Episode 2
002. Game Start!
| [Connect to 《Lepione》.] |
With the familiar system voice, Geumsom’s consciousness was sucked into 《Lepione》.
The familiar interface greeted Geumsom.
‘Seeing this again.’
After the Gates manifested, 《Lepione》 became inaccessible.
Because reality was 《Lepione》.
But now, it was before the Gates manifested.
The 《Lepione》 interface he had only dreamed of was unfolding before his eyes.
‘Character creation, huh…’
The first procedure to undergo was character creation.
Geumsom did not pass through the character creation stage carelessly.
Some would pour their heart and soul here to create a handsome man or beautiful woman.
Some would create a playful character.
As if imitating seasoned veterans.
But one must not do that here.
Absolutely must not.
‘Because the synchronization rate changes, right?’
《Lepione》’s hidden stat that manifests when it overlaps with reality, the ‘Synchronization Rate’.
The more identical the character is to one’s real self, the more the power and efficiency are maximized when manifesting abilities in reality later.
This was a fact Geumsom had also learned by chance.
‘It was thanks to my name.’
Surname: Geum (Gold), Given name: Son (Hand? Grandchild?).
Not ‘Kim’ (a common Korean surname).
It’s ‘Geum’ (Gold).
A real name that sounds like a nickname.
In his past life, when starting the game, he casually used his real name as his nickname.
Because his real name sounded like a nickname.
Later, he found out that trivial choice gave him a higher synchronization rate bonus than other players.
And that difference ultimately contributed to him creating legendary items.
‘Then this time…’
Geumsom input his real-world information without hesitation.
Nickname, of course, ‘Geumsom’.
This time, it wasn’t just the name.
For appearance customization, he also replicated his own face and body type as if looking in a mirror.
While others chased fantasies, he thoroughly recreated reality.
It was the most crucial first move for the future.
[Please select your starting point.]
A message that appeared upon finishing character creation.
The world of 《Lepione》 consisted of 48 kingdoms, and each kingdom had dozens of starting villages.
But Geumsom unhesitatingly chose one place.
‘Kingdom of Eirock, Neman Village.’
The place he started in his past life as well.
A typical rural village where farming is the mainstay, with only a small forest and a low-level mine dungeon nearby.
At least, because the mine dungeon and low-level monsters are scattered around, it’s designated as a beginner village.
An utterly common rural village, but.
‘The answer is here.’
With a flash of light, Geumsom’s character was summoned to Neman Village square.
“Wow! This is no joke!”
“This is on a whole different level compared to other capsule games!”
“Hey, what’s this smell… huh? They implemented smells too? This is insane.”
“No, that poop smell is coming from your place… huh? Suddenly a poop smell? I-it’s real? They even implemented smells! What’s the principle behind this!”
The moment the blinding light faded, a pungent stench assaulted their noses.
As befitting a quiet village in the countryside, the familiar scent of home welcomed them.
And new players getting overly excited about 《Lepione》’s amazing technology.
It was a peaceful scene he hadn’t seen in so long, and missed so much.
‘I was like that at first too.’
However, Geumsom could only give a bitter smile looking at them.
《Lepione》, with a level of realism hardly different from reality.
No, 《Lepione》 that was more real than reality.
Visuals, touch, hearing, and even smell and taste representation.
The technological prowess of 《Lepione》 that expressed almost every aspect perfectly.
In the past, Geumsom too was amazed and thrilled by this incredible technology.
Like those other players over there.
But he should have realized back then.
Where that unbelievable technology came from, and what its purpose was.
‘Regretting it now… no, it’s not too late, is it?’
Actually accessing 《Lepione》 to play made his head complicated.
The lingering aftertaste of the destruction hadn’t even faded from his mind.
Yet trying to access and play 《Lepione》 again made him feel somewhat sentimental.
“Hoo—.”
Geumsom took a deep breath and shook off the complicated thoughts in his head.
Because focusing on playing now was important.
“Player info.”
Unlike others, Geumsom familiarly brought up his info.
Simple information about his character appeared before his eyes.
[Player Information]
Name: Geumsom
Level: 1
Class: Outsider
Titles:
Narcissist
Simple information should have been displayed.
Having just started 《Lepione》, there shouldn’t be any particular information.
The period of acting as an Outsider until level 10 before gaining a class.
But an unexpected title was attached.
“Narci… ssist?”
A title obtained immediately upon starting 《Lepione》.
Geumsom quickly checked the message content.
Because in his past life, he had never obtained such a title.
Moreover, obtaining a title before even getting a class was an unusual case he had never heard of.
[You have acquired the title ‘Narcissist’.]
[Your appearance information matches the player’s at 100%.]
[The system feels awe at the astonishingly self-loving personality.]
[Effect 1. Proficiency gain for all skills increases by 100%.]
[Effect 2. The Luck stat is unlocked, and you receive a +15 bonus.]
Geumsom read the message once more.
A title that appeared from perfectly matching his real appearance.
It was an investment for the future, but that investment seemed to have hit the jackpot.
Sooner than expected.
And in 《Lepione》, no less.
‘Skill proficiency increases by 100%? Luck stat unlocked? This is crazy.’
Geumsom knew the weight of the phrase ‘Skill proficiency 100% increase’ better than anyone.
《Repion》’s skills.
Broadly divided into two types.
Common skills that anyone can learn.
And class skills that can only be learned by having a specific class.
Common skills could be learned by anyone and had good versatility, but were weak in power or had minimal additional effects.
In contrast, class skills boasted powerful performance, but without that class, one couldn’t learn them even if they had the skillbook.
Of course, in the highly free 《Lepione》, which class one has is free.
However, with the penalty imposed each time one gains an additional class beyond the primary one.
Only if one can bear the terrifying penalty of the required experience for the next level increasing by 50% each time a subclass is added.
Thus, for most players, the best strategy is one main class, supplemented by one or two synergistic subclasses.
If one carelessly dabbles in multiple classes, they often end up as a ‘junk character’ that’s neither here nor there and gets left behind.
But Geumsom was different.
The ‘Narcissist’ title changed everything.
‘It means skill leveling is possible at twice the speed of others.’
If he can raise all skill proficiency twice as fast, the story changes.
In the time it takes others to master one skill, he can master two, and can even master all the inefficient skill trees others gave up on.
It was the moment the path of the ‘All-Master’, who masters everything, beyond a simple genius blacksmith, clearly drew itself before his eyes.
“All-Master, huh…”
All-Master.
‘All-Master’, mastering all classes, was treated as an area of theory or entertainment, only theoretically possible.
But this ‘Narcissist’ title overturned all those calculations.
Raising the skills of numerous classes individually to the highest level.
That was a path of endless grinding, demanding far more time than leveling up.
But he could cut that time in half.
This wasn’t just a simple advantage.
It was the key to turning the impossible into possible.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Geumsom’s mouth.
The regressed genius blacksmith.
No, it seemed he could set that goal even bigger now.
“All-Master doesn’t sound bad either.”
Moreover, the unlocking of a new stat.
It’s not important which stat was unlocked.
The fact that a stat was ‘unlocked’ itself is what’s important.
“For a stat to be unlocked already… That means other stats can also be unlocked, right?”
Geumsom quickly checked his basic stats.
Looking at the character details, he saw the Luck stat applied.
[Player Detailed Information]
[Basic Stats]
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Stamina: 10
Magic Power: 10
[Unlocked Stats]Luck: 15
[Remaining Stat Points: 0]
Looking at his status window, Geumsom couldn’t help but be astonished.
Ordinary players start at level 1 with only the four basic stats: Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Magic Power.
And each time they level up, they gain 4 additional stat points to invest in these basic stats and grow.
But in Geumsom’s status window, the ‘Luck’ stat sat imposingly alongside a new category called ‘Unlocked Stats’.
‘Insane… at level 1?’
What this meant was clear.
Now, Geumsom would gain 5 additional stat points each time he levels up, not 4.
It means he starts ahead by 1 point per level compared to others.
One cannot underestimate it as a mere 1-point difference.
This difference would create an exponential gap as levels accumulate.
Above all, the crucial point is how extremely difficult it is to unlock the first stat.
In his past life, the existence of ‘Unlocked Stats’ first became known to users around the time the highest-level user surpassed level 200.
Only a select few rankers who met specific conditions barely succeeded in unlocking their first stat, and it became a huge topic.
Yet, Geumsom had taken that difficult first step simultaneously with starting the game, at level 1.
It meant starting with over 200 more stat points than others by the time he reached at least level 200.
Even if it’s not big now, the gap would become enormous as time goes on.
Furthermore, stat unlocking is only difficult for the first one; once the dam is broken, unlocking the next stats becomes relatively easier.
If specific conditions are met, other stats can also be unlocked in a chain reaction.
‘Twice skill proficiency, plus extra stat points…’
The faint smile at the corner of Geumsom’s mouth changed into a confident conviction.
The All-Master, only discussed in theory.
It seemed worth trying.
No, he felt confident he could do it.
Episode 2
002. Game Start!
[Logging into 《Lepione》.]
With the familiar system voice, Geumsom’s consciousness was sucked into 《Lepione》.
The familiar interface greeted Geumsom.
‘Seeing this again.’
After the Gates manifested, 《Lepione》 became inaccessible.
Because reality was 《Lepione》.
But now, it was before the Gates manifested.
The 《Lepione》 interface he had only dreamed of was unfolding before his eyes.
‘Character creation, huh…’
The first procedure to undergo was character creation.
Geumsom did not pass through the character creation stage carelessly.
Some would pour their heart and soul here to create a handsome man or beautiful woman.
Some would create a playful character.
As if imitating seasoned veterans.
But one must not do that here.
Absolutely must not.
‘Because the synchronization rate changes, right?’
《Repion》’s hidden stat that manifests when it overlaps with reality, the ‘Synchronization Rate’.
The more identical the character is to one’s real self, the more the power and efficiency are maximized when manifesting abilities in reality later.
This was a fact Geumsom had also learned by chance.
‘It was thanks to my name.’
Surname: Geum (Gold), Given name: Son (Hand? Grandchild?).
Not ‘Kim’ (a common Korean surname).
It’s ‘Geum’ (Gold).
A real name that sounds like a nickname.
In his past life, when starting the game, he casually used his real name as his nickname.
Because his real name sounded like a nickname.
Later, he found out that trivial choice gave him a higher synchronization rate bonus than other players.
And that difference ultimately contributed to him creating legendary items.
‘Then this time…’
Geumsom input his real-world information without hesitation.
Nickname, of course, ‘Geumsom’.
This time, it wasn’t just the name.
For appearance customization, he also replicated his own face and body type as if looking in a mirror.
While others chased fantasies, he thoroughly recreated reality.
It was the most crucial first move for the future.
[Please select your starting point.]
A message that appeared upon finishing character creation.
The world of 《Lepione》 consisted of 48 kingdoms, and each kingdom had dozens of starting villages.
But Geumsom unhesitatingly chose one place.
‘Kingdom of Eirock, Neman Village.’
The place he started in his past life as well.
A typical rural village where farming is the mainstay, with only a small forest and a low-level mine dungeon nearby.
At least, because the mine dungeon and low-level monsters are scattered around, it’s designated as a beginner village.
An utterly common rural village, but.
‘The answer is here.’
With a flash of light, Geumsom’s character was summoned to Neman Village square.
“Wow! This is no joke!”
“This is on a whole different level compared to other capsule games!”
“Hey, what’s this smell… huh? They implemented smells too? This is insane.”
“No, that poop smell is coming from your place… huh? Suddenly a poop smell? I-it’s real? They even implemented smells! What’s the principle behind this!”
The moment the blinding light faded, a pungent stench assaulted their noses.
As befitting a quiet village in the countryside, the familiar scent of home welcomed them.
And new players getting overly excited about 《Lepione》’s amazing technology.
It was a peaceful scene he hadn’t seen in so long, and missed so much.
‘I was like that at first too.’
However, Geumsom could only give a bitter smile looking at them.
《Lepione》, with a level of realism hardly different from reality.
No, 《Lepione》 that was more real than reality.
Visuals, touch, hearing, and even smell and taste representation.
The technological prowess of 《Lepione》 that expressed almost every aspect perfectly.
In the past, Geumsom too was amazed and thrilled by this incredible technology.
Like those other players over there.
But he should have realized back then.
Where that unbelievable technology came from, and what its purpose was.
‘Regretting it now… no, it’s not too late, is it?’
Actually accessing 《Lepione》 to play made his head complicated.
The lingering aftertaste of the destruction hadn’t even faded from his mind.
Yet trying to access and play 《Lepione》 again made him feel somewhat sentimental.
“Hoo—.”
Geumsom took a deep breath and shook off the complicated thoughts in his head.
Because focusing on playing now was important.
“Player info.”
Unlike others, Geumsom familiarly brought up his info.
Simple information about his character appeared before his eyes.
[Player Information]
Name: Geumsom
Level: 1
Class: Outsider
Titles:
Narcissist
Simple information should have been displayed.
Having just started 《Lepione》, there shouldn’t be any particular information.
The period of acting as an Outsider until level 10 before gaining a class.
But an unexpected title was attached.
“Narci… ssist?”
A title obtained immediately upon starting 《Lepione》.
Geumsom quickly checked the message content.
Because in his past life, he had never obtained such a title.
Moreover, obtaining a title before even getting a class was an unusual case he had never heard of.
[You have acquired the title ‘Narcissist’.]
[Your appearance information matches the player’s at 100%.]
[The system feels awe at the astonishingly self-loving personality.]
[Effect 1. Proficiency gain for all skills increases by 100%.]
[Effect 2. The Luck stat is unlocked, and you receive a +15 bonus.]
Geumsom read the message once more.
A title that appeared from perfectly matching his real appearance.
It was an investment for the future, but that investment seemed to have hit the jackpot.
Sooner than expected.
And in 《Lepione》, no less.
‘Skill proficiency increases by 100%? Luck stat unlocked? This is crazy.’
Geumsom knew the weight of the phrase ‘Skill proficiency 100% increase’ better than anyone.
《Lepione》’s skills.
Broadly divided into two types.
Common skills that anyone can learn.
And class skills that can only be learned by having a specific class.
Common skills could be learned by anyone and had good versatility, but were weak in power or had minimal additional effects.
In contrast, class skills boasted powerful performance, but without that class, one couldn’t learn them even if they had the skillbook.
Of course, in the highly free 《Lepione》, which class one has is free.
However, with the penalty imposed each time one gains an additional class beyond the primary one.
Only if one can bear the terrifying penalty of the required experience for the next level increasing by 50% each time a subclass is added.
Thus, for most players, the best strategy is one main class, supplemented by one or two synergistic subclasses.
If one carelessly dabbles in multiple classes, they often end up as a ‘junk character’ that’s neither here nor there and gets left behind.
But Geumsom was different.
The ‘Narcissist’ title changed everything.
‘It means skill leveling is possible at twice the speed of others.’
If he can raise all skill proficiency twice as fast, the story changes.
In the time it takes others to master one skill, he can master two, and can even master all the inefficient skill trees others gave up on.
It was the moment the path of the ‘All-Master’, who masters everything, beyond a simple genius blacksmith, clearly drew itself before his eyes.
“All-Master, huh…”
All-Master.
‘All-Master’, mastering all classes, was treated as an area of theory or entertainment, only theoretically possible.
But this ‘Narcissist’ title overturned all those calculations.
Raising the skills of numerous classes individually to the highest level.
That was a path of endless grinding, demanding far more time than leveling up.
But he could cut that time in half.
This wasn’t just a simple advantage.
It was the key to turning the impossible into possible.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Geumsom’s mouth.
The regressed genius blacksmith.
No, it seemed he could set that goal even bigger now.
“All-Master doesn’t sound bad either.”
Moreover, the unlocking of a new stat.
It’s not important which stat was unlocked.
The fact that a stat was ‘unlocked’ itself is what’s important.
“For a stat to be unlocked already… That means other stats can also be unlocked, right?”
Geumsom quickly checked his basic stats.
Looking at the character details, he saw the Luck stat applied.
[Player Detailed Information]
[Basic Stats]
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Stamina: 10
Magic Power: 10
[Unlocked Stats]Luck: 15
[Remaining Stat Points: 0]
Looking at his status window, Geumsom couldn’t help but be astonished.
Ordinary players start at level 1 with only the four basic stats: Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Magic Power.
And each time they level up, they gain 4 additional stat points to invest in these basic stats and grow.
But in Geumsom’s status window, the ‘Luck’ stat sat imposingly alongside a new category called ‘Unlocked Stats’.
‘Insane… at level 1?’
What this meant was clear.
Now, Geumsom would gain 5 additional stat points each time he levels up, not 4.
It means he starts ahead by 1 point per level compared to others.
One cannot underestimate it as a mere 1-point difference.
This difference would create an exponential gap as levels accumulate.
Above all, the crucial point is how extremely difficult it is to unlock the first stat.
In his past life, the existence of ‘Unlocked Stats’ first became known to users around the time the highest-level user surpassed level 200.
Only a select few rankers who met specific conditions barely succeeded in unlocking their first stat, and it became a huge topic.
Yet, Geumsom had taken that difficult first step simultaneously with starting the game, at level 1.
It meant starting with over 200 more stat points than others by the time he reached at least level 200.
Even if it’s not big now, the gap would become enormous as time goes on.
Furthermore, stat unlocking is only difficult for the first one; once the dam is broken, unlocking the next stats becomes relatively easier.
If specific conditions are met, other stats can also be unlocked in a chain reaction.
‘Twice skill proficiency, plus extra stat points…’
The faint smile at the corner of Geumsom’s mouth changed into a confident conviction.
The All-Master, only discussed in theory.
It seemed worth trying.
No, he felt confident he could do it.
