Chapter 2: The Return of a Veteran

Monster World.

It was a game with a long lifespan, but it had faced plenty of crises.

That’s how my last memory went as well.

Right before I quit the game, little news articles started popping up, hinting that the company behind the game was on shaky ground. Before long, the company behind "MonWorld" really was acquired by another company.

The service continued as normal. Still, just like any unpopular game, I figured it wouldn’t last long.

The users calmly prepared to say their goodbyes... But to everyone’s surprise, Monster World survived.

Rumor had it that the new CEO who acquired the company was an old “MonWorld” veteran himself. That’s why he couldn’t let go and took the game under his wing.

All sorts of rumors spread, but in any case, it was a relief for the existing players.

“Oh... There’s no one around since it’s dawn. Nice, nice.”

The day I reinstalled Monster World just so happened to be three weeks before the start of a new season.

During that time, I had been setting up my computer and workspace, preparing everything to perfection.

Honestly, Monster World is so old-fashioned that it runs fine even on a crappy computer, but I wanted to set the mood for myself.

Anyway, the moment the new season opened, I jumped right in.

Of course, since it had been a while, I didn’t adapt immediately.

So I spent about two weeks floundering like a rookie before finally shaking off my noobness.

Now, having found my lost sense for the game, I broke through the maximum level of 100.

After that, I dedicated myself to endless leveling up.

But since all the good hunting maps were monopolized by “those people’s” hotline, a small fry like me had to fight fiercely for mobs in the lower maps where monsters were scarce.

“Ah, this is way too many! I can’t handle this! Oh no—!”

Enjoying an empty server only lasted for a moment.

Currently, the map “Ruined Temple” was overflowing with monsters since I was the only one around. The respawn rate was faster than I could kill them, so this was inevitable.

“I haven’t even finished off the last batch, and now five more are coming? What’s this about?”

A horde of long-range mobs appeared in the distance, attacking my character and setting me on edge.

“Geez, this is ridiculous! There’s so many!”

With tense wrists, I worked the mouse frantically. My character dashed away, scrambling into a corner.

Since I have to use single-target attack skills to draw monsters into one-on-one fights, it was enough to make me sigh.

“Ah... Should’ve chosen Warrior or Mage.”

In MonWorld, every class has attack skills. No matter what you pick, you can play solo, which is a big plus.

But depending on your subclass, hunting speed varies.

The game’s base jobs are four.

Warrior, Mage, Priest, and Archer.

Simple, but the details change depending on what weapons or stat builds you choose.

Warriors use swords as Swordmasters, spears as Spearmasters, or shields as Tanks.

Priests can be Buffers or Debuffers. Archers split into two styles depending on skill tree, and Mages—oddly—only have one variant.

Of course, these subclasses aren’t official. They’re simply leveling trees discovered by MonWorld players as they developed their characters.

My character is a male wearing a black priest’s robe.

His ID is “Mir.” It doesn’t mean anything; it’s just the name of my family dog.

Priests usually dream of being beloved buffers... but I switched to a “Debuffer” who wields the skeletal weapon, “Skull.” My base is Priest, so I can give buffs to others, but mostly they’re bad buffs.

Honestly, it’s the slowest hunting class, so it raises my blood pressure... But in a pinch during hunts, I can disrupt opponents or force monster kills, which is a big advantage.

Strictly speaking, it’s built for PK.

I picked the job out of curiosity at first, but seeing the current state of the Another Server, it was a good choice.

The Another Server was created at the suggestion of old, hardcore players looking for something new.

They were tired of their own “exclusive league,” and the company, whose biggest shareholders were basically “those people,” had to appease them.

Those people refer to the “heavy cash spenders” you find in every game.

True to its reputation as an easy game for older folks, MonWorld’s growth system is simple.

The item farming, enhancement, crafting—stuff you see in other games?

Not here.

Items are just extras; you just hunt endlessly.

Put simply, you grind like a dog and just keep raising your character’s stats. After max level 100, leveling is infinite, so you can keep boosting your stats without limit.

“But then, how does the company make money? They don’t sell avatars or have a monthly fee, right?”

That’s a question my friend once asked me when I was obsessed with promoting the game.

“How else? Through cash shop items, of course.”

MonWorld sells “Potion” items in the cash shop that slightly increase your experience points. That’s why the game was a hit among casual users early on.

[Who would even spend real money on a game like this? LOL]

[If I play moderately, I’ll become a ranker and a named player in no time.]

[There won’t be heavy spenders, so the game balance should be fine, right?]

A lot of people jumped in with a light heart.

But the world is big, and there are a lot of people in it.

There really were people who spent money on this kind of game.

At first, I thought they might be company shills trying to stir up the community.

But they weren’t.

Most of MonWorld’s heavy cash spenders were self-employed. More precisely, they were older folks who loved games but couldn’t adapt to modern trends and had money to burn.

Those people.

The top ranks on MonWorld’s main server were always theirs.

Of course, since they only had money, their characters were often run by hired helpers or friends. The real players were too busy with real life to log in except for brief visits.

Anyway, the game always revolved around those people.

Even as regular guild members, they held the highest positions in their guilds.

Ironically, since they believed their guild’s combat power was their own, they invested heavily in their guildmates as “big spenders.”

So MonWorld was a bloody battlefield every day.

As with most games, little squabbles escalated into PK.

Most importantly, individual PK meant guild PK.

That’s why things were so intense during its peak.

Wherever you went to hunt, players clashed for PK. Some aggressive guilds even controlled hunting grounds, and the fights sometimes spilled over into real life—well, almost.

Ironically, though, the PK that brought the server’s golden age also hastened its decline.

[They should just fight each other, but they kill innocent regular users too. Newbies come to hunt and end up leaving in tears.]

[I’m a newbie who got killed yesterday. Any chance I can get revenge if I train for a few months?]

[Nope, just quit unless you plan on spending thousands a day. The way this game works, newbies get left behind.]

[Sigh…….]

[I wish some crazy newbie would show up and wipe them all out.]

Unfortunately, no such crazy newbie ever appeared.

New players left one by one, and eventually only the old, stagnant veterans remained.

The Another Server was a remedy cooked up for those bored veterans.

Launched as an event server, the Another Server boasted faster leveling, higher drop rates than the main server, and “no cash shop.”

Of course, when it first opened, it was just a three-month, limited-time server.

Truly an event server.

Even so, the news of Another Server’s launch brought back a wave of ex-players. Newbies were lured in by the tempting advertisements.

The Another Server enjoyed the brightest golden age in MonWorld’s history. Though it only lasted three months, the players were extremely satisfied.

And they began to crave more.

[The event server is seriously fun! Haha, boss, please request another one.]

Someone jokingly nudged “those people” to request it, and everyone just laughed.

But it actually happened.

[Seasonal event servers? Pulling in players from the main server, but with no cash shop—how does that make any money? Why do it?]

Everyone was skeptical at first, but their worries were short-lived.

The main server, with those people, continued just fine, while the Another Server reset every five or six months and was actively run.

I also quit the main server and stuck to Another Server.

Old veterans, in-betweeners, returnees, newbies—everyone mingled with no cash shop, and it was a blast.

But, old habits die hard... Eventually, main server veterans with connections started monopolizing the hunting grounds.

The cheerful, friendly atmosphere of Another Server quickly devolved into a PK server.

Of course, I also got killed a few times.

And as it kept happening, I realized something.

Even on an event server, you can’t afford to take things lightly.

That’s why I quit MonWorld, and those memories remain as bad game experiences.

Still, the bustling atmosphere in the early days was truly something.

The lower-tier main server players and returnees were generally polite and mature, so the guilds on Another Server were especially friendly.

Especially that newbie representative guild started by a big spender from the main server.

If I recall, the atmosphere there was the best.

A newbie died somewhere, at someone’s hands?

Then the hardcore guild master would come to the rescue and even scold those people.

Since it was a neutral, sacred guild, even the most toxic veterans wouldn’t dare mess with the newbie guild master.

And thankfully, that newbie guild is still around.

I don’t know if the guild master is the same person as before, though.

Of course, there was a rule that you had to leave once you reached a certain level, so I was kicked from the guild after I started running “Ruined Temple” a while back.

“I should have made a permanent party ahead of time.”

Why is it called the newbie guild?

It’s a guild to help each other out and get help from higher levels.

Obsessed with grinding, I overlooked how important connections are for newbies.

Even a mediocre connection is a blessing for a Debuffer who just wants someone to hunt with...

“Ah, maybe I should just go to bed...”

I was exhausted from the endless flood of mobs.

The time was past three in the morning.

I was torn about whether to log off or not, when a global message popped up.

[Ruined Temple—All] Ku: Anyone here?

Messages like this aren’t unusual.

Except for the hunting grounds monopolized by the veterans, most other places are cramped and don’t have that many mobs.

So users check in to see if anyone’s already in the area for everyone’s convenience. If there are a lot of replies, they just move to another spot.

Of course, the best method is to party up and share experience.

[Ruined Temple—All] Mir: I’m here alone~

I quickly tapped out a reply, hoping maybe they’d invite me to a party.

And then...

[Whisper] Ku: What’s your class?

A whisper came right away. Only then did I realize again that I was a Debuffer and shrank back a little.

[Whisper] Mir > Ku: I’m a Debuffer, haha;

There was a brief silence.

“Guess I’ll just get ignored...”

Most of the DPSers who level up here can kill mobs in one shot, so a Debuffer’s role in these hunting grounds is basically nil.

No reason to bring a Debuffer along just to leech experience.

What’s more, even if you party up, you only share experience during certain time windows. So it’s actually slower than soloing.

So I figured I’d be ignored, but...

[Whisper] Ku: I’m a Mage. Want to party up and hit a higher-level map together?

“An angel!”

I couldn’t help but shout.

Teaming up with a Mage—mages have lots of AoE skills and high attack power, so they’re the fastest at hunting. For me, it’s basically a free ride.

But my joy was short-lived, and I became suspicious.

“Wait. By higher-level map, you mean ‘Desert of No Return,’ right? Isn’t that area controlled by the veterans?”

[Whisper] Mir > Ku: Desert?

[Whisper] Ku: Yep

[Whisper] Mir > Ku: ?? But the veterans are guarding that place, right?

[Whisper] Ku: Not at this hour. They’re all over on the main server for a field war right now.

[Whisper] Mir > Ku: Really?

[Whisper] Ku: Maybe one or two will pop in to scout, but as long as we dodge them, it’s fine. Besides, grinding there for 30 minutes while dodging is way more efficient than an hour here, haha.

He was right.

But those nasty veterans’ stats were already at the top.

“If they catch us, we’ll die instantly. Is dodging even possible? And sneaking around to grind...”

I hesitated, furrowing my brows.

“No, wait. It’s not like they own the place, right?”

The more I thought about it, the more unfair it felt.

Suddenly, as if possessed, I accepted Ku’s offer on the spot.