Hyper Luck

I could not sleep. I rolled and tumbled in my bed, before having to get up from the sunlight.

My body was tired, but my mind was clear. And, I read over the message that I probably already read over a hundred times.

In short, I’ve made a lot of money.

Due to the relativity of time in the game and in real life, in nearly half a day I’ve been asleep, the auction had already gone through.

Confused and with subtlety, I could not determine what state of mood I was in. I ended up getting up and taking a cold shower.

My body laid low as if floating. But, my mind was clear as ever, I checked the message again.

My part-time pay has also made its way into my bank account, but in truth, I could care less about it. Perhaps the unusual experience of such an amount of money in my bank account made it underwhelming?

This weird perception of money from my part-time job being this petty made me zone out again. 

I took a deep breath

And then, 

Clap!

I slapped both of my cheeks.

Now time was of the essence. It was a waste of time to think about making conclusions when there’s really only one answer. All that’s left to do was to bolt across the road paved for me and myself only.

I got changed and left the house.

The first place I went to was the gym in front of my house.

Though it was indeed a bit sudden, to proceed, this was a necessary step.

In the many cautions of playing <Circuit>, one of them made it clear that playing for a long period of time could lead to atrophy and deterioration of muscle mass; Especially near the jaw, due to not chewing as often.

It was also stated that playing this game could affect healthy lifestyles, as it was commonplace for a user to get lost in time, and forget if it’s day or night in real life.

Thus the reason I visited the gym, Which I’ve never been to in my whole life.

“Welcome, it doesn’t seem like you’re a member, are you here to register?”

“Yes…”

The troll of a man at the counter took me to sign a 3-month membership to the gym. It happened all so quickly.

Next, 

I visited a place you can find more commonly than cafes nowadays, the “Circuit Offline Store” or as others often call it “Circuit Off”.

Here, you could buy various connection tools that you could use to connect to <Circuit>, but that was not the purpose of my visit today.

“What’s the best ‘powder’ you guys have?”

The young lady at the counter started to guide me.

“Ah, you didn’t apply for the monthly care service? To start off there are three types of powder. First, the standard, then the…”

“Give me the best you have, for three months.”

As soon as she heard my request, without finishing her speech, she pulled a small circular container out of a bigger one.

“That’ll be $480~”

It was not a cheap price, but I made the purchase right away. To be spending this much, I was a little worried about the consequences.

I took the well-packaged bag that the receptionist gave me and headed out. I’ll be fine for at least three months with this powder.

Powder.

It was a 3-month expendable that often came with purchasing the connector for <Circuit>

This was a consumable that minimized the nutrition loss from not being able to consume food for long playing sessions.

If you eat any food within the game, this powder will be sprayed from the equipment behind the user’s ear and supply nutrition to their body.

It’s a nutritional powder that is absorbed through the skin, so it minimizes any natural excretions and supplies essential nutrients, but obviously, the best option was to have a proper meal after logging off.

But to me, Who’s bought the best grade powder for the first time, such recommendations did not concern me.

I promised in the future, even if I have to suffer from muscle pain, I will harvest more profit from the game.

I was also surprised at myself. It seemed money really made people move.

Now for the next problem.

There was no hesitation in my steps. As I’ve gone through my plan of action, each time there was a weird sense of strength welling up inside of me. With that confidence, I went on the subway.

University has always been the bane of my existence. The extended education that I thought would prepare me to propel towards society, instead filled me with debt and part-time jobs to degrade me.

This was the case for many students. In this harsh reality, we’ve educated ourselves. But, the rising uncertainty of the future placed fear in us.

Even so, the reason why they prevailed was not because of the debt. It was the hopes of their successful selves laughing back at this time in the future.

I was also one of them.

But I could not overcome the pressure.

As my passion for education heated up, my parent’s shoulders have been slumping like a melted candle.

I’ve tried harder and harder to not be late and bring in good grades, but all I’ve gotten back were more debts.

I’ve thought numerous times how nice it would be to sell this grain of rice to pay off my debt.

In the end, I chose a different route.

To not let go of the rare opportunity, I was on my way to request my last break from school.

As I said this in my head, I laughed at the fact that I was relieved to know I could still take a break for a year.

It was a ridiculous thought that I’ve still thought of the painful university as my last option.

The university I arrived at looked very different from two years ago. From the front gates, the new scenery of the school made me question if I was at the right place.

As I walked towards the office, I absorbed the memories of when I was a student here.

Like that, I decided to take a leave for one more year.

As I was clearing my thoughts, I stepped in front of the ATM right outside of the school.

I took out my card, which had nearly the same amount of money since leaving the house.

My parents.

Worried about the shock from suddenly sending a large sum of money, I only sent the money I’ve made from my part-time job first. Along with a message that emphasized I’m doing well this month.

Though, a part of me was heavy.

***

***

After finishing every task, I went back on the subway to return home. Organizing my thoughts, I took out my phone. 

It was to check out the “Community” Sharan mentioned before the troll raid.

I deemed it to be beneficial for me to gain more information in the future, as I’ll be fully invested in this game.

The community size of <Circuit Master> was already beyond the size of the national search engine of South Korea.

“Huh…”

Unconsciously, I let out a sound. I could feel the stinging stare of the elder next to me. But, before recognizing that attention, I looked back at my phone.

[Community Total Search Ranking]

1. Mose
2. Silborun
3. Silborun Ranking
4. Area Heal

It was all articles related to me. To begin with, my nickname was the first in ranking for the site’s search rankings.

“My god…”

It was the second time I unconsciously let out a sound. After finally noticing my surroundings, I quietly looked back at my screen.

[The secluded expert in question “Mose” center of attention after defeating the Boss “Black Mountain”]

[80 users fierce after falling victim to Silborun’s acclaimed “Bait Tactic”…]

[Silborun found dead. The suspect is believed to be a member of the Dark guild. Respawn point in a week is found to be a Church in Shalulion…]

[Group of guilds that claims to be “Arthur’s trinity” fiercely looking for the user “Mose”. They are willing to pay 500 gold to any users or NPC that could give them his whereabouts…]

[Tensions rise in the infamous three guilds, known as “The Trinity,” due to all three guilds looking for the user Mose, who’s allegedly the only user to have an area heal skill.]

After acknowledging all the events that occurred, I could feel a cold sweat on my back. I would never have thought for things to be this big.

To top it off,

Somebody put an extraordinary bounty of $50,000 on me. My hair was on edge, and my lips were starting to chap.

I started thinking of the worst outcome.

Both users and NPCs ferociously looking for me everywhere.

As expected of the information era, they’ve already located the respawn point of Silborun next week.

If they found any more dirt on me, it wouldn’t be a surprise for them to discover me in real life.

There’s only one conclusion.

Leave Asparagan.

I just need to be vigilant.

I just have to go far, far away.

Like that, as soon as I left the subway, I bolted towards my single room.

Drenched in sweat, I entered my room to rush towards the only modern-looking thing from my bleak room, which is the Circuit Connecter. I quickly exchanged the powder within the system for the new expensive one I’ve just bought.

I took a short shower to rinse off the sweat on my body. It felt like I was finally at peace right before logging in.

All of the preparations have been made.

Truth be told, I did feel a bit anxious near the end.

On the flip side, it might have been a better outcome.

The world of Circuit currently has only 1% exploration completion. This was the perfect motivation to join the frontier to explore the rest of the world.

“Indeed exploring the world of Circuit is fantastic, but most of all…”

My frantic heartbeat. Much akin to the one of a kid at an amusement park, I laid myself down.

Even so, my inner thoughts made their way outside my mouth.

That’s right, most of all, 

“For an RPG, leveling up is a top priority.”

I closed my eyes.

And whispered softly.

“Connect.”

Soon after, I entered a state of drowsiness. A weird sensation of tranquility. My body started to float, and light started to fade away from my eyelids. Once near the end of the journey, I’ll open my eyes.

And be greeted by a world not reality, but somewhere with more practicality, along with the sour smell of mold.

I left the old inn and unconsciously started to pay attention to my surroundings. The awkward sensation made me sweat a little.

The popularity I’ve gained online made me feel tense.

But, I couldn’t proceed like this. To start off, I needed to leave this humongous city,  Asparagan.

Also, due to the fight with the troll, currently I was wearing tattered clothes. Who would possibly think of me as the “Secluded Expert” Mose?

The game’s system of privacy, which never reveals my name unless I intend to, will be of great help in my anonymity.

First priority was to prepare myself with proper equipment. Being anonymous was an added bonus.

Making a serious expression all by myself, I quickly faded away from Asparagan.