Minhyuk smiled at Seojin's reaction.
"That's right."
"You earn this much? Every month?"
"There are many people who earn more than me. Sure, you need to be lucky, good at the game, and basically spend your entire life in the game."
Minhyuk explained gladly, enjoying Seojin's reaction. Seojin didn't care and kept asking questions.
"Are you on the rankings?"
It was obvious, but Minhyuk shook his head.
"Like hell I am. I'm barely in the middle."
"Those in the middle earn this much?"
"Yeah, just from selling some leftover equipment after saving some for my own. Of course, I take other people bussing with me from time to time."
"Damn, that's…."
Minhyuk closed his mouth. You could make money just by playing a game. Tons of money.
"Hey."
"…?"
"Let's do it together. I'm only asking because it's you. You've got potential. I earn four million a month. So do you think you'd do any worse than me?"
"Of course, I'd do better."
"You know, you could at least take some time to answer."
Now he was joking, meaning he's been swayed. Minhyuk clenched his fist in his pocket.
"How long did it take you to get to this point?"
"Two million by sixth month. Invested five million initially and I've been earning four million for half a year after that."
"Is that common for…"
"I'm not finished." Minhyuk interrupted. Their eyes met as Minhyuk continued explaining seriously. "You said you're a hidden class. That's not something anyone can get. I mean, there are really complicated and difficult conditions you have to satisfy."
"I didn't do anything though. Just ran the game."
"Well, I don't know the reason for that either, but it's also not that important. Remember? Whenever we did a raid we said-"
How could he forget? Seojun answered after a short breath.
"Core gear is for lucky bastards."
"That's it. You're that bastard, got it? What's important is…"
Minhyuk made a circle with his thumb and index finger, grinning.
"A hidden class is always a goldmine."
"How much is it worth?"
Seojin had already made up his mind. All he cared about now was how much he could make.
"Don't know, it depends. My guess, is that someone like you can probably buy real estate in no time."
Seojin's face brightened. That was enough. Surely, he must be exaggerating to some degree, but…
Minhyuk wasn't finished.
"And about this much."
He raised his index finger, still wearing a confident grin.
"One apartment?"
Minhyuk shook his head, laughing at his friend's humble imagination.
"A whole complex."
"…?"
Minhyuk didn't pay attention to Seojin's wry laugh and added.
"High-rise."
* * *
-Ten of the top 100 rankings players have hidden classes, which is ten percent. But let's expand that to the whole userbase. What portion of users do you think have hidden classes?
-It's like a waterdrop in the desert… well, maybe not that scarce, but you get what I mean, right?
-There was a type of blacksmith as a hidden class. That dude earned 3000 just as he started. Only he was able to smelt certain types of ores.
-I can bet my ass that he's not the luckiest guy. There's not much information about the game and there's still so many rumors. Which means…
"I have a chance too, huh," Seojin murmured, standing in the middle of the empty room.
Minhyuk left as soon as he finished talking, saying he had to play again.
Seojin was left in his room with a device that looked like a massage chair.
"Should I really do it?"
He asked and nodded as if to answer his own question.
"Damn right I should. Until I make it as a top ranker."
There was no reason to refuse. He was a gaming nerd and the only chain holding him down had finally broken.
"Well, then…"
However, he still had a few obstacles left to get rid of.
Like resigning from work and changing all his bills to automatic transfer.
Checking through his current available property and calculating the amount of money he had for the initial investment.
Separating his account and then…
"No, I should move first."
It wasn't the time to sit back and scheme.
Seojin slipped on some clothes and ran out of the door.
Exactly three hours later…
"Thank you for everything, sir."
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon.
After quitting his job, Seojin had finished making all of the necessary preparations.
* * *
Seojin grabbed his phone right after he got home. There was one more question he needed to ask before starting the game.
Minhyuk didn't answer, he was offline on all messengers too.
"Hmm… maybe he's still in-game."
It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do. Scrutinizing the game's community would take too long.
'Let's just dive in head first.'
He turned his head to look at the gaming device.
Its official name was MP-340. The device was made only for Midgard, offering users the best performance… according to the manual.
He said it was a giveaway, but… he could've grabbed some fast cash if he had just sold it.
Seojin felt grateful no matter how many times thought about it, and honestly, he felt pressured to pay back for it. Not by returning the device or giving him money, but…
'The way Minhyuk wants…'
Like leveling up as fast as he can, getting geared up, and going hunting together.
And slipping some good items to him whenever he happens to get one.
'Shall I start?'
Seojin sat down on the device.
He put on the helmet and attached the wires to his body. The light tingling sensation meant that he did it right.
His surroundings changed completely as he pressed the start button.
The Story of Midgard
Act 1. The Throne and the Liar.
Connecting to server…
Blessed be your journey, hero of a bygone era…
The messages crawled across a crystal clear sky. It was the signature loading screen of Midgard.
Seojin frowned as the bright light blocked his vision, before letting out a sound of astonishment.
"The second time doesn't make it any less…"
Impressive.
Seojin didn't say the last part. He didn't need to.
Seojin looked around like a tourist. The buildings and residents resembled the Medieval West, and there was a huge fountain in the middle of the plaza.
"It's too realistic."
The smell of freshly baked bread was wafting through the air and he could hear the footsteps of the pedestrians walking around. There was a cool breeze and the feeling of a solid stone floor underneath his feet, he could even hear the sound of a blacksmith's hammer.
"It's a perfectly medieval-themed fantasy."
Asgard had focused on the gods while Midgard was about humans. That's what made Midgard so different from its prequel.
He spent some time looking around before finally realizing that something was off.
'Something's not right.'
While it boasted a sensational simulation he never experienced before, Midgard was a game. An MMORPG game, to be exact.
Yet Seojin still didn't know what to do after spending thirty minutes touring the streets.
'Why aren't any quests popping up? I don't see any players either, these folks here are clearly just NPCs.'
It was normal for a game to coddle beginners. Tutorials and newbie-filled starter towns, that sort of thing.
But this place didn't seem like that. It felt more like he was stranded in a real-life medieval-themed village.
'What is this, amplifying realism or something?'
It was plausible. Even leveling up could use an experience-based system, using your skills and proficiency to progress, not just distributing your stat points.
Seojin smiled, feeling the thudding in his chest.
He hadn't experienced this kind of excitement in a long time.
How many years had it been since he was this excited?
He had always done what others told him to, what his superiors decided that he should do.
For five whole years.
The youthful spirit of Han Seojin was buried in a corner of his heart, and he had lived as an ordinary salaryman in order to make a living.
But now, Seojin was…
"Excuse me, sir. Is there anyone here? May I ask a few questi… Hello, lady!"
He didn't have any hesitation, or unfamiliarity with this world.
"What? You're married? Oh, my word. If it's not too rude of me… Ah! You have a beautiful nature just like your appearance. If I may ask, who old are… oh my word! I was sure you'd be in your twenties!"
As he started moving like the former top ranker.
* * *
Minhyuk was happy today.
He had successfully recruited his long-time friend and fellow Asgard player.
'I knew I could persuade him but a hidden class? Damn.'
He knew that a genius would display themselves even in the early stages.
'How would he play the game?'
He couldn't even begin to guess.
The past title they played together, Asgard, was part of the last generation of PC games.
Strong AI was starting to be used to create NPCs and the game gave the players nearly unlimited freedom.
Thanks to that, Seojin could show off his liberal style of gameplay as if he was a natural. He was a legend. The gaming community exploded every time he completed a quest.
The ID Seojin used back then was ParanYong (blue dragon), there was always a flood of likes and comments whenever he uploaded a post.
He was able to persuade an orc warlord only with his wits and hung out in the Realm of Gods like it was his own house.
He even stopped the war, which the developers had planned as the main plotline, with a single lie.
'What was it? Demons invaded our realm… right?'
People still spoke of the incident like it was some modern-day fable.
It was the very definition of 'Emergent' gameplay. And of course, it wasn't easy.
Most of the choices Seojin made were hidden easter eggs or bugs that the developers had not yet found.
When asked what kept him so motivated… Seojin just shrugged and replied.
-Cuz it's fun.
And for that reason alone, Seojin completed quests in ways that people would describe as crazy.
"No wonder he was the number one, being a nut like that."
Minhyuk chuckled. Even the moment Seojin quit was dramatic.
Once every single player and NPC across the continent remembered the number one player's name, he just quit.
'There were so many articles speculating over the reason why. That was already five years ago.'
It was a new feeling. Minhyuk, who was laughing, suddenly came to his senses.
"This is not the time to be lost in the past."
He had to deliver the beginner's guide to Seojin.
He was going to play first, but his prior raid appointment had taken too long. Minhyuk gathered all the data and sent it via e-mail, then checked his cell phone
"Oh."
-You seemed busy, so I'm going in first.
He was a bit late.
"Well, no other way then. "
'We'll just meet in-game,' Minhyuk thought.