《The Dark Ages》 Prologue A Contract ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we cannot keep you anymore.¡± This sentence still repeated in Lee Jae-Yong¡¯s mind as he walked aimlessly.A few minutes ago, Jae-Yong just lost his job. It was a small job, washing the dish in a restaurant, but for a poor commoner like him, although it was laborious, the salary was good. As he was still wandering absentmindedly, his phone suddenly rang, awakening him. Picking out his phone, Jae-Yong wished for the call to bean employer which he applied recently. But looking at the phone, he let out a sigh as he answered the call. ¡°What do you want?¡± Jae-Yong replied in an annoyed tone.The one who called him was none other than Kung Seung-Ho, an old classmate he used to play with back in college. Jae-Yong assumed that Seung-Ho probably wanted to invite him to play a new game, but he was not in the mood right now as he recently lost his job. ¡°Are you free tomorrow afternoon? I have something I need to tell you about.¡± Seung-Ho answered. "It is about gaming? If yes, then I don''t have the time." Jae-Yong immediately announced.Hisassumptionwas right. Seung-Ho wanted to invite him to play a new game. Only, what he didn''t know was that there were various benefits he could gain by playing it. Knowing Jae-Yong''s bad temper, Sung-Ho assumed that it was better for him to share with him the news now instead of waiting tomorrow. ¡°My father wants to hire you for a job. You should know my father¡¯s business right? The paid iswithout a doubt satisfying.¡± Seung-Ho quickly said, fearing that Jae-Yong might end the call at any moment. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s meet up tomorrow then.¡± Jae-Yong answered slightly surprised. Henever expected Seung-Ho to recommend him a job from his father. He wondered what kind of work Sung-Ho''s father would ask him to do. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll probably find out tomorrow.¡± Putting back his phone on his pocket, Jae-Yong head back to his home. Living near the Yongsan''s district, it tookJae-Yong around thirty minutes before arriving near his home. He thenwent to the market to buy groceries before getting home. If he was to return without shopping, there was nothing for him to eat since his fridge was empty. Coming back to his home, Jae-Yong cooked his foodsas he looked for a new job on his phone. Even though Seung-Ho¡¯s fathergot a work for him, it was probably a temporary work. It was better tosearch for a new employment sooner than later. Browsing through the internet, Jae-Yong unexpectedly found many enterprises wanting to hire professional gamers. They were all related to the new game thatwould open in two years, The Dark Ages. The Dark Ages was a virtual reality MMORPG developed by World Gaming Corporation, one of the best gaming companies around the world. The game was a fantasy RPG-based game similar to most MMORPG games. It was the most expected MMORPG since 2018.There were many MMORPG games released since 2018, however, none of them was as successful as the legendary MMORPG produced by Blizzard in 2004, World of Warcraft. The problem with MMORPG games was that they were too bothersome to most of the gamers populace.This was due to the time-consuming one needed to grow up their character. Levelling up, farming equipment, challenging dungeons, challenging raids, there were too many obligations one needed to achieve to reach the top. Casual players couldn¡¯t have enough time to play the game to its full extent. This was the reason as for why most of the gamers populace didn¡¯t want to play MMORPG games. World of Warcraft was the same too, his era ended right after the release of the Battle of Azeroth, after 2018. MMORPG games were no longer popular since then. At least, until the release of The Dark Ages. After reading the numerous threads on the internet discussing on The Dark Ages, Jae-Yong soon put his phone away, indifferent about the massive commotion from The Dark Ages. It was not becausehe was uninterested by the game, just that he couldn''t afford to play it. If Jae-Yong had the occasion, he will undoubtedly want to play the game. Yet, the price of the virtual reality machine was too expensive. A poor commoner like him couldn¡¯t afford to such luxury. He loves to play games, but it was only a hobby and nothing more.After all, you can¡¯t substantially earn money from playing. Placing the pot Jae-Yong just finished cooking on the table, He then took out a pair of chopsticks from a drawer anddevoured his homemade special ramyeon with a delighted expression on his face. It was always enjoyable to eat a delicious meal. ***** The next day, during the afternoon, Jae-Yong headed to Seung-Ho¡¯s home. Normally, Jae-Yong always met Seung-Ho in front of a cybercafe or a restaurant near his home. It was because most of the time after they met, they will constantly end up going to the cybercafe to play games.Today was different.He was not here to play around but for business. Today, Jae-Yong had carefully chosen the best-looking outfit he had in his closet. Wearing a red lumberjack¡¯s shirt and dark brown jeans on him, he looks like a model. He attracted the gazes of quite an amount of teenagers before arriving in front of Seung-Ho¡¯s mansion. They even tried to send him flirtatious glances tolure his attention, but he involuntarily ignored them, giving their friends next to them a burst of laughter.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Arriving in front of Sung-Ho''s house, Jae-Yong''s eyes widened as he looked at the entrance''s gate. There were two white pillars interconnected by a white ceiling above the driveway gate, making it seems like a majestic bridge. The gate was an impressive wrought iron affair with spikes at the top. It opened electronically from inside the mansion. Unless you were some kind ofprofessional thief, the only way to enter was to buzz the intercom and announce your arrival. ¡®They literally live in a different world.¡¯ Jae-Yong thought as he slowly recovered from his shock and rang the bell.Afew minutes later, Seung-Ho appeared on the other side of the driveway and opened the gate''s entrance for Jae-Yong to enter.As soon as he saw Jae-Yong''s clothes, Sung-Hocouldn''t help but chuckle. ¡°This is actually the first time I see you without your casual clothes. Honestly, it rather fits you well.¡± With a faint smile, Seung-Ho saidto Jae-Yong as he guided him to the mansion. ¡°Was that unnecessary?¡± Jae-Yong asked.Both of his eyebrows were frowning as he showed a dissatisfied expression. It was a habit for him to wear nice-looking clothes before an important appointment.If he knew he could wear casual clothes, Jae-Yong would have never worn suchshowy clothes. ¡°Yeah, totally unnecessary.¡± Seung-Ho delivered the killing blow tohim as he looked at Jae-Yong, smirking.It was rare to see Jae-Yong making a fool of himself. There was no way Seung-Ho could miss such an opportunity. Jae-Yong could only blame himself for not inquiring about the details of the interview. ¡®I¡¯ll remember that.¡¯ Jae-Yong thought as he bites the bullet. He won''t hold back when he will have the occasion to make fun of him. Jae-Yong was such a petty person. ¡°This is my father¡¯s study. Good luck with your interview.¡± Seung-Ho said before leaving. Healready knew what his father wanted from Jae-Yong. After all, he was the one who recommended him. With a smile on his face, Seung-Ho left as he excitedly imagined Jae-Yong¡¯s shocking face in his head. ¡°You can enter.¡±Knocking the door twice, Jae-Yong entered after hearing the deep voice coming from the other side. Entering the room, he saw a man wearing a suit, sitting in front of a desk. He was writing something on the paper in front of him. Once the man finished writing, he put his pen down and inspected Jae-Yong with his keen eyes. His piercing eyes were examining carefully every inch of Jae-Yong¡¯s body. If it was someone else, he would probablyfeel anxious from the pressure created from his serious stare.However, that was not the case for Jae-Yong, he remained composed during the whole time, looking back at him with a confident look. He knew that he was being tested. ¡°Hmm, Seung-Ho was right. I can trust his sense.¡± The man said as he nodded, satisfied.After a pause, he seems to realise something and spoke again. ¡°Oh right. This is the second time we met, but I¡¯ve never given you my name. I¡¯m named Sang-Chol. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Jae-Yong.¡± ¡°Pleased to meet you as well. Mr Kung.¡± Jae-Yong politely answered. ¡°As a gamer, you should be aware of the new virtual reality game that is going to come out in two years, right?¡±Given that Jae-Yong was looking at him, waiting for him to explain the job that he would do, Sang-Chol suddenly asked. ¡°Yes. I looked into it since I was interested.¡± Jae-Yong answered. ¡®Is the job related to The Dark Ages?¡¯ Jae-Yong thought as his body slightly trembled.As a gamer, he naturally wants to play The Dark Ages if he could. Who didn¡¯t want to experience a real adventure in a fantasy world? He was not an exception among the many. But how could Jae-Yong afford to buy the virtual reality¡¯s machine?He already had a huge amount of debts that he must pay back to the hospital to cure his little sister¡¯s illness. It was already difficult enough to pay back the debts with the insignificant salary he earned. Healready gave up about playing The Dark Ages a long time ago. Discovering that Sang-Choltalkedabout The Dark Ages, Jae-Yong¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but had a glimmer of hope within them. He deeply wished in his heart that his assumption was right.Noticing Jae-Yong¡¯s eyes filled with expectation, Sang-Chol no longer beat around the bush. ¡°Your guess is right. I need you to play The Dark Ages.¡± Sang-Chol said as he observed Jae-Yong¡¯s expression. Seeing his excited face, he continued.¡°But you should know, nothing in this world is free. Am I right?¡± Hearing Sang-Chol''s words, Jae-Yong instantly calmed down as hesilently stared at Sang-Chol, inquiring him to continue. He knew that Sang-Chol wasn¡¯t giving him this privilege just because he was Seung-Ho¡¯s friend. There must be profits that Sang-Chol couldget from doing this. ¡°There is only a single condition I need you to fulfil if you accept the job.¡± Sang-Chol slowly revealed. After a short pause, he continued.¡°I need you to join Sung-Ho¡¯s guild once he created it. Since I will be investing in that guild, the better the rank of the guild is, the higher the benefits I will get. Based on that information, you should have already guessed what you need to do, right?¡± Seeing Jae-Yong¡¯s nod, Sang-Chol concluded by saying, ¡°Let¡¯s sign the contract then.¡± before taking out a piece of paper. Strangely,Jae-Yong didn¡¯t come to the desk to sign the paper. Instead, he was standing still, lost in thought. ¡°Mr Kang, do you know my little sister¡¯s situation?¡± After hesitating for a while, Jae-Yong asked. Figuring out what Jae-Yong was thinking, Sang-Chol declared. ¡°Yes. You don¡¯t need to worry about your little sister¡¯s hospital fees. I will take care of it. Consider it as me investing for you.¡± Sighing in relief once he heard his problem being resolved, Jae-Yong requested. ¡°I also wish a virtual reality machine for my little sister.¡±He was aware how selfish this request was, but thinking about her little sister lying in a hospital bed all day long, he couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡ª He wanted her little sister to enjoy the life she couldn¡¯t have through the virtual reality machine. Jae-Yong little¡¯s sister, Lee Min-Ha had been a frail body since her birth. She had been ill ever seen she was born. Not only does she had a terminal illness, but she had legs disability too. She was truly a girl unfavoured by God.Nonetheless, Min-Ha was always cheerful in front of Jae-Yong. She had never shown him her pathetic side not even once, always worrying about others without caring about herself. She was such a girl. The room suddenly went quiet. Both of them were looking at each other, deep in thought. It wasn¡¯t a problem for Sang-Chol to buy another virtual reality machine but¡­was it really worth investing that much on Jae-Yong?Although his son, Seung-Ho had told him many exploits Jae-Yong did back on the previous game he was playing, there was nothing that could prove that Jae-Yong could do well in The Dark Ages. It would be a huge loss if he was to invest in himif he was to fail. After a long hesitation, Sang-Chol sighed before saying, ¡°All right.¡± He decided to trust his son''s friend, finally accepting Jae-Yong¡¯s request. Looking at Jae-Yong with serious eyes, Sang-Chol''s eyes abruptly turned cold. The atmosphere was so cold that it could freeze the entire room.¡°However, you should know how much I invested in you, right? Failure is not an option.¡± Sang-Cholcoldly declared. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll properly meet your expectations.¡± Jae-Yong said as he approached the desk and signed the contract. He felt grateful towards Sang-Chol for trusting him. He vowed deep in his brain to repay this favour. Chapter 1 Hey, I am a Warrior Two years passed by since Jae-Yong accepted the contract. Over the past two years, Jae-Yong had done an intensive training with the help of Sang-Chol¡¯s help. His daily days were worst than hell ¡ª During the first entire year of his training, Jae-Yong¡¯s schedule implied; waking up at three in the morning, going jogging for two hours, going fishing for three hours, working at a blacksmith¡¯s shop for five hours, sewing clothes in a clothes¡¯ shop for five hours, working in a tunnel for two hours. In addition, Jae-Yong never neglected his health, not even a single day. He maintained his body healthy, by eating three meal per day. Even though he only slept for four hours a day due to his intensive training, since Sunday was his day-off, it allowed him to maintain a balanced sleeping pattern. Such intensive training allowed his body to get used to the feeling of the professions mentioned above. In The Dark Ages, if one¡¯s body was not used to the profession, one could unmistakably not use his maximum potential in that profession. For example, if someone forges for the first time in his life, there was no way he could forge a masterpiece on his first try. The same applies to the other professions. This was principally the reason as for why Jae-Yong had such an intensive training. As for the remaining one year Jae-Yong had, he moved back into his grandfather¡¯s dojo to train his weapons masteries. Jae-Yong¡¯s grandfather was a renowned martial artist. Normally, after the death of his parents, he was supposed to move into his grandfather¡¯s dojo. But since the dojo wassituatedin the countryside, on the top of a mountain, there wasn¡¯t a single that could treat his little sister Min-Ha. Thus, back then, Jae-Yong stayed in Seoul instead of returning to his grandfather¡¯s dojo. It was way better for Min-Ha¡¯s well-being to stay in Seoul instead of going there. Returning to Seoul after a long time, Jae-Yong first directed towards the hospital where Min-Ha stayed. Entering the room, a young girl was peacefully reading a book. Hearing the door opening, she averted her eyes away from the book and turned her head towards the entrance. Seeing Jae-Yong, a bright smile appeared on her face. ¡°Jae-Yongoppa!¡± Min-Ha exclaimed. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Not too well¡­¡± Min-Ha lively mood instantly dropped. She was now showing a sad expression as if she received a sad new. The sudden change of mood frightened Jae-Yong. ¡°Did something happened?¡± Jae-Yong worriedly asked. ¡°I¡­ I miss you so much that I could have died from not seeing you!¡± Min-Ha revealed as she extended her arms, waiting for Jae-Yong to hug her. Her sad expression abruptly returned into the former lively attitude. It was her little joke to punish Jae-Yong from leaving her alone. ¡°You almost worried me to death!¡± Jae-Yong angrily said as he lightly chopped Min-Ha¡¯s forehead. ¡°Hehe... Sorry.¡± Said Min-Ha as she giggled, satisfied by Jae-Yong¡¯s reactions. Her devilish plan had perfectly worked against him. Although Jae-Yong separated with Min-Ha after accepting the contract, he didn¡¯t worry much about her. Both received a phone from Sang-Chol and they were texting every day since he started his intensive training. Jae-Yong keeps talking with Min-Ha and stayed next to her the whole day. It was the day before the official release of The Dark Ages, so he wanted to spend today¡¯s time only with her. They chatted about everything and anything that happened to them during these two years. ***** Right now, Jae-Yong was standing in front of the virtual reality machine, reading the guidebook of The Dark Ages. The game had already started thirty minutes ago, but instead of directly play, he learned more rigorously about the game through the guidebook. Knowledge was the key to have a better lead compared to other players. The more information one had, the better the choice one could make within the game. It was something that most professional players did before entering a game, which was to get the maximum useful pieces of information as possible to get a better lead once they played. During these two last years, Jae-Yong had collected as much data as possible. If he was to claim thathe was a beta-tester, no one could deny him. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s play.¡± Jae-Yong said as he closed the guidebook. Entering the virtual reality machine, Jae-Yong abruptly appeared inside a dimensional space. He couldn¡¯t see the walls of the room, but when surveying at the white floor under his feet and the white ceiling above his head, Jae-Yong could already envision how immense the room was. The dimensional space stupefied Jae-Yong who was looking at his surroundings, a transparent game-like window suddenly materialised in front of him.
Welcome to The Dark Ages. Please write your character name.
Jae-Yong didn¡¯t hesitate and wrote Shy. It was his in-game name since he played games. If the name was taken, he would usually put one or two words to make the name available. touching on the [Confirm] button, another window came into view.
Please select your race from the list below:
-Dwarf -Gnome -Dark Elf -Orc ... ... ...
Jae-Yong could see a list of countless names of different races below the message. After finding the [Human] race, Jae-Yong once again pressed the [Confirm] button.
You may alter your in-game appearance. Do you wish to change it?
Yes/No
After a short hesitation, Jae-Yong pressed the [Yes] button and changed his appearance a little. The changes were minimal, his in-game character didn¡®t change much compared to his current appearance, yet it was still a different person. His close friends and family might distinguish him, but others could probably not. Convinced, he pressed the [Confirm] button.
Your account has been successfully created. Please select the kingdom and the city where you want to appear from the list below:
-The Aegis Kingdom -The Beirut Kingdom -The Green Emerald Kingdom ... ... ...
Looking at the list, choose the one from the bottom. People would usually choose the top 10 from the list because it was on their view, but Jae-Yong knew thatthe fewer people there were, the better it was. Choosing Velhart City from the Maeve¡¯s Kingdom, a magic circle formed under his feet.
I hope you enjoy your moment in The Dark Ages!
As Jae-Yong finished reading the message in the window that just appeared, his body abruptly disappeared from the dimensional space, teleporting him to Velhart City.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ***** Velhart City was one of the major city between the thirties city within the Maeve¡¯s Kingdom. At two hundred kilometres away from the capital of the Maeve¡¯s Kingdom, the citadel of Valhalla, Velhart City had a population exceeding two millions of inhabitants. In front of a fountain in the main square of Velhart City, countless players appeared out of nowhere. They were the newcomers who just finished creating their in-game character and had chosen Velhart City as their starting town. Among them, was Jae-Yong. Upon appearing, Jae-Yong was taken aback as he didn¡¯t expect the massive numbers of players appearing one after one from left to right, immediately surrounding him. He thought thathe had wisely chosen the less populated city, but he truly underestimated the number of players who played The Dark Ages upon its release. Having finally squeezed out from the mob of new players that were infinitely spawning from left to right, Jae-Yong sighed in relief as he immediately left the main square. This was one problem that Jae-Yong found in the guidebook. He truly couldn¡¯t understand why the developers of the game made a quest givernon-player character (NPC) right in front of the spawning location. It was definitely a waste of time to try receiving this quest. Luckily, the rewards for this quest was only a few coppers coins and a beginner sword. It was surely not deserving to waste one¡¯s time for such meaningful rewards. This was the difference between a casual player who did not inform himself beforehand and a veteran player who already had such information, giving him a considerable amount of time. He could only feel sorry for them as he thoughtfully visited the city, searching for other quests. Jae-Yong sighed as he left the commercial square. He tried to talk to every NPC he encountered during his visit, but none of them gave him a quest. They either already gave their quest to someone else, or they had none that were available. Even though he was only fifteen minutes left due to his reading the guidebook, it was still the fifteen minutes too much, the smartest players already took them before he got the chance. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right I still didn¡¯t check my status.¡± Opening his interface, Jae-Yong opened [Shy - Status], showing his characters¡¯ status.
Character Name: Shy
Level: 1
Class: Beginner
Title: None
Guild: -
Gender: Male
Health: 100/100 Mana: 50/50
Strength: 8 Agility: 6
Stamina: 10 Vitality: 4
Wisdom: 0 Intellect: 5
Luck: 0 Charisma: 0
Willpower: 0 Perception: 0
Attack Power: 20
Magic Attack Power: 0
Defence: 2
Magic Resistance
Fire: 0% Water: 0%
Earth: 0% Wind: 0%
Light: 0% Dark: 0%
The Strength (STR) attribute increases one''s Attack Power (AP), increasingone''s physical damage dealt on an enemy. This was the most importantstat for melee classes such as warriors, swordsmen, berserkers, and so on. The Agility (AGI) attribute increases one''s Dexterity (DEX), increasing one''s Attack Power (AP), Critical Rate (CR), and Dodge Rate (DR). This was the most important stat for leather armour classes such as thieves, monks, archers, and so on. The Stamina (STA) attribute increases one''s Defence, and Health Point (HP). This was the second stat that a tank (such as knights, shield wearers, soldiers, and so on) need to increaseafter the Vitality attribute. The Vitaliy (VIT) attribute increases one''s amount of HP by a margin. Compared to the Stamina attribute, the Vitality attribute increases the amount of HP four times more than the Stamina attribute. The Wisdom (WIS) attribute increases the amount of experience point (EXP), one could get after killing a monster or crafting an item. This stat was the most important one for levelling one''s character or one''s profession. The Intellect (INT) attribute increases one''s Magical Attack Power (MAP), and Mana Point (MP). This was the most important stat for spell caster such as mages, clerics, druids, and so on. TheLuck (LCK) attribute increases the percentage of Dropping Rate, a tiny amount of Critical Rate, and Dodging Rate. This stat is useful for dungeons, raids, or rare bosses since it helps one to have a higher chance of dropping a good item. The Charisma (CHA) attribute increases the percentage of attracting someone from the opposite gender. This stat is useful for sub-classes such as dancers, merchants, bards, scholars, and so on. This stat canincrease the percentage of receiving a quest from someone from the opposite gender. The Willpower (WIL) attribute decreases by a tiny percentage of the duration from getting Crowd Controlled ((CCs) such as fears, stuns, mental controls, and so on). This stat is useful on Player vs Player (PvP). The Perception (PRC) attribute increases one''s Accuracy, a tiny percentage of Crafting Success (chance of creating an item), and Senses (detect traps, hiding enemies, better hearing, and so on). This stat is essentiallyusefulin general. Attribute points cannot increase the Perception attribute. The Attack Power (AP) increases one''s damage dealt on an enemy. The higher the Attack Power, the higher the amount of damage one can deal. This stat is useful for melees classes such as warriors, swordsmen, berserkers, and so on. One point of Strength increases the Attack Power by 2 (the multiplier of STR to AP rate is different depending on the level of the user). The Magic Attack Power (MAP) increases one''s damage dealt on an enemy with a spell. The higher the Magic Attack Power, the higher the amount of damage a spell can deal. This stat is useful for magic spell casters such as mages, clerics, druids, and so on. The Defence (DEF) attribute reduces one''s physical damage taken. The higher the Defence, the lesser the amount of damage one receives. This stat is useful for tank such as knights, shield wearers, soldiers, and so on. "I see now. The reason whyI couldn''t get any quest from talking to the NPCs was actuallydue to my Charisma being at 0." Jae-Yong muttered as he finally realised an important fact. As Jae-Yong was walking through the commercial square, looking at his character status, an idea suddenly came into his mind. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think about it earlier?¡± muttered Jae-Yongas he directly directed toward the guild¡¯s building. Established in the centre of the administrative square, there were many people that entered and left the guild¡¯s building. Besides the guild¡¯s building, there was also the blacksmithing guild, the alchemist guild, the herbalism guild, the leatherworking guild, the cooking guild, the mining guild, the tailoring guild, the first aid guild, and the gem-cutting guild, the woodcutting guild, and the architect guild. It was the place where one learns a profession, join, or create a guild. ¡°Need a last cleric for a 5-man party levelling!¡± ¡°Newbie level 1 looking for a guild!¡± ¡°Dark Emblem is recruiting new members from all levels!¡± Arriving in front of the guild¡¯s building, Jae-Yong saw many people shouting from left to right. Compared to most of the new players that were trying to get the quest from the NPC in the main square, these players were a bitsmarter; they were eithertrying to join a guild, recruiting new members, or looking for a party to farm monsters. Even if they lost a little amount of their time recruiting people, in the end, it was stilla better choice than theseplayers who were stuck at the main square, trying to get a quest that wasn''t even worth. ¡°Need a last warrior for a goblin''s village extermination quest!¡± As Jae-Yong was carefully listening to the people who were shouting, the word ¡°quest¡± suddenly entered his ear. Looking at his surroundings, Jae-Yong eventually found the man who shouted the announcement. With a grin on his face, Jae-Yong came toward him as he muttered, ¡°As I expected. You can also receive a quest that way.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a warrior. I would like to join your party.¡± Closing the distance between the man and him, Jae-Yong said. Turning his head toward Jae-Yong, above the man''s head, was a green diamond. In The Dark Ages, a blue diamond above one¡®shead means that this person was a player. A red diamond above one''s headindicated one aseitheramonster or a red player (PKer). As for the green diamond...it was none other than NPCs. The manin front of Jae-Yong was not a player, he was an NPC.