The familiar hiss of the VR capsule signaled the end of another long session. Eon pushed the lid open, his real-world body feeling strangely light and insubstantial after the grueling virtual exertion. As he always did before fully disconnecting, he willed his status screen to appear one last time, the transparent blue interface hovering in his mind's eye.
Eon Moonlicht18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuXLIeIGws
Level: 118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SExi3zKxv
Class: None
Health: 100/10018Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJydyqNihcF
Stamina: 100/100
Strength: 1918Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1BXwWQ2kT
Dexterity: 518Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLEh6dD34G
Vitality: 518Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo8x9LaewY
Intelligence: 518Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBYYIWEc1h
Wisdom: 518Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmgICcb0nM
Luck: 518Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BlhQEDNop
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2BIikAKaY
He stared at the numbers. The five stat points in everything were the default, the bare minimum for a classless existence. But the Strength… the Strength was his. Nineteen. A number that would be respectable for a dedicated Level 5 or 6 Player. And he was still Level 1.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNI3A5i8Ka2
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFCcu4zt8W
This was the core of the punishment, the trade-off he had obsessively researched in those late-night forum dives before committing to this path. Without a class, you had no access to the leveling system. No experience bar. No glowing ascensions to new tiers of power. Your growth was entirely horizontal, stat by hard-won stat, locked forever at the bottom of the world’s hierarchy. You would forever be a Level 1 entity in a world of gods and monsters, your only hope to become the most powerful Level 1 to ever exist. It was madness. It was his madness.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88HLU5R8O8
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmjwbhyduR
He finally climbed out of the pod, his limbs stiff. His nightly ritual wasn't over. He slumped into his desk chair, the glow of his monitor illuminating the empty ramen cups and clutter. He typed his now-habitual searches into the Illusion Tree forums: “Classless progress,” “Strength farming,” “Hidden stat caps.” The results were the same—a desert of uselessness, peppered with the occasional mocking post. But he scanned them all anyway, a digital prospector sifting for a single nugget of gold in a river of fool’s gravel. It was a compulsion. He had to know if anyone, anyone, had ever tried what he was doing and found a way forward.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjAhDTArVN
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dlnZEBJ5W
The next morning, the 5:30 AM alarm felt less like an assault and more like a starting pistol. He was in the capsule and logging in almost before he was fully awake.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBanhpR4Emn
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAUGOO20Vb
The serene, dewy quiet of Haven’s Reach welcomed him once more. The air was cool, the village still softly humming with NPC life before the player tsunami hit. He made a beeline for the marketplace, finding Martha already wrestling with a crate even larger than yesterday’s.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPACdWq2FF
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5Px9QDjlH
“Ah! My strong young helper!” she greeted him, her face lighting up. “These apples must be from the royal orchards themselves, they weigh a ton!”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYh84fqNsKU
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11G9Vl0o7S
Eon grinned, grabbing the other end. “Let’s see,” he said. He braced himself, expecting the familiar strain. But as they lifted, the crate felt… lighter. Not easy, but manageable. The weight that would have left him breathless yesterday was now just a solid, heavy object. He could feel the virtual muscles in his arms and back engaging smoothly. He looked at the invisible stat in his mind. Nineteen. It wasn’t just a number. He could see it. He could feel it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBh68HrvHFn
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq97E3pGNsr
“There!” Martha said, brushing her hands off on her apron. “You make short work of that, dearie. You’re getting stronger, I can tell. A hard day’s work agrees with you.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZw0O5rmCn
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRb7SD5QsN
The simple, off-hand NPC remark hit him with an unexpected wave of pride. It was validation, and it came from the world itself, not some toxic player.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18p0iZ3PrR
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJTkUMrz5w
“Speaking of work,” she continued, leaning in conspiratorially. “Old Man Hemmer, the quartermaster, his back’s been acting up again. That supply wagon’s due any minute, and it’s always a devil to unload before the crowds descend and start pawing at everything. He could use a pair of strong arms. Tell him I sent you. He might have a copper or two for your trouble.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwG0jSn9ruC
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcn3PwMHVd
A quest. An actual, proper quest that didn’t involve murdering things. “Thanks, Martha,” he said, his voice earnest.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gecXGwTWj
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KlPdPt45D
“Don’t mention it. Now shoo! I’ve got customers to attract!”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvhbyHQ9T4
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewQ8YKXLbO
He found Old Man Hemmer by the main gate, a grizzled NPC with a pronounced limp, groaning as he looked at the newly arrived wagon. The driver was already unhitching the oxen.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMidIel4RF
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oPMCh5dKS
“Martha sent me,” Eon said. “Said you needed help unloading?”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWJG3mcDp1
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmvzeru34d
Hemmer looked him up and down, his eyes lingering on Eon’s simple, classless tunic. He sighed. “Aye, that I do. Back’s fit to kill me. You sure you’re up for it, lad? No fancy class muscles to help you?”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBGdoCONqb
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUdvB9aBDD
“I’m stronger than I look,” Eon replied.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5N7LHUNxb
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uCOc8GtUp
“We’ll see. Don’t drop anything. And be careful with the alchemist’s crates. Don’t know what’s in ‘em, and I don’t want to find out the hard way.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADRVtpvlW1
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrueWl0tP4
The work was heavy, repetitive, and surprisingly immersive. He hauled bundles of wheat that smelled of dry summer fields, their rough texture scratching against his tunic. He carefully carried crates of “Beginner’s Iron Longswords” and “Sturdy Leather Cuirasses” to a storage shed, their weight solid and metallic. The most nerve-wracking were the boxes marked with a delicate, glowing leaf symbol—the alchemist’s order. He handled them like they were made of glass, placing them with painstaking care on a designated shelf.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86jTc8keSq
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBmslxGmGS
It was another form of grinding. Instead of a stamina bar, he watched his reputation. With every successful haul, a tiny, almost invisible18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYcf1QAWw4
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijmbhPC3QW
[+2 Reputation with Haven's Reach]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhZ469vRtu
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9kPfpFtQn
would flicker at the edge of his vision. It was slow, mundane, and utterly satisfying.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWoAuzTGdp
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCNQSC0eb6
After the wagon was empty and Hemmer had pressed a reward of [10 Copper] into his hand with a grateful nod, Eon just wandered. With the player population still thin, he could truly see the town. He watched the baker pull steaming loaves from his oven, the scent intoxicating. He saw children being shooed off to a small schoolhouse by a stern-looking matron. He listened to two guards on a break complaining about their captain’s new training regimen. The world was deep. It was alive.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVsKO8chFI
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxChncHm8Uy
But as the sun climbed, the first players began to pop into existence in the square. The noise level rose. The magic of the quiet morning began to recede. He felt the familiar tension returning. Time to go.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3WkOUC2kr
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNI6fl2gQHX
He stopped by Martha’s stall, now busy with a few early-riser players. He used his hard-earned copper, plus his discount, to buy a full day’s worth of food: more bread, cheese, another apple, and even a small skin of water. “Good luck out there, dearie!” she called as he left.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRRqUKa8J8
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIlbWocksM
He shouldered his virtual provisions and headed for the gate, purpose in his stride. His inventory was filling up. [Slimy Mucus x97],[Slime Core x88]. The numbers were getting satisfyingly large.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUnynEhxz5
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4rEtQpTXC
“I wonder how much all this junk is actually worth?” he mused aloud, stepping out into the bright sun of the meadow. The slimes wobbled, oblivious to his impending economic assessment. He cracked his knuckles, a farmer surveying his field.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZGiNTMfzE
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dKAXqh5Wb
“Alright,” he said, a plan forming. “Let’s hit a hundred.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04sVNTuQZo
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTPOkRDtjl
The grind resumed, but his mind was no longer idle. He’d fallen into a rhythm, but now he was actively analyzing it. He watched the slimes with a new, critical eye. Their lunges weren’t random. They were predictable. He’d been reacting, but maybe he could start anticipating.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zBQA2nYro
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XmWgBL5ia
He focused on the trajectory. Every time a slime launched itself, it did so in one of two ways: a low, arcing bounce aimed at his stomach or legs, or a surprising, direct, spring-loaded lunge straight at his head or chest.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyBtudFuqT
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u673jaRkB
“It’s always one or the other,” he muttered, dodging a head-level shot. “There’s no in-between. It’s either a body blow or a headshot.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeFMXsYTB5
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJYNfmjewn
The thought clicked into place. It was simple, almost stupidly so, but it was a pattern. A binary pattern he could work with. His mind flashed back to the previous night’s research, past the useless forum posts. He’d stumbled onto a clip from a popular streamer’s channel: a known professional boxer, new to Illusion Tree, taking on a pack of kobolds. The boxer hadn’t just spammed attack skills. He’d moved. He’d weaved, his feet constantly shifting. He’d used a crisp, snapping jab to interrupt a kobold’s attack animation and followed up with a powerful cross that seemed to do more damage than a standard player’s basic swing. The chat had gone wild, calling it “skill-based combat” and “next-level min-maxing.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWCqXUiGQ3
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstjuRU4wJx
The idea had electrified Eon. If this world was a second reality, then real-world physics and techniques should apply, right? They had to. He’d spent the rest of the night not looking for game secrets, but for boxing tutorials. Not the flashy professional highlights, but the dry, fundamental videos for aspiring amateurs. “The Basic Stance.” “How to Throw a Jab.” “Footwork Drills for Beginners.” He’d watched them on his phone, lying in bed, his hands twitching as he mimicked the movements, until he’d dozed off.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9QIjhhOXX
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuVIak650x
Now, standing in the field, he felt a surge of experimental energy. He wasn’t just a NEET punching slimes anymore. He was a researcher testing a hypothesis.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTMucnB8OP
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSwsX0WHEa
He planted his feet differently, shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet, one foot slightly ahead of the other, just like the video had shown. He raised his hands, curling his fists up near his cheeks. It felt awkward and unnatural, a stark contrast to his usual wild swinging.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiKSLlryxi
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOprZmCONcb
A standard green slime wobbled toward him. It shuddered—the tell for a head-level lunge. It sprang.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gZNtuUNOP
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6l6jJdPtf
Instead of flinching back or swinging wildly, Eon did what the tutorial said. He pivoted his front foot and twisted his torso, pulling his head just off-line. The slime whistled past his ear, missing completely. The movement was small, efficient. He hadn’t even lost his balance.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EzkvDCbgu
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIVAcIkQ7D
“Whoa.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCH1gSYNWf
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAEMLcECP9
Emboldened, he focused on another. Body-shot tell. He dropped his elbow, letting the gelatinous mass harmlessly splat against his forearm, which was now positioned where his torso had been. It was a clumsy block, but it worked. The impact stung, but it didn’t knock him back.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkxIDsb2Y3
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vaCZDk0de
This time, he countered. He didn’t haymaker. He threw a straight punch from his guard, his body twisting behind it, putting the weight of his nineteen Strength into a single, focused point. His fist sank into the slime’s core with a definitive thwump. It didn’t just burst; it seemed to explode backward from the force, dissolving mid-air.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXLjUM0005
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FhpNJDNZd
[Slimy Mucus x111]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvL2EjC7wJ
[Slime Core x100]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlAvvaRmST
[Strength +1]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEu6h8tMFX
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kQ0xa4Gsa
Eon stared at his fist, then at the empty space where the slime had been. The notification glowed with a new sense of meaning. It wasn’t just a stat increase granted by the game for participation. It felt earned in a completely different way. He had used knowledge. He had applied technique.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5Zdm0bMcI
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbqubMCL2f
A slow, wide grin spread across his face. He wasn’t just grinding. He was training.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqajHlKU1QC
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdY4KE59mw
He settled back into his crude approximation of a boxing stance, his eyes scanning the field with a new, fierce intensity. The slimes were no longer just mindless EXP pinatas. They were his sparring partners.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF5FKtGyjf
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTB67dYjes
“Okay,” Eon said, his voice low and focused. “Let’s go another round.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSe4muSl8N
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyjg0Bnrfh
The difference was immediate and profound. The amateur boxing techniques, combined with his now-intimate knowledge of slime patterns and his ever-increasing Strength, transformed the grind from a grueling slog into a dynamic, almost graceful, exercise. He was no longer fighting the slimes; he was dismantling them.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMNCKr2xoB
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNutBT0kI6N
He weaved under headshots, his footwork becoming less clumsy with each dodge. He parried body blows with his forearms, the impacts now just solid thuds instead of painful jolts. His counters were no longer wild swings but sharp, economical punches—jabs to disrupt, crosses to finish. Each motion was purposeful. Each movement was data.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UKYNQviRo
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJORd3AcChV
[Strength +1]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SVUpqDUfj
[Slimy Mucus x127]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeM1CRTtqo4
[Slime Core x115]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VnnIZu5LP
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEHG3fAeVV
The notifications came faster now. He fell into a rhythm, a flow state where thought and action merged. The world narrowed to the wobble of a slime, the shift of his weight, the extension of his fist. He was a machine of efficient motion.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZfoxK55Ou
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAjRBwKHrY
[Strength +1]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrLMWe2TsA
[Strength +1]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwHmnnQply
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lHjj3shut
Before he knew it, another fifty-two slimes had fallen. His Strength ticked up another five times, settling at a staggering twenty-five. He finally stopped, his chest heaving, not just from exhaustion, but from exhilaration. He looked at his hands. They were unmarked, of course, but in his mind, they felt like weapons.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSI9S7z6OHw
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClPcvVH7TZ
“I think this is enough for today,” he breathed, the words startling in the quiet field. The sun was still high in the sky; it wasn’t even afternoon. The realization hit him. A couple of days ago, hunting down even ten of these things had taken an entire day and left him exhausted. Now, he had cleared a small army of them in a few hours and felt… powerful. Tired, but capable.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCFBYDytLh
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimY1JBVB67
The urge to push further, to see how many more he could take, was strong. But a deeper, more insistent need pulled at him. The memory of the hidden clearing, the sound of the waterfall, the profound peace.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFknInRhF2i
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5HYWn9aCC
He didn’t need to grind right now. He had earned a break.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9keXZjQTL
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZVFj88g95
He moved through the familiar path with a new confidence, pushing aside the willow branches. The sight of the pristine blue lake and the gentle, constant roar of the waterfall washed over him, an immediate balm to his heightened state. The air was cool and misty here, carrying the clean scent of water and damp stone.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N0eiJhBvm
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoqxgVxcPl
He found his usual sun-warmed rock and sat, pulling out his provisions. He ate his bread and cheese slowly, deliberately, savoring the simple flavors as he watched the silvery fish dance in the crystal-clear water. The sun, beginning its descent, cast long, golden beams through the trees, setting the surface of the lake on fire.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbCdu8g7u8
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZQvirxjza
This was different from before. The peace wasn’t just an escape from mockery now; it was a reward. He had worked hard, he had grown stronger, and this was his prize. The serenity felt earned. It was the kind of deep, satisfying peace he craved outside the game but could never seem to find—a silence filled not with emptiness, but with accomplishment18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9kpemzxGZ
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jvR0et35w
He lay back on the soft grass, watching the sky above the clearing shift from deep blue to hues of orange and violet. The first stars began to prick through the twilight. In the real world, a sunset was just something that happened outside his window. Here, it felt like a performance just for him.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjOjTipm7y
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPFTQGbms7
He didn't need to do anything. He didn't need to be anything. He could just… be. 18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSm2PgT4ZZ
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkUKea0kxT
He stayed there until the last sliver of sun vanished below the tree line, content in the quiet hum of the virtual night.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfdSKxZMRm
and then Add to home screen.