The Constellation's Game [Laika]
Over the past few days, my average daily LP earnings—including donations—had come to just under 1,000 LP.
In other words, even setting aside special cases like Zerathus's Flag, my daily income was approaching ten million won.
According to the Awakened Wiki, that was……
the kind of money pulled in by the top 10% of all players.
In level terms, the top 10% would be somewhere in the late 60s.
How does a Beginner's Island player manage to rub shoulders with high-level players ten levels past class advancement?
Circumstances had a lot to do with it. Right now, our party was the only one running the ancient Moonlight Garden, which meant the market prices for its drops were absolutely delicious.
So that record of 1,000 LP a day was only possible because we were hogging a hidden dungeon and the donations happened to be pouring in.
If I strip out the hidden dungeon bonus and the sponsorships… without a lucky drop, a good day would net me maybe 100 LP.
Which, to be fair, would still be plenty respectable. How could nearly a million won a day possibly count as small change?
But the problem was that this was no time for me to be satisfied with what I had. What do I mean by that?
[Item has been consumed.]
[Item has been consumed.]
[Unique (No.967) — Tracker of the Night has gained experience.]
Draining my balance down to the dregs to feed my unique equipment had taught me exactly how much it was going to take.
[Conditions have been met.]
[Unique (No.967) — Tracker of the Night has grown to 'Unique' grade.]
[Unique (No.967) — Tracker of the Night has reached Level 12.]
Even excluding the 13,000 LP I'd spent on Horus's Feather, I figured I'd burned through a good 200,000 LP of pure feed.
And yet……
After all that burning, I'm only at Level 12?
Factor in the fact that each level demanded more LP than the last, and the road ahead stretched out into genuine infinity.
To take this thing all the way to liberation, I'll need another million LP at least.
A million LP. Even earning 100 LP every single day, it would take nearly thirty years—an astronomical sum.
You could argue that financial freedom in thirty years isn't such a bad deal……
but wouldn't my family end up on the street a whole lot faster than that?
"……"
"Hyung-nim, are you done searching the exchange?"
"Yeah, more or less."
Which meant the answer was short and brutal: I had to pull this off within three years. And for that, I'd need to keep averaging 1,000 LP a day, just like yesterday and today.
So what did that make my next move, right here and now?
"Then you're heading straight to your class advancement, right?"
"That's the plan."
Knock out the advancement quickly, and put Beginner's Island behind me just that much sooner.
"Don't tell me you're still agonizing over your class……"
"No, I've decided."
Truth be told, the only reason I'd agonized so much over a mere first advancement was because my head was stuffed full of things other people didn't know.
I'd taken a look around the Awakened community, and Earth-server players clearly didn't understand first advancements at all. When even the Awakened Wiki was built on outright wrong information, what else could you expect?
* A player may choose from a total of five classes at first advancement:
1. Navigator's Sword — Warrior
2. Navigator's Bow — Archer
3. Navigator's Staff — Mage
4. Navigator's Shield — Knight
5. Navigator's Dagger — Assassin
* Depending on the choice, the player automatically advances into the corresponding class; performance in the 'Voyage Across Dimensions' quest determines which class you are steered toward.
* It is said that with extremely low probability a player may even obtain a hidden class at first advancement, but this is of little importance.
* Since second advancement becomes available at Level 50 and a good second class renders the first class meaningless, the most important thing at first advancement is simply choosing a class direction that suits your aptitude.
For starters, the claim that there were only five class options was dead wrong……
And the bit about the first class becoming meaningless after second advancement? Completely false as well.
Well. Though I couldn't exactly argue with the one part—the most important thing really is picking a class direction that fits your aptitude.
"Then let's get moving, hyung-nim."
Since Leo didn't seem to know anything special about it either, it couldn't hurt to give him a little guidance, right?
With that thought, the two of us left the waiting space where we'd been staying and headed for the dungeon exit.
[Do you wish to move to the 'Beginner's Island — Dream Peak' exit?]
We had entered this place through Moonlight Garden, but we were leaving through the hidden exit on the opposite side.
The reason was obvious, of course……
The Sea of Heavens Dock was located on this side.
The Sea of Heavens Dock—the site of the first advancement—stood at the highest point on Beginner's Island.
As the name suggested, players had to board a ship that sails the sky from this dock……
and sailing that vessel across to the continent was, at once, the first advancement quest and the quest to leave Beginner's Island behind for good.
"Whew. You don't really feel it from down below, but this is a seriously long climb."
"The concept is a bit over the top, yeah."
Since the dock sat above the cloud layer, the ascent took a while no matter how you sliced it—never mind the monsters that kept throwing themselves into our path.
[Party member 'Leo' has successfully slain a Dream Wraith!]
"I was wondering why people kept saying you could wipe on the way to the dock, but the difficulty's no joke, huh?"
Hey. Saying that while cutting down monsters that easily? Doesn't exactly radiate sincerity, does it?
"Aw, come on, hyung-nim. If I'd come up here alone, I definitely would've had a rough time."
Me? I haven't lifted a finger since we left the dungeon, you know?
"……"
Apparently, this kid thought I was some kind of buff totem.
"It honestly feels like combat just goes better when I'm with you."
Well, whatever. Good is good……
"Keep up the hard work."
With a bus driver clearing the road ahead of me, I was the one living easy. Thanks to him, I even had the luxury of chatting with the Constellations for the first time in a while.
So—communication time with the esteemed Constellations, for the first time in ages(?). And of course, the topic was once again my class advancement.
└ Watching the host draw a sword, I'd say Warrior is the standard pick, but honestly something feels a little wasted here.
└ Wasted how? If this guy doesn't go Warrior, what the hell else would he even do?
└ Shovel Master, maybe……
└ lmaooooo
For something called "communication," it felt decidedly one-sided……
└ We've never even seen him cast magic, right? Never seen him shoot a bow either, yep.
└ True, but could he actually be better at something else than swordsmanship? No way a busted build like that exists;;
I was mulling that over when the Profligate 2nd Imperial Throne suddenly addressed me out of nowhere.
'Profligate 2nd Imperial Throne' has donated 15 LP.
"So, host. You seriously not gonna tell us what you're advancing into?"
Setting aside the almighty Count, this was my biggest spender to date, and the question arrived bundled with a suitably hefty donation.
But the very moment I opened my mouth to answer——
system messages I never could have predicted began popping up, one after another.
'Profligate 2nd Imperial Throne' has registered a new mission.
I'm sorry—a mission?
Just like that? Out of nowhere?
Still. Whatever it was, a mission was a mission. Those, I could never turn down.
[Checking mission information.]
And then I read the mission details, and my brain briefly stopped working.
I truly, genuinely had never imagined something like this could be set up as a mission.
Title:First Class Advancement Success
Category: Mission
Difficulty:F
Clear Condition:
— Advance into the Warrior class during the first advancement quest.
Time Limit: None
Reward:300 LP
So what this is saying is…… advance into the Warrior class, and they'll hand me 300 LP?
Tsss. That's a bit of a problem.
[Do you accept this mission?]
If the Constellation's goal was to watch me squirm over declining it, then he succeeded, absolutely.
[You have declined the mission.]
Rice-hound I may be, but I had no intention of letting a mission dictate the one first advancement I'd get in this lifetime.
Though… on the resettable beta server, things might have gone differently?
└ no way;; since when does the host know how to DECLINE a mission?
└ lmaooo wait, you're good with a sword anyway, why are you turning down Warrior?
But my bewilderment didn't end there.
The instant I rejected that mission, as if they'd all been waiting for exactly that——
Ding-!
'4th-Dimensional Archmage' has registered a new mission.
'Third-Loop Villain' has registered a new mission.
Missions of an eerily similar flavor began lining up one after another.
— Um;; what on earth is going on with you all?
Had these Constellation lunatics gone collectively insane? They were all slapping down advancement missions now.
What, did somebody issue a directive or something?
└ Host, can you shoot a bow?
— As well as anyone can use a sword, hyung-nim.
└ Then let's see it. Honestly, archery's fun as hell.
— Arrows are far too expensive, hyung-nim.
[You have declined the mission.]
└ huh?? lol
└ lmaooo this rice-hound is UNREAL lol
└ refusing Archer over the price of arrows? First time in my life seeing that lmao
└ What about a staff, host? Wanna take a spin down the Mage tech tree?
[You have declined the mission.]
└ PFFT lol like he'd ever lolol
└ the guy who refused Archer over arrow prices is gonna play Mage? lolololol
At first I assumed they were just tossing them out for laughs, since I'd refuse anyway—but my sharp instincts caught on to something off almost immediately.
Hold on. Wait a second… doesn't this mean all five options are now sitting in my mission log?
Of course, I planned to walk my own path toward a hidden option in the end……
but the Constellations had no way of knowing that, which meant I had to assume this wasn't a prank—they were seriously trying to sponsor me.
Sure enough, when I checked the pile of stacked-up missions, most of the Constellations who'd issued one had placed bounties on every single one of the five options.
What is this?
Why is there so much blind money flying around?!
— C-can I get a different mission?! A different mission, please, honored Constellations?!
If I'd been planning to take the standard route, I could've earned two or three thousand LP from the advancement alone today.
That was how much money hung on each and every option, separately.
Which is to say: it was pure torture.
Because for me, who had absolutely zero intention of advancing into a basic class… all of it was nothing but fruit painted on a wall.
Why are you doing this to me? Why?!
└ why is he reacting like that?
└ fr lol where's the Dave who did a somersault every time free money showed up?
But in the very next instant——
right in front of my suffering eyes, a new system message appeared.
'Lord of Gold' has registered a new mission.
Lord of Gold?
That was a title I'd never seen before. A newcomer?
[Checking mission information.]
And then I read the mission details.
My eyes went wide. There was no helping it.
Hold on, honored Constellation.
This…… is this for real?