6.

    [Eternal World, waiting for you.]

    Seong opened the capsule, stepping out as the farewell screen faded. The house was silent. Checking the time, he realized it was already 6 PM.

    Is no one home?

    His sister was likely still inside her capsule, and his mother... well, she wasn’t anywhere in sight. Curious, he wandered into the living room, but the house felt completely empty. Even the master bedroom lacked any signs of life.

    Naturally, Seong reached for his phone.

    As expected, there was a single message waiting for him:

    [Mom – Your dad and I have a couples’ gathering tonight, so we’ll be back late~ Eat whatever you like~ I sent you some money~]

    “They went out, huh,” Seong muttered.

    The part about eating whatever he wanted wasn’t surprising. What did surprise him was the amount his mom had sent—100,000 won.

    Even if he ordered delivery, it wouldn’t cost anywhere near that. And it wasn’t like Seong was short on cash, either. Still, his mom had sent him the money, and for that, he felt grateful.

    He made his way to Yu Mina’s room, finding her capsule still running.

    Should I send her a message?@@@@

    He hesitated, eventually deciding against it. There was no reason to call her out if she hadn’t cooked either.

    I’m not even hungry right now anyway.

    He figured they could order something together later when she logged out. With nothing else to do, Seong returned to his room, flopping onto his bed and scrolling through his phone. It was the perfect way to kill time.

    After catching up on a novel he had postponed reading, Seong quickly ran out of content. Restless, he browsed aimlessly until his algorithm-guided wanderings brought him to MiTube.

    Hmm?

    Perhaps because of his frequent dives into Eternal World, the algorithm was now completely overrun with videos about the game. Most of them were guild channels, but surprisingly few belonged to guilds Seong actually recognized.

    Amidst the sea of recommendations, one channel caught his eye.

    The Rapid Guild?

    It featured two top-ranking videos: one titled “Disciplining Echo Willow” and the other, “The Fortress of the Past.”

    Both were trending in the top spots, and Seong felt a strange mix of curiosity and awkwardness—he hadn’t watched videos about himself before.

    This feels weird.

    Despite his initial hesitation, Seong clicked through the channel and began browsing. He already knew the events depicted in the videos, but watching them with an outsider’s perspective gave him an entirely new feeling.

    Typically, reviewing something from a neutral viewpoint would reveal flaws or areas for improvement. However, nothing like that stood out to Seong.

    In fact, if given the chance, he would have handled things the exact same way.

    Why is this even so popular?

    Seong scanned the comments, hoping to understand the hype:

    [HotZero: Wait, was that really that easy???]

    ? [JoblessBoss: No way, lol. If it looks easy, it means they’re insanely good.]

    ? [RaidCoward: I’m a necromancer too, and this is unreal. How is his mana even holding up? Does that make sense?]

    [AspiringArchmage: Honestly, it feels like he’s on a different level compared to other classes. Even among Almighty-tier classes, this one’s ridiculously strong.]

    ? [UselessBerserker: Yeah, I think so too. If you look at early single-ranker footage, hardly anyone besides Yuna had this kind of potential, right?]

    ? [ChickenBreastLover: Eh, that’s debatable.]

    ? [AspiringArchmage: Debatable? Do Almighty-tier single-rankers look weak to you?]

    ? [MaxLevelHereWeGo: Yuna’s amazing, sure, but dissing other single-rankers seems unnecessary.]

    Seong was surprised at how highly people seemed to think of him.

    I guess Mina wasn’t wrong.

    In truth, Seong didn’t fully grasp how strong he was. The memories of countless ghosts painted him as average at best, far weaker than titans like Eddie at his peak.

    Still, when compared to most players, he had started to notice the gap. Internet chatter like this only reinforced that realization.

    Well, I did beat Hindel.

    Even though Hindel was handicapped during their fight, the fact that Seong had emerged victorious said a lot. If Hindel had been able to summon Barfur, things might have been different, but in the end, Seong had won.

    He sighed, turning back to the comments.

    [OtakuWarrior: So when’s Seong going live?]

    ? [LifeGaveUpSwordsman: I’m dying to see his live stream...]

    ? [ChickenChickenNuggets: LOL, I’ve never wanted to watch a low-level live stream this much before.]

    ? [StaleWaterMaster: Seriously though, I’m level 130, and his raids look tastier than mine.]

    ? [MonsterTamer: That’s just class differences~]

    ? [StaleWaterMaster: Ouch. Can’t argue with that.]

    Live streaming, huh.

    He vaguely recalled hearing that part of the revenue from live-stream tickets would be shared with players.

    So that’s what it means.

    Apparently, live streaming involved broadcasting real-time raids, allowing viewers to watch and chat during the action.

    “Should I sell the ones I don’t use?” Seong asked casually.

    “What are you talking about?” Mina demanded.

    Instead of answering, Seong pulled out his phone and showed her his inventory.

    Mina’s jaw dropped. His collection of unused Unique items was staggering. Five different types of Unique items, with four copies of each, totaling twenty pieces.

    And that wasn’t even all. He also had Unique items from defeating Echo Willow and an unused Hunter’s Forest set.

    “What... did you loot an entire Echo Willow raid branch?”

    “No, just got them from doing a couple of raids,” Seong replied as if it were nothing.

    “Wait, didn’t you only raid it twice?”

    “Yeah, I got all this in one of the runs.”

    “Why don’t I ever get this kind of loot!?” Mina cried, her voice filled with frustration.

    Ignoring her protests, Seong began planning.

    “If I sell these, I’ll put them up for auction instead of listing them at a fixed price.”

    “Auction?”

    “Yeah. For Rares and Epics, it’s unnecessary, but Uniques would probably fetch a good price if auctioned. Since these are level 100 or below, they won’t sell for a fortune, but it’s still worth it.”

    “Got it. Thanks,” Seong said, appreciating the advice.

    Mina sighed heavily, watching her brother casually plan to sell off what could amount to a small fortune.

    How can he still think he’s not strong?

    She had heard rumors that Seong’s influence had even inspired changes within the Luna Team, a high-ranking guild. With that level of capability, it was no wonder people were awed by him.

    Even so, Mina couldn’t help but smile. Watching her brother grow at such an extraordinary pace made her realize she’d have to work harder to keep up.

    At this rate, teaming up with him in the future could be a lot of fun, she thought. Or maybe we could race each other to complete time attack dungeons.

    That evening, the siblings shared a rare, peaceful meal of spicy tteokbokki, chatting about the game and enjoying each other’s company.

    0.

    The Next Morning

    It was the fifth day since Seong started playing Eternal World. After breakfast, he logged in early, ready to tackle the day’s tasks.

    Since Hindel and other companions were NPCs, it was crucial to meet them in the morning to avoid quest conflicts.

    As he entered the game, a strange system message greeted him:

    [Dear User “Seong,” we sincerely apologize for this message.]

    It wasn’t a typical system notification. This felt more like a personal note from the developers.

    [The Legendary-tier skill, Thousand Blood Swords, has been adjusted. Please check your inventory for detailed information and compensation.]

    “Huh.”

    It was bound to happen. The skill had been absurdly overpowered, so a nerf wasn’t surprising.

    Seong checked the updated skill description:

    『Thousand Blood Swords』

    Tier: LegendaryMax Level: CompletedCooldown: 30 minutesEffect: Consumes mana to create and control 1,000 blood swords from the caster’s blood.Each sword deals slash or pierce damage upon contact, followed by an explosion that deals additional damage.The number of swords depends on the caster’s level and class advancement.

    Current Number of Swords: 154 (Level 77 × 2).

    The clause about targeting enemies has been removed.

    The adjustment meant the swords would now deal damage to non-living objects as well. While this increased versatility, it also removed its usefulness as a defensive tool or a means of flying through the air.

    Still, compensation was promised. Curious, Seong opened his inventory to find a glowing enhancement orb and a letter of apology.

    The letter explained the compensation:

    “The orb allows up to six enhancements. Using three at once will upgrade a Unique-tier item to Legendary-tier.”

    Seong’s mind immediately went to his skills: Corpse Explosion, Poison Fang, and Exploding Poison—all perfect candidates for an upgrade.

    If I upgrade all three, what kind of power would I have?

    The mere thought was exhilarating.

    As expected, explosions are an art.