focused on the one with lower health, landing a critical hit to its neck: -28 damage. The wolf died.
The remaining wolf tried to run past him again, but Jin-woo grabbed it with a sword slash to its haunches. -17 damage. It turned back on him, biting his arm. -11 damage.
"Almost done!" SwordKing called. His last two wolves died almost simultaneously, caught by another Fireball from MageGirl99.
Jin-woo finished his wolf with a thrust to its chest. -19 damage. The creature dissolved.
The fight was over. All six wolves dead. The entire engagement had taken maybe ninety seconds.
Jin-woo's health was at 144/155—he'd only taken a few hits total, and HealBot had kept him topped off. His stamina was at 98/130, which was manageable.
The loot materialized in six spots around them. SwordKing quickly looted everything, and the party interface automatically distributed the currency:
Each Party Member Received: 22 copper
Plus items appeared in Jin-woo's inventory—wolf fangs, a wolf pelt. The party was using round-robin loot distribution, cycling items between party members.
"Nice work," SwordKing said, his voice approving. "Jin, good off-tank. You picked up those adds fast."
"Thanks," Jin-woo replied.
"That was fun!" MageGirl99 said enthusiastically. "My Fireball is so strong now! Did you see those crits?"
"Good heals, HealBot," SwordKing added.
"Thanks," the priest said quietly.
Twenty-two copper for ninety seconds of work. If they could maintain that pace, if they could chain pull packs without much downtime... Jin-woo did the quick math. That was potentially 50-60 copper per pack if they averaged five wolves per pack and counted the item drops. If they could kill a pack every two minutes, that was thirty packs per hour, which was...
The numbers were promising.
"Next pack," SwordKing said, already moving. "Stay sharp."
They found the second pack about two minutes later. Five wolves this time, level 3-4, spread out near a rocky outcropping. The formation was less ideal—the wolves weren't grouped as tightly.
"Same strategy," SwordKing said. "I'll grab initial aggro. MageGirl, wait for them to group before casting."
He charged in, his taunt skill activating with that same glowing effect. Four of the wolves turned on him immediately. But one wolf—a level 4 on the far edge—didn't get caught by the taunt. It spotted the party and charged straight toward HealBot.
"Wolf on healer!" Jin-woo called, already moving to intercept.
But MageGirl99 panicked. Instead of waiting for Jin-woo to grab the wolf, she cast Fireball immediately. "Fireball!"
The explosion hit the wolf charging HealBot, but it also hit three other wolves that weren't part of the current pack—a separate group that had been resting behind the rocks. The area-of-effect damage aggroed all three of them.
Suddenly there were eight wolves instead of five.
"Oh no!" MageGirl99 squeaked.
"Scatter!" SwordKing yelled, but it was too late.
The three new wolves swarmed the backline. Two went for MageGirl99, one for HealBot. Jin-woo tried to intercept, but he was out of position, too far away. He managed to grab one wolf off MageGirl99, but the other bit into her cloth robes.
Her health bar plummeted: 85/100. 69/100. 51/100. Cloth armor offered almost no physical defense.
"Help!" MageGirl99 screamed, backing away.
HealBot was in even worse shape. The wolf on him had him on the ground, biting repeatedly. His health: 42/80. 28/80. 15/80.
"Heal yourself!" SwordKing shouted, but HealBot was panicking, not casting.
Jin-woo killed the wolf he'd intercepted and ran toward HealBot, but he was too slow. The wolf bit the priest's throat, and HealBot's health hit zero.
HealBot's body dissolved into light particles.
[Party] HealBot has died.
Without the healer, the situation deteriorated rapidly. SwordKing was tanking five wolves alone now, his health dropping without healing: 98/200. 71/200. 49/200.
MageGirl99 was still running from her wolf, casting Fireball in desperation. The explosion killed her wolf but also hit SwordKing's group, adding more chaos.
"Wipe! Just wipe!" SwordKing yelled, meaning they should accept death and respawn rather than drag it out.
Jin-woo's wolf bit his neck. His health: 87/155. Another bite: 71/155. He tried to fight back, but there were too many wolves now, the situation too far gone.
MageGirl99 died next, overwhelmed by two wolves that broke from SwordKing's group.
[Party] MageGirl99 has died.
SwordKing died three seconds later, his health depleted by the five wolves on him.
[Party] SwordKing has died.
Jin-woo was the last one standing, surrounded by seven wolves. He fought desperately, killed one, then another. But the third wolf bit his leg, the fourth his arm, the fifth his chest.
His health hit zero.
The world flashed red, then white. The death message appeared:
YOU HAVE DIED
Death Penalty:
6-hour login restriction10% experience loss (80 XP lost)Respawning at last visited safe zone
Time until login access restored: 5:59:58
The VR interface disconnected. Jin-woo pulled off his headset and sat in his apartment, his heart pounding from the adrenaline of the failed fight.
Six hours. Six hours locked out because someone in his party had panicked and pulled extra enemies. Six hours he could have been grinding, earning money.
Jin-woo checked his phone: 1:23 PM. He wouldn't be able to log back in until after 7 PM tonight. Half a day of potential earnings, gone.
He navigated back to the ERO interface to check the party chat, but the party had already disbanded. A whisper notification was waiting:
[Whisper from SwordKing] SwordKing: Ugh, I have school anyway. That sucked. Bye.
That was it. No apology for the wipe, no plan to regroup later. Just "bye."
Jin-woo closed the interface and sat in his silent apartment, the frustration building. This was the problem with parties. Other people made mistakes, and you paid the price. MageGirl99's panic pull had cost them all six hours of playtime.
His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten since the instant noodles this morning. Jin-woo walked to his tiny kitchen area and grabbed one of his remaining three packages of instant noodles. He prepared it mechanically, the hot water turning the dried block into something approximating food.
While the noodles softened, he opened his phone and checked his bank account: -$126.48 still. He'd earned over eighteen silver in ERO today, but he hadn't converted it to real money yet. The exchange terminal required being logged in.
Jin-woo ate his noodles slowly, the cheap artificial flavoring barely registering. When he finished, he had nothing to do but wait. Six hours stretched ahead like a desert.
He opened the ERO forums and started reading, diving back into the guides and strategy threads. If he couldn't play, he could at least learn. His bookmarks were filling up with useful information—crafting guides, dungeon strategies, rare drop locations, efficient leveling routes.
The afternoon crawled by. Jin-woo dozed on his futon for a while, his mind too restless for real sleep. When he woke, it was 4:47 PM. Still over two hours until he could log back in.
He spent the time researching more, making notes, planning his approach for when the lockout ended. Solo grinding was safer. Slower, but safer. No one to mess up but himself.
When 7:23 PM finally arrived and his lockout ended, Jin-woo was ready. He put on the headset immediately and logged back in.