Former Ranker's Newbie Life-Chapter 60

Do-Jin’s new video exploded. From regions that no players could even reach yet, like the Floating Continent and the Shadow Principality, to a new vampire race no one had even seen before, a massive amount of lore was dropped all at once.

There was a beautiful vampire girl with a heartbreaking past, a badass vampire lord breaking every single taboo just to save his sick daughter, and Do-Jin crushing one shitstorm after another as he progressed. With this many cheat codes stacked together, there was absolutely no way it wasn’t gonna be a hit. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

└ The Shadow Principality vibes are insaneee. There’s no sky, just these black-ass waves crashing overhead. That’s the creepiest shit I’ve ever seen and I love it.

└ Karin, I’m so fucking sorry. I thought you were the final boss or some evil mastermind and totally judged you... I didn’t know you were hurting like that.

└ Honestly the best part for me was the convo with Duke Tirund. Dude felt lost, just like Karin, but then he finally found his path. That hit different.

└ I can’t get over the sunrise scene with Do-Jin and Karin on the hill. I’ve rewatched it, like, ten times. I’m never getting out of this rabbit hole.

Viewers got completely drunk on all the emotions packed into the video, stumbling around in it like a mess.

└ Bro... we can’t even get past the middle of the Central Continent yet and this guy’s out there chilling in the Floating Continent? How long is that gonna take us? What level do we even need?

└ That terrain was a freaking death trap. So many tight spaces and high-agility mobs. For a mage, that’s an instant grave. But this asshole just styles on them. He actually turned the whole battlefield into an advantage. That’s just insane.

└ Okay, skills aside, the gear? Jesus. Insane. Or maybe he only got that gear because his skill is cracked? Either way, that dagger with the triggered skill, holy shit, I need it.

└ Also, who the hell is that priest who kidnapped the vampire girl? Dude trying to ninja the whole quest line or something? You can tell they cut out all the good shit in editing. Greedy bastard. Could’ve at least left something in for the rest of us.

Naturally, the more hardcore gamers zeroed in on potential meta strategies. However, every piece of real intel had been carefully edited out or blurred beyond recognition. All they were left with was the knowledge that the Floating Continent existed and that vampires were real.

There was nothing actionable, no useful data, not even what rewards Do-Jin got. There wasn’t even a name for the priest who yanked the girl away. Once people figured that out, some of them began to complain.

└ Selfish clown. So you got what you wanted and now the rest of us can rot? The quest’s already over. How hard is it to toss us a hint? Nah, you just want the views and the money, but none of the info. You’re just milking the hype and leaving us with scraps. Fuck this, unsubbing.

The occasional hate comment popped up, but Do-Jin couldn’t care less.

What do they want me to do about it...?

“I admit... I’m selfish as hell, so I’ll just take it all, hehe.”

Anything tied to the Cult of Ruin would eventually chain into massive quests. There was no way he was handing that out for free.

“Whatever. I can leave this side to handle itself.”

The “Do-Jin” channel had already blown past a million subs and was sailing smoothly. He didn’t need to manage shit. The company was already handling everything like good little worker bees. All he had to do was keep pumping out new gameplay.

“Man, life’s easy when you set it up right.”

This was the world where he didn’t have to give a damn about anything but playing, exactly the way it should be. Do-Jin was loving every second of it.

He pulled out his phone and hit Chun Ji-Hyun’s number.

“Yo, Ji-Hyun. I’ve got something I need you to take care of.”

***

Theresa was about to lose her goddamn mind.

How the hell did my place end up like this...?

It used to be a small but cozy apartment, her own little slice of peace, but not anymore. Kim Soso, her best friend and eternal pain in the ass, had stormed in dragging a giant gaming capsule behind her.

This is all my fault. Why the fuck did I say that...?

Soso had just landed a spot at a major company but got a one-month delay before starting work, so she asked Theresa if she could crash for a bit. However, since she’d been laser-focused on grinding levels for her in-game character, also named “Theresa”, she had turned down Soso.

“No way. I don’t have time. If you’re that desperate to hang out with me, just log in and play the game.”

“Oh yeah?”

That was where it had all gone wrong. She should’ve realized when Soso repeated it on the phone, all casual-like.

And I just had to tell her my passcode too...

Before she knew it, Soso had shown up at her doorstep, capsule and all, bulldozing her way in like she owned the place. Theresa would never forget the dumbfounded rage she felt when she logged out and climbed out of her own capsule, only to find another pod planted right in her living room. Soso had been standing proudly beside it like everything was normal.

“Kim Soso! Are you seriously doing this right now?! Hurry up and eat so we can get back to grinding! You need to actually help if you’re gonna be here!”

Shaking off the trauma of last night’s invasion, Theresa chewed out her friend-slash-freeloader. She’d insisted on eating in the real world instead of in-game, but now she was just scrolling on her phone, making no effort to help. Just when she was about to explode again, Soso casually dropped a line that completely threw her off.

“What’s there to prep? Just order in. I got you sushi. Sakamoto’s, the one you like.”

Theresa froze. “Wait, what.”

“You want something else too? I’ll order more if you want.”

Sushi Sakamoto was a place that had just scored three Michelin stars. Theresa had been dragged there once under the guise of a “foodie adventure.” She’d grumbled the whole way until she actually tasted it and ended up floating in food-induced bliss. Here Soso was, remembering all that and casually ordering from there again like it was no big deal.

Goddamn it. How am I supposed to stay mad when she pulls shit like this?

Just as her mood was starting to soften, Theresa’s smartphone vibrated. A message popped up from Do-Jin, which made her heart skip a beat. It was that mage who’d somehow ended up as a big deal in-game. He’d even hunted in the same party as her once, which didn’t feel real to her.

Quickly snatching the phone, she checked the message.

—What level are you, and the other two, right now?

Her heart pounded.

No way... is he inviting us again?

Anything connected to Do-Jin was bound to be a win. Big or small, it didn’t matter. He was a walking jackpot. Her hands practically shook as she sent a reply.

—I’m 50, Soso’s 44, and Sang-Soo quit. He’s heading off to the military soon.

Her heart now thudded in her chest. The few seconds it took for another reply to come felt like forever.

—That’s a bit low. I need some extra party members for something, but if you can hit Level 52 within the week, we’re good. The priest’s level is fine, we just need the “Blessing of Mana” skill.

In that moment, Theresa knew. This is it. This is the chance.

After the last party hunt, they’d gone digging around Galiel Forest based on a tip from Do-Jin. Sure enough, a hidden field boss was tucked away in there. Although it’d been a pain in the ass to take down, the armor Theresa scored from that fight was her most prized possession now.

This time, Do-Jin himself was personally recruiting party members. There was no way this wasn’t a goldmine. Theresa believed it with her whole heart.

“Fuck yes, I’m in! A hundred percent!”

Practically bouncing on her toes, she slammed out her reply at lightning speed.

—Absolutely! I’ll hit 52 no matter what! I’ll grind it out no matter what, even if I can’t go higher than that, hell, I’ll fucking make it happen anyway!

—Sounds good. I’ll see you in a week, then.

“Yes! Yes!! See you then!!”

Theresa bowed at the air like she was accepting a royal audience.

Soso looked at her like she’d lost her goddamn mind. “What are you doing? Who the hell was that?”

Theresa just let out a smug little chuckle and tossed her a grin. “The savior of my rice bowl.”

“What...?”

Soso’s face scrunched even harder, but Theresa didn’t even spare her a glance.

She just gave her a thumbs-up and said, “Oi, Kim Soso. Are you interested in getting in on a business venture with me?”

Soso sighed hard enough to shake the room. “I can’t believe this lunatic is my only friend.”

“Hee. Hee. Hee.” Theresa laughed like a little scoundrel, one syllable at a time, dragging it out deliberately just to be annoying.

Soso glared at her with absolute disgust.

***

With his party situation locked in, Do-Jin opened up the Lotranet trading page.

“Thank god someone actually listed it.”

[Axe of the Thunderstruck Tree]

Level Requirement: 52

Stat Requirement: Strength 150+

Grade: S

Attack Power: 50

Unique Skill: Surging Thunder

Surging Thunder: For 15 seconds, deal lightning-based damage every second equal to 100% of weapon attack power. Enemies struck by lightning enter a shocked state and are paralyzed.

Cooldown: 30 seconds

It was an S-rank weapon dropped from a hidden dungeon boss, one that had already been cleared by someone else while Do-Jin was tied up with his main quest line. The listing price was just over 40 million won.

“Yeah... no wonder it didn’t sell back then. The options on it are trash.”

No matter how high the rank, what really mattered was performance. Nobody in their right mind was gonna cough up over 40 million won for a joke of a weapon, one that needed sky-high Strength stats but only gave fifty points of attack power in return. If the player actually knew how to use this axe, however, it could turn into one of the most broken growth items anyone could get their hands on in the Level 50 range.

“Thanks for the axe, Chang-sik. I’ll make damn good use of it.”

“Chang-sik the Walking L” was the one who had gotten his hands on the axe this time. He was one of the new party members and also a somewhat popular streamer. Do-Jin remembered him very clearly from his past life.

“Ohhh, that dead battery? The dude who blows his load with one spell and then just fizzles out? He’s a joke. I’m not even a top-tier player but I’d mop the floor with clowns like him.”

A guy who’d never even gotten close to ranker status had actually said that about him. Do-Jin hadn’t forgotten a single word. Now, he was planning to repay that little insult with a light dose of karma.

“But no fucking way I’m dropping 40 million won just like that. Time to haggle.”

When the seller had no clue what they were sitting on, lowballing wasn’t just a strategy, but a necessity.