"Finally… my hundredth win. YESSS!"
I exclaimed loudly as I clenched my fist, sitting alone in the middle of my dark room while playing my favorite MMORPG, Ashfall Eternity.
This was an incredible moment for me, someone who had been detached from reality for a long time.
My name is Joseph. I'm a 32-year-old man, a former IT employee, and currently a bum who doesn't even go to work.
I live off the insurance money my mother left behind after she died a few months ago in a sudden accident.
If I had to describe my life in one word…
Shit.
I'm trash, and a coward who couldn't even handle simple jobs that everyone else could do.
I always struggled with work-related stress.
I've already quit six different jobs, and none of them lasted more than six months before I broke down and gave up.
Still, I gritted my teeth and tried my best.
I did it so my mother, the only person I could truly call family would be happy knowing that I was doing fine.
But a few months ago, exactly eight and a half months ago, my mother died in a car accident while returning home after buying vegetables for lunch.
At that moment, my entire world collapsed.
After that, I completely gave up.
I locked myself in my room and wasted my days away.
That was when I stumbled upon a game on YouTube.
Curious, I decided to try it.
That game was Ashfall Eternity.
And I won't lie, it was one hell of a game.
Not only did it keep me entertained, it also kept me away from reality.
I loved this game from the bottom of my heart.
This MMORPG had an absurd number of classes and systems, making players deeply immersed in its gameplay.
There were 101 jobs players could choose from, such as Warrior, Knight, Berserker, Paladin, Dark Knight, Gladiator, Vanguard, Warlord, Sentinel, Crusader, Rogue, Assassin, Shadowblade, Nightstalker, Phantom, Trickster, Cutthroat, Blade Dancer, Silent Fang, Executioner, Mage, Wizard, Sorcerer, Archmage, Spellblade, Arcanist, Elementalist, Battlemage, Rune Caster, Void Magus, Necromancer, Deathcaller, Gravebinder, Lich Adept, Soul Reaper, Bone Weaver, Corpse Summoner, Dread Occultist, Spirit Tamer, Black Ritualist, Summoner, Beastmaster, Demonologist, Familiar Caller, Eidolon Binder, Pact Weaver, Chimera Lord, Astral Shepherd, Void Summoner, Wild Caller, Archer, Sniper, Ranger, Deadeye, Marksman, Bowmaster, Windrunner, Sharpshot, Falconer, Shadow Archer, Cleric, Priest, Bishop, Oracle, Monk, Templar, Inquisitor, Lightbearer, Battle Healer, Spirit Warden, Alchemist, Enchanter, Rune Smith, Artificer, Scribe, Scrollcaster, Potion Master, Mana Engineer, Relic Forger, Soul Alchemist—and many forbidden and legendary classes such as Lich Lord, Abyss Walker, Void Herald, Grave Sovereign, Eternal Knight, Blood Tyrant, Phantom King, Arch Reaper, Nether Apostle, Deathbound Ascendant, Blood Mage, Flesh Shaper, Parasite Host, Plaguebringer, Curse Weaver, Abyssal Horror, Shadow Devourer, Soul Eater, Bone Emperor, Void Lich, and Demon Hunter.
There were even hybrid classes that weren't mentioned in the list above.
That's how vast the options in this game were.
You could be anything.
There was no single, defined way to play.
You could become a merchant, buy low, sell high, and earn profits.
You could join the army as a soldier, slowly climb the ranks, and eventually earn a noble title.
Or you could take more traditional paths: blacksmith, adventurer, gatherer, doctor, or even a butler serving a noble household.
That was the level of freedom this game offered its players.
The path I chose was to become an adventurer, fighting monsters and eventually defeating the twelve world bosses, the Demon Lords who sought to destroy the world.
And now, I had defeated the final boss of the game using the worst class of all, the Demon Hunter.
This was my hundredth victory, achieved with the weakest job.
The Demon Hunter was only useful against demons and utterly weak when fighting other types of monsters.
Yet, I still won.
To say I was excited would be an understatement.
However, Demon Hunter wasn't the first job I chose.
At the very beginning, I selected Necromancer.
Within just a few hours, I got beaten so badly that I deleted the character on the very same day I created it.
In the following days, I spent my time learning everything about every class and other details, such as the best dungeons for leveling up based on jobs and equipment.
If I said I was the most knowledgeable player in this game, it wouldn't be an exaggeration.
I wasn't the strongest but I was knowledgeable.
There was a clear difference.
Even in this game, despite knowing almost everything, I wasn't good at PvP.
I rarely won against other experienced PK players.
Still, I defeated the world bosses using every job, creating one hundred characters, all except the Necromancer job.
It wasn't that I couldn't do it.
I had simply lost interest after watching videos of how Necromancers fought.
Their combat style felt too glitchy, similar to that famous, goated manhwa "I Alone Level Up" that I had read.
One question constantly lingered in my mind whenever I watched those videos.
Why the fuck were Necromancers fighting on the front line?
Why were they using melee weapons? And why specifically daggers?
Necromancers are mage-type classes, damn it.
You're supposed to stand at the very back of your army and cast spells.
That's what a Necromancer is truly meant to be.
Whenever I asked, they said it was to get rid of weaknesses or to balance strength.
Bro, that's not how a Necromancer fights.
I even tried to play it the proper way, solely as a Necromancer, but once again, I got clapped and deleted the character.
Now, as I stared at the large "Congratulations" message on the screen, I proudly exited the game and reviewed all the character data I had created.
I had 100 characters with 100 different jobs.
Every single one of them was fully leveled and had defeated a world boss, except for the Necromancer.
"It's really been a very long time…"
I muttered as I looked at the faces of the characters I had created and their builds.
It had been incredibly satisfying to play all this time.
"But all things have to end someday…"
With a sigh, I glanced at the time.
5:00 A.M.
Time to go abroad, Saudi Arabia, where my uncle worked at a leather factory.
I was planning to work at the same company for a while.
The money I had wasn't nearly enough to last me forever.
This was the grim reality.
Making money wasn't fucking easy like it was in a game.
I had to face that reality sooner or later.
I had already packed everything and was ready to go.
Before leaving, I pressed the save button.
It loaded for a moment, then suddenly glitched.
"Mm?"
Wondering what happened, I checked my internet connection.
There was no problem.
But then, right before my eyes, every character I had painstakingly built began to vanish one by one.
"What the fuck?!"