Chapter 109

“It’s called an Absolute Territory. I can spread my genuine-qi in a spherical shape around me and sense anything within it as if the qi were my own skin.”

“Uh… heightening your senses by extending genuine-qi is something anyone can do. My surprise wasn’t from your senses; it was your reaction speed. No matter how fast you can react-”

“Forty-eight thousand seven hundred.”

“… What?”

Seeing Arthur’s perplexed expression, Sungmuk pointed his Divine Red Sparrow Sword downward and replied.

“In both mind and body, I’ve engrained the 48,700 possible ways a sword can strike me; thus, I can block not just one but thirty simultaneous attacks. If an attack is quicker than a set threshold within my Absolute Territory, I can react before my mind can process it. Moreover, if I already know that an attack is incoming, I can even prepare beforehand. And if I push myself to the brink….”

Immediately, the surroundings changed. Outwardly, nothing seemed different, but with his developed senses, Arthur could tell that the [Spacing] of Sungmuk’s Absolute Territory had more than doubled in size. If Arthur hadn’t known about the Absolute Territory, he wouldn’t have recognized this subtle change, and after sensing it, he laughed.

“Hahaha.”

Sungmuk laughed as well.

“Hehehe.”

The two were surrounded in desolate silence. Though hundreds of users had gathered, the two laughed aloud as if they didn’t see or acknowledge anyone else’s presence.

“Hahaha!”

“Hehehe!”

Slash-!

“Ugh… my breath?!”

“What the hell… the fighting aura has gotten stronger?”

“Dang, are those two even human? They must be monsters!”

“E-even if it’s a high-level genius, how can another human be so different from me?”

“Let’s slowly retreat… ugh!”

Although the users were observing the scene from quite far, they instantly felt an overwhelming pressure crushing their bodies, so they quickly extended their distance from the two. The weaker users couldn’t help but throw up blood as their organs were damaged by this abrupt change.

“Good! I’ll have to use more force.”

“Take out your Master Weapon- no, your Divine Weapon.”

“Oh, gosh… like I said before, you can’t handle it. However, I’ll bring out something that is just as powerful.”

With his left hand holding Dustin before him, Arthur raised his right hand into the air. There, on his palm, was an ancient character that no one knew of anymore.

In a low voice, Arthur whispered, “Come, Ascalon.”

***

Yongno felt good ever since he got up in the morning. In-game, Yongno ate only grilled meat and fruits, so this long-awaited respite gave him a reason to order in, watch some television, and browse the internet. Of course, these were all everyday things that he could do at any time, but after going through over six months of in-game time without many breaks, Yongno felt that reality was refreshing.

There was also another reason why he was in high spirits.

While logged off, Yongno found a DIO-related message board and read that he could move freely between two places using a Gate Ring.

“Great. Phantom Monster Magic Island can be considered a village.”

Merlin removed the Gate Ring from his left index finger and looked at the writing inscribed inside: [Phantom Monster Magic Island]. He also had another Gate Ring on his left hand that had [Starting] inscribed in it. These inscriptions saved different locations on each ring.

His inventory was the reason for these differences. The Gate Rings worked by saving the last city or village that its owner visited. In the past, Merlin had purchased two Gate Rings and wore them all the time, but he soon found this cumbersome and had put one in his inventory. Since a player’s inventory and housing were separate from the outside world, the saved location would not change while within one of these spaces.

“If I had returned to Starting while wearing the [Phantom Monster Magic Island] Gate Ring, Starting would’ve overwritten it. So, I should put this Gate Ring in my inventory… good! Return!”

Whoosh!

The space Merlin occupied briefly shook before the scenery completely changed. Although a user had just materialized from thin air, no one seemed to care or be surprised as they went about their business. Merlin had returned to Starting, the most populated city on Dynamic Island.

“Wow, it’s been a while.”

Since some time had passed, Merlin could tell that the users’ average level was much higher. The city’s population had increased explosively, and the city itself also seemed to have expanded to accommodate the growing user base. A vast expanse of land, larger than most major metropolises on Earth, was surrounded by a city wall.

“First, I need to get rid of some excess items and do some shopping.”

Merlin sold the odd items and monster parts that he had collected after defeating the various mobs during his travels. Since Starting had a bustling and developed marketplace where users could trade with each other, Merlin got rid of his items and materials with relative ease. This was made even more straightforward since the things Merlin was selling were rare.

“Wow, it’s so crowded.”

“Yeah. I feel like I’m at a mall. Still, there are no cars zipping by, so the roads are somewhat quiet… huh? The Exchange Center has gotten taller, no?”

Merlin had walked toward the Exchange Center without much thought, so he didn’t realize that it had grown to become a five-story building until he was right in front of it. Merlin whistled in admiration. The expansion of the Exchange Center looked too natural, as if it had always been this size. Merlin couldn’t help but appreciate the game’s ability to accommodate and smoothly integrate change.

“Master, swap perspectives with me.”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Just swap.”

“Alright.”

After Quiet Heaven spoke, Merlin nodded and connected to its spirit line. Quiet Heaven was flying high above the city without a single cloud blocking its vision.

“What do you think? Don’t you think the city has gotten larger?”

“Definitely. Initially, I thought only the buildings had gotten taller, but it seems the city itself has grown. There are more buildings as well… Quiet Heaven, can you glide in a circle around the city? Make sure to keep looking at it so I can see the entire city.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult.”

Then, Quiet Heaven slowly circled once around the city, showing Starting to Merlin. The people walking around outside looked smaller than ants and numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and there were even more inside the buildings. Furthermore, there were numerous buildings, so many in fact that it was difficult to figure out how many there were.

“Wow, it’s truly massive. Let’s see… The circumference is about… 94 kilometers? And that’s if we stick above the walls while going around the city. If we were to try and get a clear view, we’d probably have to travel at least 100 kilometers to circle the city, no?”

At this size, the city could easily accommodate tens of millions- no, hundreds of millions of users. In addition, there were many tall buildings in Starting, and there was no need for personal housing, leaving space for other purposes.

Snap.

Merlin broke off the connection with Quiet Heaven, regained his natural vision, and walked into the Exchange Center. There, Merlin saw Ellen guiding users. She was the guide he had met when he first came here long ago. Since DIO’s official launch was just a month ago in real-time, there was still a constant stream of new users entering the game. And with this never-ending influx, there was a need for basic explanations, so the Exchange Center was bustling.

“I shouldn’t bother her.”

“Are you looking to buy something?”

“Nothing particular; I’m just going to have a look around. Although I’m not as rich as I was before, I still have quite a bit of money and a boat-load of experience points, so I can probably purchase whatever I desire… ah, let’s start with expanding my inventory.”

Merlin headed toward the stairs. As he walked, Merlin saw a bunch of marketing posters and advertisements.

“Dang, they seem to have everything. Oh, they even have cell phones and laptops. I wonder if you’re allowed to dismantle them and collect the parts?”

Merlin mumbled to himself and looked around to see if there was an elevator anywhere, but it seemed the stairs were the only way to travel between the floors. The stairways were oriented in a rectangular shape with space in the center, so those who could fly could easily go through this opening.

“Welcome. Ah, Merlin, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Huh? You remember me?”

The person who spoke was Carlin, the salesperson who had once helped Merlin with inventory and housing during the closed beta. While this wasn’t the first time they met, Merlin couldn’t help but feel surprised that Carlin recognized him after assisting so many other passing customers in these past six months.

“I can recall every player who’s passed. It has been… oh, it’s been a while since your last visit. Do you know that the pricing structure has changed for most Exchange Center items?”

“No, I didn’t. Is it a drastic change?”

“Somewhat, but not too crazy… wait a moment. Welcome~! Please wait a moment.”

After welcoming another user, Carlin created two identical clones. One clone stayed with Merlin while the other served the newly-arrived user. Carlin’s main body walked over to his designated spot.

“… Continuing what I was saying earlier, the pricing hasn’t changed drastically, but there have been several small alterations. Items that cost experience points have been given a limit, and the gold price of purchasable items has also decreased considerably, which not only applies to the Exchange Center but also the weapon shop and various item stalls outside.”

“Huh? The gold price of items has dropped?”

“Not too much. It was a decrease of roughly ten to 15 percent. If you didn’t purchase anything expensive before, you probably wouldn’t even know the difference, but if you did, it’s likely that you wouldn’t feel that you’ve lost too much.”

“Ugh.”

Merlin was in the latter camp, and he groaned. He had spent over 200 gold at the Exchange Center and weapon shop alone. Since one gold equated to just over 50,000 won, he had spent over 10,000,000 won. Without any fault of his own, Merlin had incurred a ten percent loss or about 1,000,000 won.

“Ugh. I guess this is how homeowners feel when their home prices drop.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. By the way, what do you mean the items that cost experience points have been given a limit?”

Previously during the closed beta, Merlin didn’t have many experience points, so he had only used them to reduce his logout time and increase his inventory capacity by 25 kilograms.

“This doesn’t apply to everything, but there’s a limit that’s been placed on items that need an increasing amount of experience points. It would be problematic if the requirements exponentially increased and couldn’t be realistically reached.”

“That makes sense. So, how has it been reconfigured?”

“One moment.”

While saying this, Carlin waved his right hand in the air and brought up a window. It was an inventory window that Merlin had seen before.

[InventoryCurrentIncreaseExperience Cost]

[Volume 3m3 3m3 500 Spirits]

[Summoning Dist. 3m 1m 500 Spirits]

[Weight125 kg 25 kg1,000 Spirits]

[Durability10 Tetra2 Tetra 500 Spirits]

“At first glance, it doesn’t look too different from before.”

“That’s because the amount of Spirits required hasn’t necessarily decreased; a general cap has been implemented that limits the rising cost after each purchase. Instead of doubling each time, the price will only rise in increments of 500 Spirits.”

“What happens to those who bought multiple upgrades in the previous price structure?”

“They will be compensated for their experience points.”

This didn’t apply to Merlin since he hadn’t overpaid when increasing his inventory weight, as he had only upgraded once.

“Eh… whatever. I guess I’ll increase my inventory’s weight capacity.”

/Your inventory weight capacity has increased to 150 kg!/

As expected, the new experience cost for another increase was now 1,500 Spirits. Since Merlin had around 20,000 Spirits left, he had a lot of breathing room.

/Your inventory weight capacity has increased to 175 kg!/

/Your inventory weight capacity has increased to 200 kg!/

The experience cost went from 1,500 Spirits to 2,000 and then 2,500. Merlin raised his inventory weight capacity to 300 kilograms. The chart updated and showed that it would now cost him 4,500 Spirits for another 25-kilogram increase. Despite knowing that a cap had been put on the pricing structure, Merlin didn’t feel a difference.