Jae-Wook sat at a café table, waiting for his companions.
After spending all his earnings from part-ti jobs to buy a personal gaming capsule and taking a leave of absence from school, he had been completely absorbed in *Astra Online* for a while. It had been a long ti since he’d gone out during the day.
Jae-Wook sipped his iced Aricano while fiddling with his smartphone when he saw a short woman enter the café.
With a bright face, Jae-Wook waved at her.
"Dayeon! Over here!"
The short woman, nad Dayeon, approached with a grumpy expression and sat across from Jae-Wook.
"Hey, Lee Jae-Wook. How long have you been here? Oh, you already ordered coffee? I was leveling up until just before our eting. Isn't 'Cherni' leveling up too? You seem so relaxed."
"Nam Dayeon. It's been a while since we've seen each other, and you're already starting a fight? Or should I call you 'Beirung'? Can't use third-person speech outside, right?"
"La-la-la, not listening."
Jae-Wook and Dayeon imdiately started bickering as soon as they t.
"Chris sunbae wanted to et up first, you know? Soone who’s been grinding levels non-stop asking for a break must have sothing in mind."
"Yeah, I ca because Chris unnie called too."
Jae-Wook chuckled with his usual playful expression.
These days, every day felt joyful for him.
Since starting *Astra Online* and raiding dungeons with Chris, his finances had beco more than comfortable. As one of the first-wave players clearing elite dungeons and selling weapons, the profit he made was more than enough to pay for his capsule and cover his school tuition.
"I'm even thinking of going full-ti with this. I an, if people are making money in various taverses, then a standout ga like *Astra Online* in the RPG market could beco a stable source of inco in the future, don’t you think?"
"Who knows? RPG gas fluctuate wildly depending on the patches. There’s no eternal goldmine. If this ga dies, you'll have to move on to the next one."
"Ugh, even Deathmaster sunbae is already interning at a major capsule company."
"That's Chris unnie’s dad’s company, right? Deathmaster oppa’s got a bright future ahead of him. He couldn’t make it today because he’s busy, but he’s still grinding hard in the ga."
Their conversation shifted towards their seniors.
Chris, Jae-Wook, and Dayeon’s upperclassman, was a mixed-race second-generation Korean-Arican with a Korean mother and an Arican father.
Though she had a Korean na, having grown up in Korea, she preferred to go by "Chris."
"There are people who use their real nas as in-ga nicknas, like Chris sunbae."
"Hehe, and it doesn’t even feel weird. Her English na is really pretty too."
*Ding-ling.*
The sound of the café door opening interrupted their conversation.
When Jae-Wook turned his head, he saw a woman with red hair walk in.
As if to prove the saying, "speak of the tiger and it will appear," Chris sunbae, the subject of their conversation, entered.
With a smile, Chris approached Jae-Wook and Dayeon.
"Looks like my juniors are already here?"
"Chris unnie! Long ti no see!"
"Even though we were just in-ga together yesterday."
Jae-Wook subtly glanced at Chris’s hair.
Though it had been brown with a reddish tint before, now her hair was a vibrant, fiery red, just like her character in the ga.
"Wow, you went for full-on bright red? You’re probably the only person who can pull off such a bold color."
"Unnie, the bright red looks amazing! You look exactly like your character, 'Chris,' from *Astra Online*!"
"Haha, well, I didn’t customize anything besides my hair color."
Jae-Wook shook his head with a smile.
"This is the second ti I’ve seen such a bright hair color in real life."
"Hmm? Have you seen soone else with flashy hair like this in real life?"
"Yeah, when I was working part-ti to save for my capsule. But anyway, that’s not really important."
Recalling a girl he had seen during his part-ti job, Jae-Wook quickly changed the subject.
"So, what’s the reason you called us here today? We’ve been grinding levels pretty hard."
"It’s nothing big. We’ve been pushing ourselves for over a month now, so I thought we could take a breather, et up outside, and chat."
Chris's relaxed deanor left Jae-Wook feeling puzzled.
"You were rushing us to level up during the last region, but now you seem so calm?"
"There’s no need to hurry anymore."
Chris’s response left both Jae-Wook and Dayeon with questioning expressions.
As if to clear up their confusion, Chris continued.
"I’ve already identified the location of the next elite dungeon. I even know the entry conditions."
"Th-Then shouldn’t we focus even more on leveling up...?"
Chris cut off Jae-Wook mid-sentence.
"Just hear out. The minimum level to enter the next elite dungeon is 30. But right now, the entrance is sealed."
"Sealed?"
"Yeah, it looks like a dungeon that opens once certain conditions are t."
Chris opened her smartphone and showed her juniors a screenshot.
It was a large fortress with the entrance sealed by a massive magic circle.
"There’s a magic seal on the entrance that’s preventing players from entering. And in the center of the seal, there’s a gauge."
"The gauge is partially filled?"
"Yes. From what I’ve observed, the gauge increases slightly every ti players clear one of the four 'Beast God Dungeons' in this region. At this rate, the dungeon will probably open around the ti most players in this area reach level 30."
"What does that an?"
"It’s a way to control content consumption speed. Everyone’s been running non-stop up to level 25 in this region, right? Even first-wave players are getting fatigued."
"Ohhh."
Jae-Wook nodded in understanding.
This way, there would be no need to sacrifice sleep to grind levels. They could also focus on other content while waiting for the dungeon to open.
Chris smiled slyly.
"In other words, we can afford to take it easy for now. But when the dungeon is close to opening, we’ll need to tighten up and get ready."
"There will be a lot more competitors for the first clear."
"Yeah, and like the previous elite dungeons, the first clear won’t be easy. The difficulty will be significantly higher."
Only then did Jae-Wook feel the sense of urgency easing.
It wasn’t just about the money—the thrill and sense of accomplishnt from clearing a high-difficulty dungeon with party mbers was beyond words.
In old raid MMORPGs, like *World of War Thunder*, which had since faded into history, players would take on brutally hard raids, driven by the glory and sense of achievent that ca with being the first to clear them.
"Classic online raid gas sotis took over a month to get a first clear."
"Yeah, and when they eventually release legendary-difficulty raid dungeons, we might have to plan multi-week schedules for attempts."
"That’s fine, but the controls in this ga are way too hard."
"Well, that’s how virtual reality gas are. *Astra Online* compensates for movent with skills like *Backward Evasion*, but there’s still a limit to synchronization rate. This ga caps it at about 20%."
"Isn’t there a way to hack the capsule to increase the synchronization rate?"
"There are ways, but it’s illegal, you know? And you’re aware that my dad owns a capsule company, right?"
Under Chris’s sharp gaze, Jae-Wook winced.
"And with current virtual reality technology, even the best hacks can only push the rate to around 40-50%. Any higher, and it could be dangerous."
"Dangerous? Why?"
"You’ve heard the story, haven’t you? About soone freezing to death in a malfunctioning freezer, even though it wasn’t on?"
Jae-Wook slapped his hand on the table. He had heard a similar example during one of his lectures.
"This is why you should study as hard as you ga. Higher synchronization ans feeling everything more realistically—even pain."
"That makes sense, thinking about all the deaths and resurrections in VR FPS gas or dungeon clears in *Astra Online*."
"Exactly. The shock from the pain you feel when your character dies could affect your real body."
"Th-That sounds extrely dangerous."
Jae-Wook wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Well, everyone seems to be doing fine, right? I trust my party mbers."
"Beirung is ready to be Chris unnie’s right-hand in any raid!"
Chris patted Dayeon’s head as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
Watching them with a smile, Jae-Wook suddenly thought of sothing and asked Chris.
"Hmm... what if soone played *Astra Online* with 100% synchronization?"
"Hm? Well, depending on how sharp their senses are, that person could probably beco an unbeatable character. They might even solo dungeons that we struggled to clear as a party."
Chris paused briefly and then smirked.
"That is, if they can handle the pain. Do you think modern people, who cry over a paper cut, could manage it?"
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