Chapter 3 – It’s not a Dream

I couldn’t tell if I slept properly.

In the world of Circuit, if you’ve fallen asleep in game, you could also sleep in real life without disconnecting.

Therefore, when I woke up in the morning, I saw the wooden panels of the Azure lady’s inn, rather than the ceiling of my dirty room.

It felt as if yesterday was a dream. I was clueless on what just had happened. I couldn’t remember when, or if I even went to sleep.

Nevertheless, after waking up, I could tell I’ve been asleep for at least a few minutes or hours.

“It’s not a dream.”

There was a rush of blood as I mumbled to myself.

Right. Yesterday was not a dream. I collected myself before opening my mouth.

“Inventory.”

I could barely hear my own voice over my own heartbeat. But as I observed the interface in front of me, even the sound of the heartbeat was muffled.

Inside my inventory,

Amongst many trash, there was one item that stood out.

An item enveloped by the purple light!

“This…”

Certainly,

“This… Is insane!!!”

I jolted with excitement.

I began to twirl around my bed, as if I was a freshly caught fish.

“This is the real jackpot!”

After a brief moment, I calmed myself to inspect the item in the interface.

The necklace was cold to the touch, with numerous jewels on the cord; With its most notable feature being the giant red gem in the middle.

From what I know, this was the first rare item in this game.

[Polorun’s star]

Type: Necklace

Grade: Rare

Weight: 0.08kg

Effects:

Strength + 7

Health + 4

Speed + 4

Intelligence + 3

Special effect
[Polorun’s star] – Health regeneration per second +101

[Polorun’s star] – Health regeneration in party + 43 (Form: Aura, Max range 250M)

History: My beloved, my other half. Before I leave, I give you my blessing. I pray this necklace could serve as a beam of hope during the darkest hours.

From Arulin, wife of Chief Commander Polorun of the Langerus Cavalcade

After inspecting the item, an interface popped up under it.

After only ever inspecting normal grade items, the interface of a rare item was extraordinary to me.

Even the borders of the interface were glowing purple!

“Ehehe… I can’t believe this is mine…”

This item had all the effects I’ve ever wanted in an item; Ever since I first logged in this game 2 months ago.

Combining the stat points, it was nearly 18 levels worth of stats. In conclusion, by wearing this necklace I’ve gained the same effects of levelling up 18 times.

And!

Health regeneration is the most expensive special effect currently in the game. And, this item boasts a health regeneration of,

“A whopping 101 health per second…”

For a health regeneration effect on a normal magic item, at most it gives nearly 5 to 8 health per second; And that’s being generous.

But this item gives 101! An exceptional number, deserving of a rare item.

What surprised me the most, was that it had the first ever aura form effect in all of <Circuit>.

Which means, by partying with me, you could gain the same effect of 4~5 magic items with health regeneration!

This is the power of a rare item that exceeds that of a magic item!

Now then,

“Exactly how much will this item sell for…?”

As excited as I was, I couldn’t exactly estimate the price for this item.

“1 million? 2 million? No, if I follow recent trends, at least… 10 million?”

With this item, I was certain I could sell for an astronomical amount of money.

With such special effects, this item will probably be sold to a guild or corporation rather than individuals.

However, I abruptly stopped my train of thought.

I don’t want to sell.

Isn’t it funny?

I started this game called <Circuit> with a goal to sell a magic item to be better off.

Just yesterday, I was debating if I should stop playing. But, now that I have a rare item, I don’t feel like selling.

“Maybe this is an opportunity.”

I started to convince myself.

No, I needed to do this to justify the reason I started this game.

Yes, this is an opportunity.

Wasn’t there a saying that a person gets one extraordinary luck during their life? This is mine right now.

The luck that can change my life forever!

I had to think about the aftermath of just equipping this item.

Why are people desperately looking to search or buy these expensive items?

Firstly, people who search for these items are probably like me.

To sell the expensive item in order to gain a profit. It’s not wrong to say a majority of people started this game with a goal like that.

Secondly, people who are desperately trying to buy these items. It’s undeniable that these items give great benefits in the game.

But certainly, some users question these types of people.

Also, before <Circuit> there were definitely many people who played a huge sum to gain items in the game.

This game however, was different.

Virtual reality.

This game gives indistinguishable experience in progressing in the game and real-life.

<Circuit> changed the paradigm of entertainment. Nowadays, the standard of entertainment stems from <Circuit>.

Just with that, the prices of items in <Circuit> are justifiable

Like I said before, if you purchased a magic item with a speed buff, at least in virtual reality, you could experience being Usain Bolt in real-life.

With a health regeneration option, the experience of being unkillable.

With a stat bonus in strength, you could even be one of those main protagonists in martial manhwas, that can throw 100kg rocks.

Just by equipping the magic items, you could be exceptional in this game where everyone begins at the same starting point.

And by becoming exceptional, you could reach stardom amongst the interests of many people.

Along with experiencing spectacular adventures with groups of similar people.

This item itself is the stardom, and people who claim it could experience riches beyond belief.

And now, I’ve claimed that item.

Opportunity creates other opportunities.

And, this was the best opportunity I’ll ever have.

I’m doing the right thing.

Yes.

I’m not making a mistake.

Like that,

After giving myself a satisfactory explanation, I started sweating. Then, slowly, I started equipping the necklace.

As a person who’s never equipped an accessory in this game before, the sensation of the cold necklace around my neck was surreal.

After a brief moment, however, the necklace quickly heated to match my temperature.

I’ve also felt some irregularities within my body, probably due to the 18 stat bonus.

Already, I felt beyond the grasps of human limitations!

I felt tingles all across my body, as if riding the world’s scariest roller coaster.

“Ok, This is where I begin.”

I, Lee Ki-Ho, is the most amazing person starting from now.

After that, I left the small room in Azure lady’s inn. Even the sound of waves; Which I’ve heard for the past 2 months, never sounded as pleasing as now.

The sunlight that scorched me, even the flowers that annoyed me; It was all a thing of the past now.

As I left the front door of the Azure lady’s inn,

“Are you leaving now, adventurer?”

The old lady, who’s an NPC, stopped me. She’s the owner of the inn, who allowed me to stay at the inn for a cheap price.

“Yes…”

“Congratulations. You look much better than yesterday. I wish you the best.”

The old lady smiled as she waved her hands. I gave her the most earnest gratitude.

Who would look at such a soothing old lady, and possibly think that she’s an NPC.

Like that, I left.

I’ve started my first adventure from Linduroak, the tutorial town, and the place that took care of me from level 1 to 9.

At the exteriors of Linduroak, I’ve arrived at a carriage.

“Do you need a ride?”

A friendly middle-aged man hopped off the carriage to greet me.

This was a user. Normally, the user needs to tell you their name before their name pops up above their head.

In other words, if they never tell me their name, there’s no way of me knowing it.

Unlike old online games, where your identity was always visible, in <Circuit> you could choose to be anonymous.

But, after a while, people started to be able to distinguish between NPC and users.

An NPC will be fully immersed in the world of <Circuit>, like the old lady from Azure lady’s inn just now.

“Rusty Swallow! It’s been a while since you’ve gotten a customer!”

A user from a different carriage came to greet us. It seemed possible to use the carriage with ‘Nicknames’.

“Yo, Poolu! I’ll be back soon~”

As the man greeted him back, He turned to me with gleaming eyes.

“Did you decide where d’you want to go?

In a weird sense, this was the first page of my adventure. As the guy who’s gained the first rare item in the world, where should I go?

As a person who has only ever stayed at Linduroak, only one place popped in my head.

“To the capital, Asparagan.”

The city that all adventurers go to, Asparagan. The place where all competitive user guilds gather to form ‘Raid parties’ for large-scale raids.

That was my first destination.

“Huh? Brother, that’s a long way to go. You’ve got to pay at least 55 silver…”

“Here’s 55 silver.”

After handing the silver, the coachman laughed as he climbed up the carriage.

As the horses felt the weight of the coachman, the veins on their thick thighs were visible.

“My name’s Rusty Swallow. There’s a thing that Mr.Poolu likes to say in this situation…”

After thinking for a bit, he smiled, showing his neat set of teeth.

“We’ll be there faster than Rogon’s Silf or Priya’s lightning! Royal customer!”

And just like that, the carriage bolted forward.