Second World Online

The glass hatch of my medical Game Capsule opened slowly with a smooth hydraulic hiss, releasing a puff of cold vapor from the gel cooling system into the room’s air. As soon as the silver Full-Dive helmet was automatically lifted from my head, the first sight I saw was the boring ceiling of my room.

I snorted loudly, my facial expression wrinkled, holding back immense annoyance. My eyebrows sharply furrowed, my lips jutted out a few millimeters forming the signature pout of a teenager whose game had just been forcefully turned off by their parents.

"Damn it... I was so close. I just needed a few more minutes for that spider venom to finish synthesizing," I grumbled softly, still feeling the lingering adrenaline of alchemical mixing at my fingertips.

Beside the capsule machine, Mira stood with a clean towel in her hands. She saw my annoyed, sour face. From Mira’s perspective, seeing her Young Master who usually acted calm and mature now pouting like a little child who lost a toy, somehow triggered a deep sense of pity in her heart.

Mira’s hand holding the towel paused mid-air. For a few seconds, a thought crossed her mind: ’Should I add another half an hour to his playtime? The Young Master looks so sad... besides, his face isn’t as pale as yesterday.’

However, her motherly instincts and professionalism as a nurse quickly took over. Mira shook her head vigorously internally, chasing far away that misleading sense of pity.

’No. Doctor Karin already warned that neural cell recovery cannot be seen from the outside. Two hours is the absolute limit. If I spoil him now and he collapses again... I will never forgive myself,’ Mira resolved inwardly.

With an expression returning to soft yet firm, Mira leaned down and began wiping the leftover conductive gel from my real temples and forehead.

"Time’s up, Young Master Rian. Exactly two hours. You played well without triggering a heart rate warning from the capsule system," Mira praised in a soothing tone, ignoring my still-pouting face.

She then slipped her hands under my arms, helping me rise from the gel pads. My real muscles felt stiff and heavy, a very painful contrast when compared to my avatar’s agility.

Mira supported me very carefully, guiding me step by step until I lay back down on my soft medical bed. After pulling the blanket up to my chest and ensuring my nutritional IV tube was flowing smoothly, she leaned down and adjusted the pillow under my head.

"Rest, Young Master. Press the bell button if you need anything," Mira said before finally stepping out and closing my room door tightly.

Left alone in the quiet room, boredom immediately attacked me with full force. The adrenaline that was previously racing now settled, leaving an empty space in my head.

"Sigh... what should I do now? Sleep again? My back is almost numb from lying down too much," I complained while staring at the wall clock, which only showed two in the afternoon. It was still too early for a nap.

With the remaining strength in my right arm, I grabbed the smartphone lying on the nightstand. I unlocked the screen, looking for something to kill time. My eyes fell upon a gacha-genre mobile game icon that I used to play often before Second World Online was released.

"Maybe playing this for a bit can distract my mind from my curiosity about that arrow poison," I thought while tapping the icon.

My phone screen played a bright opening animation with lively background music. Two-dimensional characters with cute anime designs appeared on the screen, attacking monsters with just a single tap of a finger. I completed several daily missions, arranged my team formation, and leveled up my characters’ weapons using virtual coins.

However, in just ten minutes, I put the phone down onto the mattress with an extremely long and empty sigh.

"Boring. Very, very boring," I hissed in frustration.

After experiencing the magic of Full-Dive where I could smell the scent of wood shavings, feel the cold mountain wind hitting my face, draw a taut bowstring with my own fingers, and even taste sweet and spicy roast chicken exploding on my tongue... pressing a flat glass on this six-inch phone screen felt truly bland and lifeless.

Second World Online had permanently ruined my entertainment standards. The sensory experience from Chronos Tech was too real, making all conventional games look like toddler toys in my eyes now. There was no sensation of danger, no satisfaction of carving wood with a whittling knife, no wind feedback when running.

I closed the mobile game application permanently. Instead, I decided to do something much more productive for my survival in the Second World.

"If I can’t go in there to carve wood, then I’ll study the theory from the veterans out here," I decided with my eyes sparkling again.

I opened a web browser and went straight to the SWO Official Community Forum application. This time, I didn’t read headlines about boss monsters or new player invasions. My fingers nimbly typed keywords into the search bar: [Crafter Hub - Carpenter Section].

The forum page instantly loaded thousands of specific discussion threads only understood by digital wood-laborers like myself. Some discussed bowstring tension ratios, techniques for cutting oak wood fibers, to debate discussions about the aerodynamic shape of a wizard’s staff handle.

However, a thread bearing a ’Trending’ badge in that sub-forum immediately caught my attention.

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[HOT] LATEST WOOD CATALOG FOR AREA 2: THE APPEARANCE OF EPIC-TIER MATERIALS?!

Author: TimberWolf | Views: 250K | Comments: 5.2K

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I quickly opened the thread and read the lengthy explanation from the author.

Apparently, along with the opening of access to Area 2 and advanced maps all across the server, numerous new types of flora and trees had emerged that were never seen before in the initial Eastern Forest. While previously Whispering Ash Wood (Uncommon) was already considered an expensive material, pioneer players had now discovered a lineup of wood ranging from Rare rarity to the most shocking of all: Epic.

The thread author, who seemed to be the leader of a Crafter union, attached a screenshot from a secret auction between major clans. In the photo, there was a piece of wood the size of an adult’s arm, pitch-black like obsidian, with glowing golden veins pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.

[Iron-vein Ebony Heartwood]

Rarity: Epic

Description: Ancient wood growing in the magma heart of uncharted volcanic mountains. Possesses a density exceeding pure steel yet as flexible as rattan. Resistant to fire and immune to dark magic corrosion.

I swallowed hard reading those insane specifications.

The thread author added an explanation below it: "To this second, there is only ONE piece of [Iron-vein Ebony Heartwood] that has been successfully found across the entire server. This wood was obtained by an elite mining group from a secret volcanic cave with hellish difficulty. The difficulty level of carving this wood is extremely high; an ordinary whittling knife will instantly break if attempting to scratch it. Rumor has it, this piece of wood is being bid on for tens of Gold Coins by major clans wanting to craft heirloom weapons!"

"Only one piece on the entire server..." I muttered, my chest pounding fast. My craftsman soul was screaming to touch, dissect, and carve that god-tier material. "If I use that Epic-level wood with my insane DEX and INT stats, plus the design of a modern mechanical Compound bow... I might be able to create a good weapon."

Unfortunately, for now, that was merely a dream. I was still Level 14 and confined to the inn zone with heavily handicapped playtime. But knowing that such materials existed out there gave me incredible motivation to keep accumulating wealth.

Feeling that reading player forums alone wasn’t accurate enough, I closed the community app and opened Chronos Tech’s Official Website. Three days of not reading the news made me feel lightyears behind the game.

On the main page, the official Patch Notes from the developers, released concurrently with the influx of 5,000 new players yesterday, were displayed. I read through every line of the adjustments very meticulously.

Apparently, Chronos Tech realized that the economic and level growth of crafter players was moving too fast. Therefore, they implemented a new restriction system.

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[PATCH 1.2 - PRODUCTION & CRAFTING SYSTEM ADJUSTMENTS]

1. Sub-Skill Tier System:

Starting now, all production skills (Carpenter, Blacksmith, Alchemy, Cooking, etc.) are divided into three tier limits:

-Level 1 to 10 : Novice Tier

-Level 11 to 20 : Intermediate Tier

-Level 21 to 30 : Advanced Tier - Current maximum level.

2. Crafting Equipment Upgrades

Equipment can be purchased at city NPC shops.

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I read the application example written by the developer to make it easier for players to understand.

For instance, in the Cooking profession. Novice-tier tools sold by NPCs only consisted of a clay pot and a simple wood stove. This meant a beginner chef could only boil or steam ingredients. However, after purchasing the Intermediate cooking equipment set for 1 Silver Coin, the chef would gain access to an iron skillet and a charcoal grill, allowing them to add grilling and frying functions which would provide greater food buffs (like the roast chicken I ate this morning!).

I quickly scrolled down the page to find what additional features there were for my professions: Carpenter and Alchemy.

The explanations made me impatient to log in tomorrow.

For a Carpenter, upgrading the workbench to the Intermediate tier would grant access to various Precision Carving Tools, iron files, and micrometer measuring tools, allowing the carpenter to create intricate curves, wooden gears, or a recurve bow with double curves that was far more perfect. My regular Novice whittling knife wouldn’t be useful for carving Rare-class wood.

Meanwhile, for Alchemy, Intermediate equipment added Purifier Tools and glass distillation flasks features. This meant an intermediate alchemist wouldn’t just be mashing herbal leaves into cloudy, watery potions, but would be capable of separating the poison essence from monster blood into a pure concentrate that was far more deadly!

"A very smart and realistic update," I murmured, admiring the detail of Chronos Tech’s design.

However, there was one small problem I noticed from those notes. For now, NPCs in StoneBrook city only sold equipment up to the Intermediate limit. Advanced-tier equipment wasn’t available yet.

"Makes sense. Area 2 is much vaster, more massive, and deadlier than Area 1. There must be a major city or village that players need to find first before they can access Advanced-tier equipment," I concluded, nodding in understanding. "I have to find the carpenter and alchemist NPCs quickly tomorrow to buy the Intermediate equipment."

After satisfyingly stuffing my brain with system update data and crafting theory, my head started feeling a bit dizzy. I exited the web browser and opened the Utub application, the largest video streaming platform which was a parody of a very popular real-world video site.

Since the second wave of players had just entered, my Utub homepage algorithm was flooded with recommendations for short videos from beginner streamers enthusiastically showing off their first gameplay in Second World Online.

A video with a very striking thumbnail caught my attention. Its title invited curiosity as well as a stifled laugh:

"Little Fox vs Giant Boar! Beast Magic Hit-and-Run Tutorial!"

Uploaded by: Yuuki_Channel | 150K Views | 2 Hours Ago

"Yuuki?" I blinked. "Wait, didn’t Alya say this morning that her character ID in the game is Yuuki?"

With the curiosity of a protective older brother, I immediately clicked on the video.

My phone screen played a recording from a third-person camera perspective SWO’s internal recording feature. The location looked like a forest area on the eastern outskirts of StoneBrook.

In the center of the screen stood a [Giant Boar - Level 5] monster, a dirty brown-furred boar with curved tusks the size of a two-door refrigerator. The monster was snorting angrily, scraping the ground with its front hooves.

And across from the giant boar... stood a baby fox with fur as white as pristine snow, sporting a thick, bushy single tail, with a body size no larger than a Corgi. The little fox’s tail wagged with a very familiar rhythm.

"Tch, I knew it. That’s definitely my foolish little sister," I clicked my tongue with a wide smile I couldn’t hide.

The video began. The giant boar howled angrily and immediately launched a deadly charging attack straight at the little white fox. Its giant snout and knife-sharp tusks parted the grass, ready to crush the tiny animal avatar into pixels.

"Alya, look out!" I exclaimed unconsciously in the real world, a bit tense seeing the highly absurd size difference.

However, a surprise occurred. Right before the tusks hit her, the white fox Alya didn’t use her legs to jump and dodge to the side. Instead, she utilized the agility points the signature flexibility of her Beast race. Her tiny body suddenly dropped, almost clinging to the ground in an extreme crawling posture, letting the giant body of the boar fly right over her back! The gust of wind from the monster’s charge merely blew the white fox’s fur without dealing any damage at all.

Such extraordinary agility and flexibility of four-legged motor control! In just a matter of hours since entering her first capsule, Alya had managed to fully adapt to that animal body!

As soon as the boar crashed into a tree behind her and staggered dizzily from the missed Charge attack, the little fox wasted no time.

Alya turned around with a sharp maneuver. She planted all four feet firmly, opened her small jaws filled with sharp incisors, and took a deep breath. Instead of a pet’s howl coming out, a bright red magical rune circle suddenly formed right in front of her open mouth!

WUUUSH! BOOOM!

A fireball the size of a basketball, resulting from the [Beast Magic - Fire Element] skill, exploded out of the white fox’s mouth, shooting out and striking the giant boar squarely in the back!

[Critical Hit! - 110 Magic Damage!]

The boar screamed in pain, its remaining HP evaporating completely, and then exploded into light particles of copper coins and chunks of meat.

The little white fox on the screen jumped for joy, chasing her own tail in a very cute spinning motion, ending the short video recording.

"Hahaha! It is kinda funny seeing a fox that small fighting a monster as big as a giant elephant," I laughed out loud until my stomach cramped slightly, staring at my phone screen with pride. "But she managed to win absolutely without taking a single hit because of her terrifying agility. Hit-and-Run with fire magic from the mouth? The Pure Beast race in Alya’s hands truly has unexpected potential!"

Knowing that my younger sister was apparently perfectly fine, not bullied by monsters, and instead enjoying her adventure in Second World Online to the point her video went viral on the forum, made the burden on my shoulders feel much lighter.

I turned off my smartphone screen, placing it carefully back onto the nightstand.

The late afternoon wind blowing softly from the ventilation gap in my room brought peaceful tranquility. My body, which had just recovered from inflammatory shock, was slowly giving off pleasant signals of natural fatigue, rather than fatigue from illness.

"Tomorrow... tomorrow I’ll upgrade my whittling knife and alchemy tools to Intermediate. And maybe... look for that arrogant little white fox to hunt together," I whispered while pulling the thick blanket up to my neck.

With a faint smile gracing my face, I closed my eyes and let my consciousness drift into a very deep, dreamless afternoon nap.