[ Neural Link engaged! ]

Shin materialized in a whirlwind of pixels.

He was in the virtual world of HyperTech Industries' groundbreaking game.

Gone were his normal clothes, now replaced by a sleek black one-piece garment adorned with the iconic logo of the company.

A blue translucent interface greeted him, demanding his email and password before granting him access to the game.

He entered the necessary information.

「 Email: Shin******@gmail.com

Password: Pa$$worthe 」

Then he hit enter.

Shin remained composed, as silent as the empty space he was in.

Only a seasoned gamer would be able to look this calm, but as for Shin, he was only interested in two things.

[ Starting game... ]

The game sprung to life, the initial login screen faded away, and Shin's virtual self materialized as his chosen avatar. A mirror image of himself, albeit with striking white hair and piercing blue eyes, he wore a sophisticated white tunic adorned with golden trims. Completing his ensemble, he sported a pair of well-fitted brown pants and sturdy boots.

[ Thank you for returning to Elden Online! You're in the Starter Town, Eses... ]

Eses, the bustling Starter Town, stretched out before him in all its virtual splendor. Shin was standing in the heart of the town, Eses Square.

Eses was a town with a mix of architectural styles, blending traditional medieval structures with hints of dwarven influence. The town was built with stone and wood, giving it a rustic yet welcoming feel. The streets were lined with quaint shops, bustling taverns, and cozy inns, catering to the needs of both adventurers and residents.

It was located in the eastern expanse of the Miyoloris Continent which unveiled the Langria Peaks, a treacherous mountain range that cut through the land. The ancient Dwarven Nation of Scandrag thrived within these rugged mountains.

"Sometimes these logins give me a headache."

Shin sighed.

The vibrant hub was abuzz with players and non-playable characters (NPCs) alike, as they prepared for the highly-anticipated event about to unfold.

Shin's eyes scanned the crowd, searching for familiar faces.

"Where are the others?" he pondered.

Since they weren't around, Shin thought it was likely the speed of his network when compared to theirs.

He used a Trynect Booster.

It was a highly effective device designed to enhance the online gaming experience for players. By optimizing network connectivity and reducing latency, the booster ensured smooth and uninterrupted gameplay. It utilized advanced technology to prioritize gaming traffic, providing a stable and reliable connection.

Of course not everyone could afford it since it cost around 210.99$.

"I should take a look at my character sheet then..."

The main point of Shin looking at his character sheet was to see how much he needed to go in order to climb to the next level.

|| S T A T U S ||

Name] Shin

Race] Human

Title] None

Level] 9

Class] Engineer

HP] 442/442

MP] 180/180

EXP] 20/1,125

Stats]

• Strength: 14

• Dexterity: 18

• Intelligence: 20

• Vitality: 14

• Agility: 10

Equipments]

• Weapon:

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

- Steam-Powered Rifle

• Armor:

- Iron Stone Reinforced Mechanized Suit

• Accessories:

- Goggles of Precision

- Energy Cell Pack

Magic Skills]

• Turret Deploy

• Mechanical Companion, Bolk

• Explosive Grenades

Extra Skills]

• Trap Detection (Passive)

• Lockpicking (Passive)

• Explosive Expertise (Active)

|| C L O S E ||

Magic Skills on Elden Online encompassed attack, defense, and summoning based spells. Originally referred to as "spells," they were renamed Magic Skills in the most recent update, two months ago. Extra Skills, on the other hand, were initially called skills but were renamed "Extra Skills" in said recent update. Extra Skills consist of both active and passive skills, which could be upgraded to expand the skill tree.

Shinʼs in-game name was "Shin". He didn't see the point in coming up with a fancy name that he'd use in the game, so he went for his plain old name. However, it was advised to not use your real name as your in-game name.

This was mostly due to Professional Considerations.

If your in-game activities or behavior weren't aligned with your professional image, using your real name as your in-game name could potentially harm your reputation in real life.

Nevertheless, Shin didn't care.

He was a level 9 Engineer.

There were 10 classes on Elden Online. Which were: Warrior, Mage, Ranger, Engineer, Necromancer, Alchemist, Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Rogue.

The Engineer class was focused on technology and mechanical constructs for offense and utility. They usually had high intelligence and dexterity, moderate strength and vitality, low agility.

"Hmm."

As Shin calmly reviewed his character sheet, his party members had already logged in.

The first to appear was Hiro, his avatar named Helvick, looking uncannily similar to his real-life counterpart. With a goatee and a slight increase in muscularity. Donned in a suit of full-body armor, complete with a sword glistening at his waist and his circular shield on his back, Hiro looked every bit like a knight.

Knight was one of the subclasses of the "Warrior" class.

A class could have subclasses. In the case of the "Warrior" class, there were subclasses such as: Knight, Berserker, Samurai and so on.

Shortly after, Ryuzu materialized into the virtual realm, her avatar a mage of ethereal beauty. Her long blue hair cascaded down her back, complementing her elven ears and piercing blue eyes. Clad in a flowing white garment, she wielded a golden staff adorned with intricate rings at its pinnacle.

Her subclass was a Support Mage. Her race, elven. And most importantly, her avatar's name was— "Aqua". It matched her blue hair.

Then, Hiyori, avatar name: June, emerged, a ranger of unparalleled agility. Her black bodysuit seemed to meld with her lustrous white hair and brown, dull eyes.

Her subclass was Gunner. And her race, human.

Finally, the leader of the party, Kazuto, appeared before them all, his avatar named Ciel. Dressed in a short, navy-blue robe adorned with golden accents, his sleeves elegantly folded just above the elbow. Kazuto's blonde hair matched his calm blue blue eyes.

His class was Mage (subclass: Versatile Mage). His race, demonoid.

"Took you long enough." Shin a casual glance towards his comrades.

Ciel smiled mildly. "Not all of us have those game boosters of yours..."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Shin retorted, "Whatever, it's not that big of a deal."

Helvick let out an exasperated sigh, his armor clanking faintly with the motion. "If I were as rich as you, Shin, I'd be able buy all those fancy gadgets to enhance my gaming experience too," he quipped.

"But you're not," June told him plainly.

Helvick sighed heavily as his shoulders dropped. "Yeah I know, you don't have to tell me..."

"Well, if you want, I could buy them for you," Shin calmly offered.

Hiro's eyes widened in disbelief as he blurtered out, "Really?! You'd do that for me?"

Aqua leaned forward on her golden staff.

"Well yeah, if Shin could buy all of us Elden Online and its expansion packs, then buying that wouldn't be a problem," she said.

June nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Her gaze was focused on the diaphanous blue screen before her.

Ciel interjected with his usual calm voice. "That's enough talk, let's go over the plan one more time just to make sure we all understand it," he said, emphasizing the importance of their preparation.

Aqua turned to Helvick and smiled mischievously. "I doubt Hiro does," she chimed in.

Helvick's face turned red with frustration as he shouted at Aqua. "I definitely understood it this time!" he exclaimed. "And call me by my in-game name too!" he added, his voice growing more insistent.

Aqua couldn't help but giggle, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to stifle her amusement. "Don't get so worked up," she said with a sweet and playful voice.

Ciel placed a gentle hand on Helvick's shoulder, offering comfort and reassurance. "I'm sure she was just joking," he looked at Aqua. "Right?"

"Yes, of course I was." Aqua giggled more.

Helvick nodded, though the hurt was still evident in his eyes. "Y... Yeah, I knew that," he muttered, though his true understanding was uncertain.

Ciel's tone became awkward as he questioned Helvick. "But... did you... you know... really understand the game plan, though?" he asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

Helvick's frustration boiled over as he screamed at the top of his voice.

"I understand it! Why does everyone think I'm dumb?" he exclaimed.

June's voice cut through the tension with a blunt honesty. "Because you look dumb," she stated plainly, her tone matter-of-fact.

Helvick clutched his chest, a pained expression crossing his face.

"That really hurt," he murmured.

Helvick turned to Shin, his eyes pleading for support.

"You don't think I look dumb, right Shin?" he asked.

At that point he was hoping anyone would agree with him.

Shin simply shrugged, a nonchalant expression on his face. "Even if I said you don't look dumb... doesn't majority carry the vote here?" he posed a rhetorical question. He didn't say it for Helvick to answer, but rather for him to contemplate deeply on it.

They were five in the group, and three already thought he was dumb──that was more than enough credibility of his mental capacity.

Helvick's armor clinked and clanked as he fell to his knees, frustrated and defeated. He tightened his grip on his fist and slammed it forcefully against the ground.

"You guys have no sympathy..." Helvick strained out from under his breath.

Ciel, standing tall and composed, raised an eyebrow at Helvick's outburst. He smiled a bit and placed his hands on his waist. "Save the whining for later, Helvick," he said with his soft voice. "Right now, we need to go over our strategy one more time."

Helvick, feeling slightly chastised, rose to his feet and brushed off the dirt from his armor. He nodded with a slowly building determination. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he muttered, his voice regressed back to his usual carefree self. "Let's get this over with."

Much like them, other players were gathered in the central square of the starter town, Eses. A sea of players to be precise, each one with hair of varying colors, from vibrant rainbows to subtle pastels or with unique physical characteristics like pointy ears, tribal markings or long noses.

The atmosphere was ecstatic.

Players donned their medieval attire, some carrying bows, others wielding swords, maces, or staffs for magic users.

Over 5,000 players filled the square. They chatted amongst themselves, discussing strategies, and meticulously preparing their weapons, buffs, and various items they would need once the event commenced.

In total, there were over 300,000 players online in total. All ready to reap the rewards of the Double-Tier Leveling Event.

"Okay guys, so the planʼs simple..." Ciel went over the plan.

The plan depending heavily on timing and focus.

An optimal monster targeting tactic.

They'd first identify the high EXP value monsters within the level 9 range. In this case, the level 9 players should prioritize monsters that gave the highest EXP rewards. Aqua had already written a table on the EXP level 9 monsters granted and it was from 40-44. According to the provided table, them being level 9 players could aim for monsters that provide within that range.

Their party used a special method known as difficulty rating.

Ciel determined the difficulty ratings of the level 9 monsters. Although not explicitly provided in the game, he observed that monsters had a difficulty rating ranging from 1 (easy) to 5 (difficult). The higher the difficulty meant they granted 1 extra EXP. In other words, a monster with a difficulty rating of 1 granted 40 EXP while another with a difficulty rating of two guaranteed 41 EXP.

They as level 9 players would target monsters with a lower difficulty rating to maximize their chances of defeating them efficiently.

Next was to plan the leveling route. They needed to identify areas or dungeons that had a higher density of high EXP value monsters with lower difficulty ratings. By concentrating efforts on these areas, they'd efficiently accumulate EXP.

Ciel had already studied the [Malevolent Catacombs]. It was located in the [Greenwood Forest Trail]. There were three types of monsters available to defeat there:

- Skeleton Warrior (Fire and Water crystal infused): Difficulty Rating 1, EXP 40

- Haunting Phantom (Dark and Lightning crystal infused): Difficulty Rating 3, EXP 42

- Ancient Lich (Frost crystal infused): Difficulty Rating 5, EXP 44

The [Skeleton Warriors] had an EXP value of 40 and a difficulty rating of 1. The [Haunting Phantoms], on the other hand, offered an EXP value of 42 but had a difficulty rating of 3. Based on Cielʼs calculations, he determined that the [Skeleton Warriors] provided a higher efficiency in terms of EXP gained per difficulty rating.

To further optimize his strategy, Ciel calculated the time required to defeat each monster and the average EXP per minute for both. He discovered that his party members could defeat a [Skeleton Warrior] in 2 minutes, resulting in an EXP per minute of 20. In comparison, the [Haunting Phantoms] took 4 minutes to defeat, providing an EXP per minute of 10.5.

By multiplying the EXP per minute by the total available time of 24 hours (1,440 minutes), they could accumulate 28,800 EXP from [Skeleton Warriors] and only 15,120 EXP from [Haunting Phantoms] during the event.

That calculation hadn't factored resting periods yet.

Ciel considered the respawn rates of these monsters to ensure continuous farming. The skeleton camps had a respawn rate of 10 minutes, while the phantoms had a respawn rate of 20 minutes. It led Ciel to conclude that they could effectively target and defeat 144 [Skeleton Warriors] (10 minutes per respawn) and only 72 [Haunting Phantoms] (20 minutes per respawn) within the event timeframe.

Taking all these factors into account, Ciel realized that by solely focusing on the [Skeleton Warriors] and optimizing their farming efficiency, they could accumulate 8,784 EXP during the event.

And that was without the bonus effect of the Double-Tier Leveling Event.

"So, are we clear?" Ciel asked them.

They all nodded.

"Now, we wait..." Ciel slotted his hands into his pockets.

Everyone awaited the start of the one-time event.

And that was when it happened... The incident...