Prologue

11:30pm

[Are you sure you want to log out?]

[Yes/No]

"I guess it's about time.."

I dragged my mouse across the screen, hovering over the 'Yes' button, and eventually I gave in and clicked it, sighing in relief.

I got out of my seat, my bedroom was dark except for the light coming from my computer monitor, which was displaying its home screen.

I shut down my computer and switched off the monitor. I then leapt onto my rumpled bed, the sheets were in disarray and the pillows were scattered everywhere.

"It's been nice.. spending every single minute and hour for the past 8 years grinding Enhanced Adventure."

Eight years ago when Enhanced Adventure was released as a MMORPG, I, Yejin Choi, was one of the early players of the game. Little did I know that I would become so engrossed with it.

I experienced loneliness during my childhood; although I had friends, I could not help but feel distinct. It was like I was on the outside looking in, I noticed things differently and had an attitude of indifference toward most things.

I didn't object to being solitary, in fact I enjoyed it. At the same time the actual sensation of loneliness struck me hard, having nothing to do each day and losing myself in sheer boredom. Being the outsider, I saw airing my grievances and talking about things as futile since I didn't trust anyone, not even my own family.

Growing up as a teenager I felt isolated and my life was dull because the same mundane activities repeated daily and nothing I did had any significance.

I lacked a spark in my life.

That was until Enhanced Adventure was released, it instantly became a hit and captivated the attention of gamers all over the world. There was an incredible amount of different skills, classes, and abilities to choose from, along with its immersive and expansive open world gameplay.

Gamers from all corners of the globe praised the smoothness of the game mechanics and visuals, as well as the level of freedom it offered.

ArmoredKnight343- This game just released and it's already the best!

TheHonoredOne- I'm already hooked!

Gamer45678- Currently saving for this game.

HaremDude- I'm only here for the detailed female characters.

Almost no one had anything bad to say about Enhanced Adventure after it came out; people seemed to really enjoy it.

It was perfect.

Once gamers began to realize the difficulty of the game, it took around three weeks for them to start progressing. It was not until they reached level 25 that they began to notice the game's difficulty had increased significantly.

The game was difficult enough to begin with, however, it became even more challenging after level 25. The enemies were given extra abilities, their levels increased, some of the areas became hazardous, and usually, large groups of players had to be assembled in order to defeat an overpowered enemy.

It was difficult for players to grind as they could defeat weaker enemies, but they didn't gain enough experience points from them.

Despite the quality of the game remaining unchanged, the extremely hard level of difficulty caused a huge drop in players, with tens of thousands quitting the game each month.

TheHalvedOne- Before I leveled up to 25 I could have easily beaten mobs, now they slice me into two with just one hit! I want a refund!

_IamPro_42- The game has gotten too difficult, basically impossible without parties. I want a refund!

LonelyLoser- Not everyone had friends to form parties! I'm deleting this game immediately!

HaremDude- I'm still only here for the detailed female characters...

Players made lengthy remarks about how difficult the game was, and it was clear that the difficulty should be lowered, yet the Developers refused to make any changes no matter how much they were asked.

The amount of players dropped off significantly in a short period of two years, however, those who were determined to remain in the game saw it as an invigorating challenge in their otherwise boring lives.

One of those Players was me.

[Username: Majin

Level: 999

Class: DeathKnight

Health: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Strenght: 701

Speed: 800

Defence: 762

Mana: 7,000,000/7,000,000

See more...]

With my experience as a beta tester, my skills, determination and many sleepless nights, I managed to become the top player by a wide margin, with the rest of the leaderboard far behind me.

'Not to mention, I was given access to the Ultra Rare Class DeathKnight, which has the ability to harness death-based skills and attacks. This was only available to beta testers who completed certain missions.'

[Leaderboard]

#1 (Me)Majin- 999lvl

#2 Fuji- 761lvl

#3 HaremDude- 521lvl

#4 Bones- 510lvl

#5 FiddlerSticker43- 498lvl

See more..

Playing the game gave my dull existence a new breath of life, I finally found the spark I had been longing for and devoted myself to it for 8 years, pushing myself to the limit until there were no more challenges left.

I had completed all the plotlines, primary objectives, secondary objectives, world objectives, and there was not a single character or non-player character in the game that could defeat me.

"It all leads up to this day, my level is now maxed out at 1000 and I'm bored again."

"I wish I could experience the joys and sorrows of playing the game for the first time once more."

I nestled my head on the comfortable bed, taking a pillow from my side and positioning it under my black hair to provide additional comfort.

"I have school tomorrow, I should really get some sleep."

As I shut my eyes, I gradually started to feel my mind drift off into a slumber, as my body began to relax.

I had no idea what the following day would bring and was not prepared for what was in store.