Stat Rebuilding (2)

Splash!

With the final dive complete, he finally bid farewell to this tiresome ocean. After changing his ID at level 50 and heading to Lüjen Port—where drowning took less time—he switched to dying by drowning to speed things up. As a result, he'd reached level 10 in a mere three days.

"Whoa, something I'll never do again in my life. Probably no one in Tayen has powerleveled as much as I have."

Level downs were usually done around level 100 at most—anything higher was too tough and time-consuming, so most people just deleted and started fresh. So his claim was probably true.

Anyway, the moment he respawned at the temple, he checked his status window on the way to Lüjen Port's auction house.

The status window proudly displayed the monumental level 10, along with stats and skills that were unheard of for that level. Starting stats at level 1 were all 10. Players built their characters using the 3 free stat points per level-up and the all-stats +1 every 5 levels. HP and MP rose automatically by 10 each per level, but could be boosted further via vitality and magic stats.

"120 stats from quest rewards up to level 232, plus the new achievement effects—my numbers are insanely high for level 10!"

For now, the only usable skill was the 2-star Continuous Slash he'd maxed back when he hit level 10 before. Job advancement wasn't undone by level down, so his unique skills lingered in grayed-out, unusable state on the list.

"Oh! Sold a bunch last night, huh?"

The 20 or so rare items were long gone, 4 uniques had sold, leaving just 2. The legendary ring was still up, but bids had already topped 1.2 million gold.

Even though I'm the one selling it, I still can't believe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. A ring in a game fetching over 100 million won? In real life, even a diamond ring that price wouldn't have many buyers!

The higher the price, the better anyway. Not just the cash incoming, but proof that Tayen—the game he'd bet his life on—was worth it and hot as hell.

That's for later... Time to search for listings again?

First reason for hitting the auction house: rebuying a +10 reinforced sword for immediate leveling. He'd been searching since sales started trickling in, grabbing everything good for early levels regardless of price—except the sword.

It was a weapon super effective in certain hunting grounds, so supply was nil. But luckily, someone had just listed one perfect for him.

"Yes! Kang Jihwan's life is turning around! A level 10 wielding a +10 rare longsword!"

Way overkill for his level, but zero regrets. Use it to blast through mid-levels, then sell it back at the auction house. After all wear and tear, he'd only lose the 10% listing fee.

"This is like renting gear in-game. 10% to borrow optimal leveling items? Pocket change, right?"

Sure, pocket change for a cheapskate like him trying to break the habit. With that, he'd equipped full +10 rare gear for the first time at this level, prepping fully for the grind ahead.

* * *

After grabbing his pre-bought full set from storage and checking the equipment window, his specs screamed anything but level 10.

A level 10 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out-spec'ing mid-100s users.

"Whoa! Full +10 rares make insane specs! This HP at level 10? Whales weren't playing Tayen—they were in a whole other game!"

For a dirt-poor grinder like him, piecing gear slowly, this felt alien. Was this the rush that drove cash shops? Like swapping a bike for a sports car mid-ride?

Geared up, potions set, he warped to the beginner zone for hunting.

Whoosh!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

One of the starting points for new characters. Right after warping to the village square, some stranger hit him up.

"Whoa, you just teleported ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in with a space mage, right? Pro, spot me 50 gold? I'll pay back later!"

"Sigh, nothing's changed here."

It was just a shakedown disguised as begging. As he ignored and walked off, he glanced at the beggar's ID and froze.

What's this guy's ID? Magnum09...? Already copycats making accounts after mine?

Being a beginner zone, newbies were mimicking him. Witnessing it firsthand felt oddly surreal.

"Dude, begging with that ID? Guy who ate a divine item?"

"Magnum series is everywhere now—help a bro out, I'll pay back!"

The original owner's luck had always sucked—except the last one. Seeing his deleted Magnum ID stirred unexpected pity, and uncharacteristically, he dropped 100 gold.

"Lucky you. No need to repay—buy pots and level up. In this game, levels let you loot big later."

"Whoa! Thanks! You'll be blessed!"

As nearby newbies swarmed after witnessing the beggar score, he bolted from the village. Target: southwest island's high-level spot, Dormant Volcano.

"Guess I'm famous now. Whatever—ignore it, grind to 50 here fast."

Field mobs gave more EXP than instanced ones—40-60% more, per community consensus. Instances offered comfort: no steal, backstabs, item PK, or near-death revives. But for speed, nothing beat field camping.

No AoE for him, so no mob trains—the pinnacle of field farming. But with this gear, he'd match it here.

"Look at that guy! Full rare gear? OP!"

"Whale starting with mad cash. No wonder poor folk hate Tayen!"

Beginners farming fields whispered as he passed. Full rares in newbie land? Uncommon. Looked like a pay-to-win rich kid.

Mistake. What if backstabbed mid-hunt? I look like fat loot bait dripping cash...

Should've hit the capital for a disguise, but nah—any watcher would clock the gear anyway.

Hit 30, unlock Shadow Step again, safer then!

No maggots in the stew out of fear. Dodging fields over PK? Laughable in Tayen. Gear didn't always drop on death.

Nearing the volcano, he slammed into a respawning wild boar—level 20s, high for beginners.

"Oh? Blocking my path?"

Shwick! Shwick! Flash!

Two hits. The boar crumpled and vanished before countering.

Shwoooosh.

One boar shot him to 11, EXP bar nearly a third full—from 90% at 10, so ~40% from one mob.

"Kekeke, this is why whales full-gear from start! Wild boars that take parties? Two-shotted. Haha!"

Long time since a level-up after endless downs—mood boosted. Test kill mid-travel, so he ignored others and rushed the peak.

"Nice, barely any hunters!"

The summit was a wide sunken basin dotted with boulder piles—his target: Rock Golems, the island's top-level monsters.

Volcano was the zone's pinnacle; golems designed to force parties on solos. Massive HP/defense, slow but heavy hits.

Game devs baited party play here.

Back when I leveled, one respawn turned it into chaos—now just memories.

Launch days: packed, blind mob scrambles for EXP. Later: turf wars over respawns. Now? Sparse newbies, early morning bonus—golems respawning everywhere.

"Let's go! Stance up!"

Boom, boom, kwaboom!

Golems aggroed first. Approaching a pile, rocks merged with flair into a 3m behemoth—rare spectacle for newbies, but he'd seen enough.

"One hit, Continuous Slash! Two, three!"

Pre-full-form: like neutral mob. Autoattack cancel into slash, two normals—then its first swing.

Whoosh! Boom!

He could dodge by moving despite evasion stats, but tanked it. Why full-gear defense otherwise? Full HP, better to smack extra than dodge.

Rumble... Shwooo!

Downed it with under 20% HP lost—level-up. Unthinkable speed compared to his old Magnum03 days at 11.