Stat Rebuilding (1)

-Our Jihwan, that class of yours was no joke, huh? Seeing you declare war on Taeseong all by yourself, I nearly pissed myself, bro. Where the hell were you hiding that fire? I thought you were just some total nerd, but damn, you're a real man's man!

-You gonna shut up or what? I'm already dazed as fuck right now.

-Why? Heh, it was kinda cringy middle-school vibes, but still manly as hell! And you're the first user Illusion ever gave special treatment to, right? An emergency patch just for you...!

-Hyunjung, you really wanna get your ass beat, don't you?

With nothing to do during the maintenance check, I was killing time on the phone with Hyunjung, chatting and brainstorming.

-Anyway, how many did you snag? Looked like you were gobbling them up on the broadcast.

-Heh heh heh. Two Legendaries, six Uniques, and about twenty miscellaneous pieces. Probably nets ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me around 600 to 700 million gold.

-What? Whoa, is this for real? You made 700 million off one PK spree?

-Got lucky. Over half was from the Legendary Il Do Yang Dan dropped—worth a fortune on its own. Come to think of it, I ended up snagging two of their swords. Haha!

I had no idea when I'd started calling high-enhancement Rares "junk," but compared to the real prizes, they kinda were. A single Legendary weapon could fetch anywhere from 100 million cheap to several times that at peak prices.

-That's why Illusion rushed the patch. If they'd let you keep farming like that, their stock would've tanked. Who'd play a game where one random user wrecks everything? Sucks for you, though, right?

-Nah. I saw it coming, so I'm good. Even I thought it was getting ridiculous while I was at it. One lucky run filled my war chest plenty, so I'm satisfied. Plus, the update said it's for "users." Means we can still use Titans in boss raids or elsewhere.

-Elsewhere? Like where?

-It's something. Just brainstorming for now. I'll fill you in later.

I sounded casual chatting with Hyunjung, but my heart was still pounding like mad. A whopping 700 million. Money I'd struggle to save my whole life, earned in one day. And unlike the divine sword, all this could be cashed out straight to real money. The temptation surging up was hard to ignore.

Just quit the risky beef with Taeseong, farm gold safely with the divine sword, and live quietly.

No. You've felt it to your bones living as a NEET. How much you regretted wasting your youth pointlessly. How you ached for a thrilling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life, giving your all to something... Can't forget that already!

I pictured myself in the game moments ago. Virtual reality or not, standing tall before thousands of players and cameras, shouting my resolve to the world! That's when it hit me—this was the life I'd always dreamed of.

Don't settle for small gains and big losses. Maybe that's how you've lived till now, but not anymore. For the time being, force yourself to see Taeseong loot as items, not cash. Hit grandmaster status like planned, and the money will follow.

-Post board's flooded with your shit right now. Hate on you, hate on the devs, balance rants—feels like ten posts a second. Whoa! First time seeing this, check it out!

-Pass. Won't change shit anyway. Just reminding myself what to do once maintenance lifts.

-Huh? Not logging off to rest? Jumping back in?

-Got tons to do, buddy. Didn't I tell you? Gonna reroll a new char. Level down, ID change, start over!

* * *

Max out survivability with Mana Shield on a Thief char! That was the core concept for my ambitious new build.

But to max it out, my current 232-level char was all wrong. Too late to pump Magic stats and skill points into Mana Shield now—inefficient as hell. Plus, pre-build, my tankiness wouldn't differ much, risking wipes during the level grind. Taeseong and murderer players would scour every corner of the fields for me, eyes blazing.

That's why, from the moment I first mentioned it to Hyunjung, I'd resolved: Drop my 'Magnum03' to level 10, rebirth as a new ID. Pure Magic stat build, optimized for the divine sword, full 'All-Magic' Thief tree!

Maintenance lifted, users trickled in, but Ibashu Castle was still player-free. I hit the auction house first to liquidate my haul. Nothing usable for me except the Legendary sword, so everything else went up for sale.

Top prize? Hong Dang Mu's Legendary ring, hands down.

Hong Dang Mu's wind magic had insane range for a reason—this ring. Judging by the distance, she probably rocked a matching pair. filthy rich, alright.

A mage ranker's setup through and through. Old me would've just envied it, but now? Prey to strip bare. Felt good.

Any wind bow user or wind mage build would kill for it. Last up, I listed every last item.

Rares and Uniques went up slightly under market lowball. The Legendary? Three-day auction. Auction house takes 10% cut, so I usually direct-traded big-ticket stuff via merchants. But haggling days for top dollar? Nah—auction it quick, eat the loss for efficiency.

Won't go for peanuts anyway... From now on, time trumps gold!

Something old me never would've done. Had to ditch that penny-pinching to reach the top.

"Gear gold's sorted... Time to start for real!"

No hesitation—I warped to my pre-scouted spot.

Whoosh! Fierce mountain winds slapped my cheeks on arrival. Game lore: Jiwell Castle North bordered Gartwell Mountains, crawling with high-level mobs. This foothill village? Even rankers struggled here now.

Least-visited village in the game, bar none. Perfect.

"Lucky the divine sword didn't bind to storage. Never would've thought to reroll otherwise."

Stealthed, I stashed everything but the sword, set temple respawn. Committed to level 10—no turning back. Couldn't risk eyes on my reroll plan.

Ideal spot: Unseen, endless deaths. Hupford nailed it.

"Whoa! Talk about high. VR makes it no joke!"

Village front sloped gentle; back was sheer cliff. Steeled myself, but leaping? Hesitation hit.

No fall deaths pre-10 (no XP loss). Post? Never bothered—XP penalty and respawn debuff sucked. Knew it was a game, but cliff-jumping? Primal fear.

But stalling? Pointless. Had to drop fast and secret before anyone guessed.

Eyes squeezed shut, I leaped.

"Gahhh, whoaaa!! This feels way too reaaal...!"

Thud!

Dark gray haze, then temple respawn. First in-game death in ages.

Taitonic: Field deaths (non-instanced) auto-res at safe zones. Stealth first—no witnesses.

Perfect! No respawn debuff!

Normal res has 10-min all-stats/movespeed -80% penalty. Cripples quick re-entry post-fight. Players usually chat or AH during it.

Only me using dev buffs to cheese 200+ levels down! Heh, gotta admit, my brain's got that one trick down pat!

Level 222 now. Grinding to 10? Top-tier tedium, even in VR—manual jumps required.

The day this grind ends... I'll soar higher than anyone!

Shaking off boredom, I leaped again. And again.

* * *

Boring grind, so I'd partied with Hyunjung, bullshitting mid-plunge.

ID creation: Everyone's first hurdle. Obsess, input, "taken," settle and regret. Betting my life on grandmaster glory? No half-assed name for my new face.

Resolve firmed, I shelled out 19,800 cash for the ID change ticket—one of few cash shop items, with sub fees as main monetization.

Magnum03. My 3-year partner in crime, bringer of insane luck.

Poetic, huh? Random first ID... reborn with meaning? Just like my life.

I entered my reborn self's name.