After an hour of adventuring around the town, and gathering information.

Horizon(Evan) had learned that HCO used the basic currency of Copper-Silver-Gold-Platinum.

Where 100 Coppers equal 1 Silver, 100 Silvers equaled to 1 Gold,and 100 Gold was equal to 1 Platinum.

DarkEden Industries had released information relating to HCO, consisting of:

1 Real World Hour was equal to 4 In-game hours,

Classes/Professions could be selected after reaching the Level 20,

and that there was a website dedicated to auctioning In-Game loots and materials for Real World currency,

EternalParadise.

EternalParadise had an exchange ratio of [ 1 Gold Coin = $50 Real World Cash].

Some other information included the Rarity levels:

Grey/Gray - Basic

White - Common

Green - Uncommon

Blue - Rare

Red - Super Rare

Gold - ???

Pink - ???

??? - ???

( ??? - Unknown )

Quest Difficulty Levels currently known were:

E - Easy

D - Basic

C - Mediocre

B - Hard

A - Monstrous

Horizon checked his stats and equipment-

Player StatusPlayerHorizonLevel1AlignmentNeutralClassNoviceRaceHumanGenderMaleTitleNone-Health40Mana20Health Regen0.1/SecMana Regen0.1/SecDamage7~10(+1~3)Defense4(+1)Critical Strike0.5%Fame5-Strength5Dexterity5Vitality8Agility5Wisdom4Intelligence4Unspent Stat Points0-BalancePlatinum0Gold0Silver0Copper20

Novice Short SwordDamage1~3Durability10/10Quality:White~A poorly made sword made using cheap materials

Worn Leather TunicDefense1Durability10/10Quality:White~An old leather tunic worn by years of use

His stats were relatively low, but that was to be expected, because after all,

he was still only Level 1.

After browsing the shops for weapons or armor, he ended up using 17c on a new spear.

Evan had preferentially liked using high-reach melee weapons over any other weapons,

(Pikes, Glaives, Halberds, Quarterstaffs, And Spears.)

Ordinary SpearDamage2~3Durability10/10Quality:White~An ordinary spear with no interesting qualities

Prepared with his new spear, Evan had set off to go to the gate leading out of Kaya.

Immediately upon reaching the gate, he was confronted by a group of 3 players.

"Hey you! Wanna party with us? We were looking for another party member, so, how about it?"

Horizon politely declined and continued past the party of 3.

Horizon had terrible experiences about betrayal with his past games,

and because of such, had trouble trusting other players.

Leaving the gates of Kaya, Horizon was stunned by the amount of visual effects that this world had.

He was able to see each blade of grass, as each blade of grass swayed with the wind.

The surrounding monsters seemed to consist of Foxes and Boars, with an average level of 2.

Since Evan had already spent 3 hours inside the game (45 RealWorld Minutes),

he calculated that he would need to attend his part time job soon.

Dismissing the nearby monsters, Horizon had ventured farther out,

In search of higher level monsters.

As Horizon ventured further out, the rising monster levels became ???.

Horizon recalled that when the ??? appeared, there was at least level difference of over 10.

Horizon had just noticed the [Goblin - Lv.???] he had accidentally aggroed.

Just in time, Horizon leaped out of the path of the goblin's sword.

Miss!

Horizon quickly returned blows by repeatedly stabbing the goblin with his spear.

2!

1!

1!

Horizon let out a half-hearted chuckle as he saw the damage counters appear.

Horizon tried stepping back, but felt a searing pain shoot through him as the goblin's sword hit him.

43!

Horizon was instantly killed, and became a ghost.

(Ghost Mode is a spectator mode that is activated once a player dies.) (But you should know that)

A message appeared.

[Because you have died, you have been locked out. Time remaining until able to respawn: 23 Hours, 58 Minutes.]

Horizon logged off and left for his part time job.

College would start in one week.

Evan had needed to study for college, and hope for a scholarship.

Evan only had time to log in for 30 minutes a day, between switching from his part time jobs.

The rest of his time he had devoted to his study, and any needs of his sister.

Whilst searching the HCO forums,

DarkEden had announced that there would be 100000

HCO capsules released into the market during the next week.

Checking the Online Leaderboards, Evan wasn't surprised to see his ranking.

Needless to say, his rank was #50500.

Last place.

The next lowest was already Level 12.

With those 30 minutes of his time, Evan would harshly train himself.

In the game, every day, Horizon would train his spear and sword skills.

Whenever he neared the last 10 minutes of his time, he would usually seek a monster to test his skills.

He was never able to beat any.

Each day, he traveled farther out, and found harsher environments, and with it,

his reaction times, skills, and calculations.

Skill Masteries

[Beginner] - The lowest level of mastery

[Amateur] - Beginning to grasp basic understanding

[Mediocre] - Sufficiently skilled

[Exceptional] - Excels in skill

[Advanced] - Mastering the arts

[Expert] - A Master of the arts

[Master] - Complete understanding

{{Advancing each tier garners rewards and skills.}}

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:Pole MasteryUncommonMediocre58%Increases damage using items classified as poles. +9% Damage

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:One-Handed Swords MasteryCommonMediocre23%Increases the damage dealt using One-Handed Weapons by +9%

A skill he gained while traveling was [Harvest.]

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:HarvestUncommonAmateur45%Allows user to forage for [Blue]items. Higher mastery will allow more to be gathered, and allow for the gathering of higher tier materials.

Other skills he had obtained included

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:Iron WIllRareAmateur12%After receiving large amounts of damage on multiple occasions, the player has adapted a resistance all forms of damage. -2% Damage taken.

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:PresenceRareMediocre55%By observing his surroundings and stealthily navigating, the player has learned how to track other presences and hide their own. Effective against +15 Levels.

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:InspectRareAmateur76%After closely identifying many materials, had gained a higher tier form of [Identify] Allows the inspection of [Blue] Items

Skill Name:Skill Quality:Skill Mastery:Skill Progression:CraftingUncommonAmateur12%By creating weapons and tools, the player is able to create [White] weapons and tools.

As college started, Evan had to drop one of his part time jobs, since their schedules conflicted each other.

The change in income had greatly affected Evan, as he needed the college degree,

but the part time job was the main source of his income,

Because they were the only source of income.

Suddenly recalling EternalParadise, the website that held the transactions and auctions for HCO.

As his schedule was cleared from the part time job he had just given up for his college class,

he quickly logged into HCO.

Horizon checked his inventory and found what he needed.

[Teleport: Kaya.]

As the scroll in his hand crumbled away, Horizon had materialized in his starting town, Kaya.

As he approached an NPC shop, another player had stopped him.

"If you're trying to sell your items, I will buy them." (Player Merchant)

"Okay, do you know how much these are worth?" (Horizon)

After sifting through Horizon's materials, the player merchant was astounded.

Where did he manage to find all these high quality materials?! (Player Merchant)

The player merchant smiled greedily.

"I'll take them for 20 silver." (Player merchant)

Horizon noticed the player merchant's greed filled eyes, and quickly denied the offer.

Horizon continued on his original path, to the NPC Merchant.

After finding the price that the NPC would pay for these materials,

Horizon's distrust of players grew once again.

After collecting 1Gold and 175Silver, Only then did he realize how badly he would've been scammed.

After he made a transaction to EternalParadise for 1 Gold, he recieved $50.

Logging out, Evan checked his banking account, and found an extra $50.

He was amazed, just by selling some materials

that he had gathered, he was able to make $50.

It was then that Evan decided to quit other one part time job, and focus on HCO for his income.

As Evan logged into HCO, he checked his stats.

Player StatusPlayerHorizonLevel1AlignmentNeutralClassNoviceRaceHumanGenderMaleTitleNone-Health5Mana4Health Regen0.1/SecMana Regen0.1/SecDamage1(+1~3)Defense1Critical Strike0.1%Fame5-Strength1Dexterity1Vitality1Agility1Wisdom1Intelligence1Unspent Stat Points0-BalancePlatinum0Gold0Silver183Copper3

It was then that Horizon remembered something that he read on the forums.

-Dying will result in a random decrease in stats.

"....................."(Horizon)

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Please let me know if there are any errors, or holes in the chapter. Thanks!

Sorry for any chapter posting inconveniences.