Chapter 2: Circuit

Chapter 2. Circuit

Circuit.

There wouldn’t be many people who understand the meaning of this word. But I assure you, as of now, there won’t be one person who never heard it.

I’m not talking about the English translation of the word. As you would guess, I’m talking about the “title” of a game.

It’s been nearly three months since the initial release of the game. The exact date may be near a hundred days.

In reality, there is no reason to count each individual date. You wouldn’t be able to remember a thing I’ve said once you’re in the game.

Ah, except for the word “Circuit.”

Was it nearly a month since its initial release? The time when the number of active players reached fifty-four million.

During that time, the whole world was busy talking about Circuit.

If you think ‘My gosh, what kind of game could pull this many players in?’ There is a simple explanation.

Virtual Reality

Up to this moment, if you had fun slaughtering monsters controlling the main character in a video game, <Circuit> made you become the main character itself using virtual reality.

You could experience a fantasy world filled with adventure with your own two feet! Who wouldn’t be intrigued by this!

I was the same. In a single room the size of a rat’s tail, who would think I would be able to smell the refreshing smell of the sea in front of Linduroak.

Ah, Linduroak is a harbor village in <Circuit>.

There was another reason this game gained this much popularity, and that was in the

“real-life transactions.”

Yes, I’m talking about the realism between fantasy and reality, that even the most profound fantasy novels couldn’t imitate.

The currency in <Circuit>, or commonly referred to as gold, gained nearly the same value as real-life currency. The reason for that is due to the rare items, which would normally be impossible in reality, bringing in astronomical amounts of money.

I remember hearing from somewhere that the auction in Circuit was dealing with nearly three trillion dollars in real-life currency.

This appealed to many as a way to gain wealth, instead of enjoying the game.

I was no exception.

Instead of the bleak reality, a new opportunity had arrived.

Following suit, in order to pay off the student debt of two semesters, I ventured off to Circuit with an optimistic mindset.

To this day, users have found three types of rarity for items.

Normal, Magic, Rare

As the users were well experienced in this type of game, the vocabulary didn’t deter them.

But the concept was very different.

Normal items, as the word suggests, were normal items without any special effects to them. You could view them as the original versions of a magic item.

Magic items are where it gets a bit weird. From this point on, the items affect your “stats” or give frightening “buffs” to the item.

Last but not least, the rare items. To be fair, no one knows of the effects of rare items, as no one has come across them yet.

Therefore, in this game, the magic items are what matter the most.

The problem lies in their cost, you wouldn’t believe it.

Let’s say the magic item is an accessory.

Yeah, it’s a ring that fits on my pinky. If this ring increases my stat “Strength” by three points…

Then it has the power equivalent to three levels of grinding.

Now you might think that three points in Strength may not seem like much.

But, imagine if you could wear the ring, and be able to have a strength equivalent to heavyweight boxers.

Now, you might be able to tell the significance of the three points.

If a ring with said stats ever drops—at the current exchange rate—a student would have no worries about finishing their education.

An employee could earn up to a year of work at once.

Right after the release of the game, a magic item involving stats did go up for sale.

The final offer was 590 million dollars, through fierce competition.

Of course, after more magic items have dropped, the price has fallen off. However, their value is still high.

If you could obtain one of these items, you are set for life.

Billions of players set off to this world with that in mind.

I thought if I played the game enough, I would be able to obtain at least one of these items.

If possible, a necklace that had the stats “regeneration”, which are popular these days.

If you are a gamer, you would understand the meaning of health regeneration. Commonly referred to as “regen”, a magic item with a stat buff in regen could cost up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

With such an item, in just a few seconds, you could sustain any damage and be fine the next second. Yes, just like Wolverine.

As an example, a famous streamer who was level 5 at the time, purchased a regeneration ring for 300 million dollars and fought a bear with his bare hands as content.

The effects were evident, as even if he was getting clawed by the bear if he had at least 1 health, he healed fully within seconds.

On a side note, if you had a magic item that increased speed, you could even aim for having the world record for a 100m dash. Well, there would be more competition within the game.

What if someone had multiple of these magic items?

You would be able to tell why many gamers despise “Overgeared” players, firsthand.

Anyways, the reason for my rant is that I’ve been trying to get one of these items for the past 2 months. But to no avail.

Worst of all, I’ve spent those two months hunting slimes. As currently, slimes are the only common monster that even a beginner could defeat.

There were countless days where I starved in order to hunt slimes. I was better off working part-time.

In desperation, I looked for the items I could sell. But, the only items I’ve ever come by, were the dull steel sword and raggy leather cloth that you get from tutorials.

To be honest, most people who looked for magic items like me, were in the same predicament. The magic items, as extraordinary they are, were extremely hard to come by.

To add fuel to the fire, when I was enthusiastic about clearing quests, some high schooler killed a slime in Lundebarun and got a regeneration ring.

As you can tell, most slimes in Lundebarun after that incident were nowhere to be seen.

Not long after that, I’ve come across multiple people obtaining a magic grade item near me; Which increased my motivation.

But, it was only the chosen few who got to obtain said magic item.

<Circuit> was known for its drop rates being abnormally low.

With that in mind, a concurrent user of 8,8 million and a total of 400 million users; Not even 1% claimed the magic item.

And to no surprise, I wasn’t part of the 1%.

I thought I could be special at least in the game. But that hope has shattered.

“Of course, not everyone is born lucky.”

“Azure lady’s inn,” the cheapest inn I’ve stayed at for a couple of months in Linduroak.

As I leaned on the inn, I reflected on my past self.

I thought, if I play enough for a couple of months, I’ll be able to obtain a magic item.

And, by selling that, I thought I could pay off the student debt and continue my education. Instead, this game screwed me over by giving me a 2-year break from school.

“I’ve heard some guy bought 3 or 4 magic items, and now is the VIP to many guilds? Sigh…”

I kept sighing.

In the first place, many users weren’t focusing on the adventure or hunting aspect of the game.

As the currency within the game is nearly the same as in real life, working to earn money in the game was the same as working in real life.

Being an official in the empire was the same as working for a AAA company.

Blacksmiths, Enchanters, Alchemists. There were users that specialized in crafts.

There were even players who signed contracts with NPCs or worked part-time. You could say there were more stable ways of earning money in the game rather than hitting the jackpot.

Some even opened up their own stores and blew up.

There were even television programs benefiting from the success stories of these CEOs.

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In other cases, real-life companies signed contracts with <Circuit> developer company to have stores in-game.

I too should have worked diligently like them. I’ve wasted two months, and there’s nothing but 5 gold in my inventory.

Converted to real-life currency, it was nearly 500 dollars. But, this much was nearly nowhere enough compared to the work I put in for two months.

To be honest, I’ve completely lost the joy in playing the game.

At first, I was in awe of the emerald-tint sea in Linduroak, and what surrounded me was thoughts filled with expectations and amusement.

But now, I’ve come to despise this pungent sea. Whenever I went out hunting, I would only come back with injuries. I used to persevere through the pain, but nowadays I just get annoyed.

“This is driving me crazy!”

I scratched my hair in anger. I thought it would ease my ferocity, but the sight of my messy hair only angered me more.

Okay, let’s quit.

This is the conclusion I’ve come to. I’m going to quit the game and work hard in real life.

But, I couldn’t get rid of this tightness in my heart.

If only I started playing the game wholeheartedly, would I have been better off?

Well, it doesn’t matter now!

“Shall I leave? Inventory!”

I accessed my inventory, which no others could see.

5 gold left. I thought spending this gold would leave me with earnest happiness.

When it came to my attention, I was in the middle of Linduroak park.

The temptations of alcohol I couldn’t afford, the tasty smell of meat and fish skewers. Holding these delicacies in both of my hands, I walked across the park.

I’ve even donated 50 silver to a concert by a user.

At that moment, I heard cheers all around me. Even the interface informed me that my fame has risen.

I was absolutely exhilarated. I thought I could finally enjoy <Circuit> as it’s intended to be.

With my remaining two gold, I heard a crowd at a corner of the park.

“Shit! Another loss!”

“Hahaha!!”

“How many is that!”

“You’re so bad at gambling!”

Filled with people’s laughter, in the middle of the crowd, I saw an old man operating a gambling shop. On either side of the shop, there were heavy-armored mercenaries protecting the place.

“Come come, It’s the most precious artifact from deep within the ruins!”

As the old man captivated the crowd,

“Dream big, and earn big! An antique for 30 silver, and the ‘identification scroll’ for 1 gold!”

“Hey, aren’t we getting scammed?”

“What! There’s no way this is a scam!”

“Cut the bullshit! I’ve already spent 8 gold, it’s only been trash!”

As the man stomped towards the old man in anger, the two guards stopped him.

You could tell at a glance they were skilled. NPC or user, they were fully equipped.

“I just want these antiques to find their owners! Now~ Now~ if you use this identification scroll on these antiques, you would be able to see their true value! You never know, they might be a rare item!”

In other words, a gamble.

Unidentified item, with a deteriorated exterior. By using the identification scroll, it could restore the item to its true form.

From the looks of things, the business was booming.

A normal identification never exceeds 50 silver. The old man probably explored these ruins and grabbed many antiques to sell at an expensive price.

Despite that, the reason people were thrilled at this gamble was probably the hope of being part of the 1%, as many wished to be, when they joined <Circuit>

“Choose, Choose!”

Okay, let’s end it with that. I didn’t have any regrets left. It’s funny to think the last thing I’ll ever do in this game, was to gamble.

In the first place, I was fully drunk. Playing this game whilst being drunk, made me realize this really is the best game in the world.

“Old man, I’ll give this one a go.”

As I stepped forward to choose my artifact, the crowd around me cheered me on.

“ Oh! Another brave hero stepped forward! Here, the total is 1 gold 30 silver!”

After the artifact left the old man’s hands, I left the scene. Behind me, I could hear disappointed grumbles.

“What? Wasn’t he gonna open it now?”

“Scared?”

“He probably doesn’t wanna get embarrassed. That’s why he ran.”

As I left the crowd, I walked towards the Azure lady’s inn. The place that I’ve stayed at for the past 2 months. The place that I won’t ever come back to after tomorrow.

I quickly went inside my room at the inn. Strangely, the buzz of alcohol disappeared quickly.

Well, that’s a given. I’m probably healthier in this game than in real life.

“It was a fun ride, <Circuit>!”

As I talked to myself, I held the small artifact with my identification scroll worth 100 dollars.

“Analyze.”

In response to my chant, the artifact started disassembling around my room.

As the artifact dematerialized into black smoke,

“…H-Huh?”

From within the center,

“W-What?!”

A ray of purple light came brighter and warmer than the sun.

“This…This…”

Filled with excitement that I never knew I had,

“Wait… That’s…”

I watched as the smoke materialized into a necklace.

< You’ve gained an item >

[Polorun’s star]

Type: Necklace

Grade: Rare

Weight: 0.08kg

Effects:

Strength + 7

Health + 4

Speed + 4

Intelligence + 3

[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.

____

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