Chapter 1: Game Start?
Chapter 1: Game Start?
After spending his entire vacation holed up in a capsule, forgetting the real world, Guwon went outside for the first time in a long while.
The reason, of course, was a virtual reality game.
Today was the release date for a new title from Great Earth, the company Guwon loved more than anything.
In this day and age, you could order online and have a drone deliver it in an hour, but Guwon operated under the belief that a true fan couldn't waste even that single hour. So, for the first time in ages, he dragged his heavy ass out of the house to line up for the opening of his favorite local store.
Most adult games were one of two types. There was the so-called “smut,” which focused solely on sex, and then there were the games that called themselves adult but prioritized the process, forcing you to spend ages in some unrealistically sweet romance, holding hands with a woman right in front of you, only to end right when you were finally about to have some fun. On the rare occasion a game incorporated other elements like RPG or simulation mechanics, it was inevitable that either the sexual content or the gameplay would be lacking.
But then, Great Earth appeared out of nowhere. They achieved the incredible feat of catching two rabbits at once—RPG elements and sexual elements—through unique systems that made you wonder if the developers were sane. They quickly earned the overwhelming support of gamers.
The new title released today, Sex at the Dungeon, was another RPG-based adult game, launched with the slogan: “Adventurer, explore the dungeon by having sex!” And, just as you’d expect from a Great Earth game, its systems were characteristically insane.
Guwon had already been visiting the official website almost daily before the release, so he had a solid grasp of the world and its systems. But, operating under his personal philosophy that the manual is part of the game, he read it thoroughly while the game installed.
The game was set in a typical fantasy world where the chief deity was the Earth Goddess, who governed the land, life, love, and infinite possibilities. The problem was that this goddess, who governed life and love, was so damn passionate about her domain that she had established a ridiculous system with the divine proclamation: “Sex is the most direct expression of love and the act that creates life! My children, grow through sex!”
What kind of system, you ask? Why hide it? It was leveling up through sex.
The game’s slogan, “Adventurer, explore the dungeon by having sex!” wasn’t a metaphor. It literally meant you had to level up by having sex to explore the dungeon.
Anyway, the main goal of the game was for the protagonist, thrown into this crazy world from another, to explore a seemingly endless underground dungeon and reach its end.
The reason the protagonist was thrown into this world was also pretty absurd.
This Earth Goddess, as mentioned, also governed infinite possibilities. Claiming she wanted to see these possibilities, she encouraged different races to couple up and give birth to new ones.
What’s more, this goddess was apparently a high-ranking deity among the many who governed countless dimensions. She would even kidnap various races from different dimensions and dump them into her own, forcibly creating situations where these “new possibilities” would be born.
The premise was that the protagonist was one of the poor souls caught in this meddlesome goddess’s clutches, thrown into another world without a clue.
Classic Great Earth. Utterly insane.
Guwon had thought the system in their previous game was pretty out there, too—where you became the sole man or woman in a party, acting as the leader and healer, managing your party and adventuring through sex, the world’s only means of recovery. But this time, perhaps in an effort to meet the demand for playing as various job classes from the last game, the world had become even crazier.
By the time he finished reading the manual, Guwon saw that the installation was complete. He quickly closed the capsule and started the game.
The opening was nothing special.
A breathtakingly beautiful and divine-looking goddess descended upon a grand temple and, in a sacred voice, majestically proclaimed that insane line: “Sex is the most direct expression of love and the act that creates life! My children, grow through sex!” The whole world was engulfed in a brilliant light, and character creation began.
Not that there was much to it. The base stats and class were fixed, so all you could change was your character name and appearance.
Character name: Guwon, as always.
His unique name, a combination of his family and given names, had gotten him teased a lot as a kid, and he’d even resented his parents for it at one point. But it made for a pretty cool character name in games, saving him the trouble of thinking one up, so these days he was quite satisfied with it.
He didn’t change his appearance much from his real self, either.
He generously increased his height, which had always been frustratingly just shy of 180cm. He stretched out his leg-to-body ratio, which had barely been average. He improved his skin condition, tweaked his face a bit, and sculpted his muscles to make the lean definition stand out more.
If someone who knew Guwon saw this avatar, nine times out of ten they’d say something like, “Hey Guwon, doesn’t that guy look a lot like you? But man, why do you look like the dollar-store version?” He’d definitely left a clear shadow of his original self, so this was just a minor touch-up.
It felt like the start had been significantly delayed, but as if possessed by Pygmalion, Guwon pursued perfection upon perfection and was finally able to finish character creation to his satisfaction.
Once character creation was complete, the world was once again engulfed in a brilliant light. With a slight wave of dizziness, Guwon suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a street lined with medieval Western-style buildings.
A self-proclaimed gaming addict like him feeling dizzy, however slightly, just from logging into a virtual reality?
A faint sense of unease crept in, but Guwon shook his head vigorously as if to shake it off and habitually opened his status window.
Name: Guwon
Race: Human 24
Job: Saint (性者) 1
Level: 1
HP: 200/200
Essence: 100/100
Strength: 10
Durability: 10
Agility: 10
Stamina: 10
Intelligence: 10
Spirit: 10
Charm: 50
Bonus Stats: 0
Status: Normal
In this world, a stat of 10 was the average for a typical adult male, so these were the standard beginner stats you’d find in any game.
It was a bit strange that Charm started at 50, but given the nature of the world, he figured it was Great Earth’s way of making the early game a little easier.
What was more unique was his job: Saint. This job was the player’s privilege, their identity. It was a unique class that no NPC could ever have, and as the characters implied, it was a job that provided bonuses to sexual acts.
In a world where the method of leveling up was sex, you could think of it as the equivalent of the Hero class, a common protagonist job in other games.
He opened his inventory, but all he had were five lowest-grade potions and 5 silver. There wasn't even an equipment window.
So they want you to physically put on your gear to make the VR experience as real as possible? Well, I guess that means there’s no equipment slot limit, which isn’t a bad thing, but what a pain in the ass.
All he had on was the tracksuit he’d been wearing at home.
Scanning the clothes you were wearing and making them your starting gear… it was a nice touch, showing they’d put some effort into selling the “protagonist suddenly dropped into another world” setting.
The manual said the tutorial would start once I registered at the Adventurer’s Guild.
Closing the system windows, Guwon looked around the street and, sure enough, right in front of him was the Adventurer’s Guild, a large sign with a soaring eagle painted on it hanging above the entrance.
Even though it was early in the morning, a considerable number of adventurers were milling about inside the guild, peering at the notice boards that covered the walls.
When you hear that, it’s easy to picture a sweaty scene of burly, muscular men. But being an adventurer is an inherently dangerous profession, one you can’t do unless you have a decent level to back you up.
And in this world, you level up by having sex.
To be precise, you gain experience and level up when your partner reaches orgasm during sex.
Starting to get the picture?
For reference, it’s said that many women go their entire lives without ever experiencing an orgasm.
In other words, in this world, women’s levels are generally overwhelmingly higher than men’s, and naturally, the proportion of female adventurers is also overwhelmingly high.
As a bonus, the higher the level, the more beautiful people there are.
It makes sense. There are many factors that influence the amount of EXP gained, but one of them is the partner’s satisfaction at the moment of climax. And generally, the more beautiful the partner, the greater the satisfaction during sex.
In short, this is a dirty, lookist game where the beautiful have an easier time reaching high levels.
There was a reason why, among all the initial stats, only Charm was given extra weight.
The bottom line is that the scene unfolding before my eyes wasn’t a macho festival of sweaty, muscular brutes, but a wholesome sight that purified the mind, body, and soul: a gathering of beautiful and cute girls, each overflowing with their own unique charm, be it sexy, lovely, or adorable.
Truly, Great Earth. They really know how to stimulate a person’s psyche.
I don’t know about anything else, but I swear I’ll collect every Great Earth game for the rest of my life.
With that renewed vow, Guwon walked toward the desk where a guild receptionist was sitting.
If he followed his heart, he’d dive right into that wave of beauties, but he had to finish the tutorial first.
“Welcome. How may I help you?”
Hidden by the other adventurers, he hadn’t noticed before, but this receptionist was also stunningly beautiful.
“I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
“Certainly. The registration fee is 2 silver. Please place your hand on the status paper for identification.”
When he placed his hand on the paper the receptionist held out, his basic stats—name, job, level, and status—appeared on its surface.
I see, so this is how they verify identity. Magic is convenient.
“Oh? Your job is a Saint? I’ve never seen that before. And you’re level 1… Of course, you can register, but being an adventurer is a dangerous profession. Are you sure about this?”
“Of course, beautiful lady. You are now witnessing the beginning of a legend. Your name, too, will be recorded as the receptionist who heralded the start of the Saint’s legend.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
He shot a wink at the receptionist as he delivered a cringey line only possible in a game. For a split second, she wore an expression like she’d seen something she shouldn’t have, but she instantly returned to her business smile and began the process.
What a professional.
For the record, if I ever met a weirdo in real life who said something like that, I wouldn’t even get within a fifty-meter radius of them. You don’t avoid shit because you’re scared of it.
“Registration complete. Have a nice day.”
The receptionist smiled as she handed him a small metal plate the size of a business card.
This must be the adventurer’s ID plate, which magically displays your status like that paper did.
Wait, have a nice day? Wasn’t she supposed to start the tutorial now, explaining the basics of being an adventurer and all that?
“Um… miss? Isn’t there more you need to tell me, like the basic duties or rules for an adventurer? I don’t think we’re finished here.”
“Have a nice day.”
He tried to re-initiate the tutorial, but he was deflected by the receptionist’s iron-clad smile.
That smile seemed to be urging him to get lost, so Guwon had no choice but to back away for now.
Did the tutorial really get skipped just because I said one crazy thing? Didn’t they put a little too much effort into the AI for a mere guild receptionist?
No, on second thought, that receptionist was a little too pretty for a mere guild receptionist. Was she a heroine NPC? Should I get on my knees and beg her to guide me?
“Hey, newbie! Got a minute?”
As he stood there dumbly in the middle of the guild, not knowing what to do, someone suddenly spoke to him.
The line itself was typical of a thug A who picks a fight with a newcomer only to get his ass kicked, but when he turned his head toward the voice, he saw another incredibly beautiful woman standing there.
She had bronze skin and a toned body. Her face looked a bit fierce, and she was dressed in typical warrior’s armor. Her red hair, like a lion’s mane, gave her a wild feel. She was the very picture of a sexy female warrior from a fantasy world.
“Level 1, job level 1. You’re a virgin, aren’t you? What have you been doing all this time, not even popping your cherry? Adventuring isn’t some easy gig for a virgin fucker like you to waltz into. Go on, go cry to your mommy.”
And her mouth was as foul as she looked.
So foul, in fact, that it almost put a dent in his steel-like mentality.
I’m not a virgin!
…At least not in virtual reality!
Far from a virgin, I’ve fucked enough to be called a sex master!
What the hell did I do to deserve such a verbal assault out of nowhere?
I admit I was kind of blocking the way by standing dumbly in the middle of the guild, but isn’t that a bit harsh?
Ah, I get it! Maybe the tutorial isn’t with the receptionist, but with this woman.
It made sense. The first thing a Great Earth tutorial usually does is explain the game’s systems.
That means the tutorial should involve having sex, hitting level 2, and then getting an explanation of the various systems. And no matter what kind of world this is, you can’t just suddenly start having sex with the lady working at the reception desk.
That settles it. In that case, there’s only one thing to say to this tutorial NPC.
“Ha! Look who’s talking. You’re the kind of bitch who’d be crying and twitching, unable to think straight, after getting impaled on my holy sword. Why don’t you go eat some more jizz and come back.”
“What did you say, you bastard? Follow me to the inn!”