“Alright! The last three! 8, 9,10!”
Crack!
Seokdu grinned as he said.
“Good. Your form was solid just now. Let’s do just one more set like that.”
Yeo-hyeon lowered the bench press and muttered a complaint that wasn’t really a complaint.
“You say just one more set, but then you make me do even more!”
“Haha, that’s how it is when you’re on a roll. Come on! Keep it up!”
Despite the exhausting exercise that would have made anyone frown, Yeo-hyeon’s face bloomed with nothing but smiles.
‘Ten more minutes…’
Today’s minimum exercise time of one hour, promised to his parents, felt incredibly long.
It had to be that way, because the moment everyone playing the game waited for the most was about to arrive.
For gamers, the most anticipated moments are usually when they get to check out the power of a newly acquired Skill.
But even more so, it’s when they get items from a raid so difficult that even Dahav just now couldn’t have dared to predict success.
‘Well, I did think I might get the initial special reward…’
Not to mention the unique rune named Dead by Explosion, but the special item obtained afterward—the Seal of the Black Robe Cultist—was also a highly valuable item.
‘Dead by Explosion is one of Willhelm’s core Skills, and the Seal of the Black Robe Cultist is just… thinking about it made me smile.’
So immersed in happiness, exercising, the ten minutes passed before he realized it.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. Good job.”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
After exchanging greetings with Seokdu, Dahav reached for the doorknob to head to the shower.
Yeo-il was walking out, apparently having finished his workout earlier.
Meeting at the door, Yeo-il gave a mischievous smile and said,
“Hey~! Look who it is! The rising star of ASA is at our house today?”
“Hyung, are you talking about me?”
“Inseok is even trying to hide from the family? We’ve already said that Seokdu made a popular video proving even a Super Player can have a hard time climbing. Everyone knows by now.”
“Ah, but that wasn’t just from skill. It just sort of happened…”
On his own channel, he neither filmed nor edited the video, and it unexpectedly became popular, so he really wanted to deny it, but Yeo-il cut him off.
“They say it’s partly skill, so why risk pumping your own skill?”
“If you say so, hyung… then I’ll carry myself proudly with confidence.”
“That’s a good posture, but…”
Yeo-il’s expression stiffened from praise to serious, continuing,
“You’re famous now. You know what that means? You have to be careful.”
“Of course. I’ll be careful not to bring shame to you, the family, or the Cheon Ae Group.”
Having already mentally prepared for this as a member of the Cheon Family, he answered firmly while nodding.
But since it wasn’t the answer Yeo-il expected, he seemed a little embarrassed.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Yeo-il waved his hand and explained the real reason that could be heard behind him.
“Watch out for the Wolfies! That’s what I meant, you know?”
He asked again, startled by the unexpected term.
“Wolfies?”
“It’s a term for bad-mannered players. To put it simply… it means those users who not only envy talented players but go as far as to harm or harass them directly.”
Wolfies—players with a level of envy beyond normal, who frequently engage in unsportsmanlike conduct.
In the past, it was just bad comments on web posts, but as their numbers grew, they spread their malice even into the game itself.
Especially on ASA, where identity was strictly hidden, they drew out the worst feelings in people without filter.
These were people who didn’t just envy rookies or talented players but didn’t hesitate to go as far as causing direct harm, even resorting to hacking.
Dahav had seen “Wolfies Getting a Lesson” videos on YouTube before, so he wasn’t completely clueless, but there were parts he doubted.
“Do they really interfere that badly?”
“You bet. When I was doing well early on, they held me back so much that I fell behind.”
“Especially since Yeo-hyeon, you don’t seem to belong to a guild. Without any protection, wolfies will keep biting you until you’re dead.”
Yeo-il shuddered at the thought, waving his hand as if to shake off the chills, and Seokdu added,
“That’s just how it is. Once they grab a hold of you, life will be tough.”
Judging by how disgusted these two were, if he ever got caught by wolfies, it was going to be a serious ordeal.
“Wolfies, huh. I’ll have to prepare a solid countermeasure just in case.”
Early on, Dahav might not have thought this seriously, but now, preparing to make it his profession and moving with a plan, he couldn’t afford to give up to those losers.
“I’ll remember that. Thanks for the advice.”
“Anything for you. If you get bitten by wolfies, just tell me. I’ll ask the Guild Master to back you up.”
Seokdu’s sincere offer was generous, but since he wasn’t even in the same guild, Dahav felt it improper to accept without caution.
‘There’s a saying that favors only last as long as pork belly.’
‘Even if Seokdu didn’t know, the guild leader and the key executives might not have acted purely out of goodwill.’
He might demand a debt in return, like asking Dahav to join the guild.
Still, Dahav couldn’t just dismiss Seokdu’s genuine goodwill.
“If I get into trouble, I’ll be sure to let you know. Thank you, hyung.”
Though smiling, his mind was already spinning fast, preparing countermeasures against wolfies.
***
Big or small, everyone has heard stories about top stars’ romances and breakups, or even rumors about aliens existing in a country’s military zone.
Despite being baseless, humans—creatures gifted with vivid imagination and curiosity—constantly churned out these rumors.
And it wasn’t limited to the real world.
Even a tiny in-game bug was enough to spawn exaggerated stories and rumors.
ASA was a game but also considered a second life, so such rumors inevitably appeared.
‘There’s a legendary dragon beneath the reservoir map.’
‘If you give a Demon’s Horn to a certain village NPC, you can move to the Demon World.’
And so on…
Not only rumors about locations but even rumors about Skills existed.
One story recorded in the Empire Library’s historical text “Encaeridian” involved the Dragon clan’s leader Dramilda’s high-level Skill “Unmemorizing Casting” and its advanced form “Dragon Tongue” — both Skills available for users to learn.
Just saying the name “Dragon Tongue,” which could manifest Skills and magic through words alone, was considered absurd enough to break game balance, making it mostly a rumor.
And among the subjects of such rumors was the claim that players could learn “Dead by Explosion,” a Skill used by Elwin.
Usually, “Summon Sacrifice” required sacrificing a Summoned Creature in a corpse-like state to activate, which was a significant risk.
Still, because of its great power, summoner-type professions, especially those relying on quantity over quality, greatly valued Summon Sacrifice.
However, Elwin’s Dead by Explosion didn’t require turning summoned creatures into a corpse state to activate the Skill and had countless applications and usages, making it a Skill that left even the developers scratching their heads in disbelief.
Of course, rumors were just rumors.
Usually, when a rumor got too loud, it disappeared down a back alley with a single yawn.
But Dahav couldn’t let the current one about Dahav pass so lightly.
‘Could this really be a Skill I could acquire…?’
Excited to the point his knees trembled, he was about to report to Shazam.
[Dead by Explosion (Rune)]
Category: Unique Active Skill
- Grade: Unique
- Grade upon acquisition: C
- Maximum growth grade: S
- When summoning or materializing all summoned creatures and environments in the corporeal state, consumes 200 mana per unit (1EA).
- Infuses magical power into a corpse to forcibly cause an explosion. (The radius and damage of the explosion depend on the user’s mental strength and the corpse’s size.)
- Upon meeting certain conditions, it grows to grade 8, significantly increasing power or granting special abilities.
“This is insane…”
First, the condition requiring summoned creatures to be sacrificed was eliminated.
But that wasn’t all.
Having experienced the Skill’s power firsthand, Dahav realized how extraordinary it was.
Of course, the requirement to use corpses could be a drawback in ambushes or one-on-one combat.
‘But that’s not my problem.’
Monster Pioneer’s job specialty was to handle corpses.
‘In urgent situations, I can just blow up a ghoul.’
It was like putting flowers on fine silk.
With excellent basic stats and perfect synergy with Monster Pioneer, he didn’t hesitate to equip Dead by Explosion in the Skill Rune Window unlocked after reaching level 20.
Ping!
[Active Skill “Dead by Explosion” acquired.]
[You can now use the Skill “Dead by Explosion.”]
This alone was a huge advantage.
“But this isn’t the end.”
He carefully touched the “Seal of the Black Robe Cultist” stored in his inventory as if it were a sacred relic.
[Seal of the Black Robe Cultist]
- Grade: Rare
- Category: Special Item
- A seal symbolizing membership in a fanatical group worshiping Balrak, the 62nd demon.
*Special events occur when certain conditions are met.
Though it appeared to have no powers, and could be mistaken for junk, that was a grave mistake.
It was a genuine treasure.
ASA’s theme was freedom, but its main storyline was about helping the goddess stop the 72 demons invading the intermediate realm.
A common setting, but it helped gain popularity.
For gamers, the most important thing was not common settings or popularity but the Main Quest rewards.
‘I can already enter the Main Quest line…’
Level 5 quests had many types.
Normal hunts and exterminations, intelligence quests investigating causes, chasing quests tracking specific targets, defense quests protecting objectives, even “War,” and more.
Among them, the most prestigious was, of course, the Main Quest.
Unlike ordinary quests, it offered much better growth speed, achievements, reward items, and Skill Runes.
Because the difficulty matched the player’s level after 20, these quests were prized by those raising rookies or aiming to become Super Players.
Of course, not just anyone could get them.
They required killing bosses connected to the worldview.
For those without innate talent unable to participate in raids, extremely rare chances to get rewards by killing general monsters were set.
It was nice that talents could be drawn out through effort, but the problem was that the threshold for ordinary monsters was set absurdly high.
At least level 150.
In other words, it only dropped after defeating the subordinates of the 72 Demon Lords.
‘The cheapest one sold was probably… about 1.3 billion.’
That was the price before Rabo uploaded the video “How to Enter the Main Quest” in late 2039, so the actual value likely far exceeded 1.3 billion.
Collectors said if it had sold after Rabo’s video, the price might have reached 4 billion.
Besides the price, the drop rate was insanely low, and even if it dropped, since the player or guild used it to train rookies, supply was extremely scarce.
Despite having the backing of Cheon Ae Group and significant funds, Dahav was still pondering how to obtain one.
‘Super Player… maybe it’s really possible soon.’
He was happily daydreaming about growing faster from rookie to Super Player than anyone else.
‘No, I can’t just sit here like this.’
After exercising, reviewing recorded videos, and sending them to AJ, a lot of time had passed.
Plus, he had unexpectedly attended a family gathering, preventing him from playing the game for the whole day.
Dahav hurried toward Shazam’s office.