The mystery behind the synchronization rate was resolved before long.

“Ugh.”

I winced as a sensation swept through my arm.

It was the slimes, the monsters crowding the tutorial zone. When I let one attack me, a small amount of my HP was drained, and a hot, burning sensation spread through the part of my arm that had been hit. 

Though it felt like a mild scald from hot liquid, I could imagine that a stronger attack—one that could kill me in one hit—wouldn’t be so easy to shake off.

Was the problem with the capsule? The game?

Or maybe…

I stared at the nickname displayed on my status window:

[Drizzle Rain]

Rain, the hero of the Astra Continent.

And now, *Astra Online*.

Could there be a connection?

I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility.

But would it be a problem?

No.

I clenched my tiny hand into a fist and grinned.

In fact, this was better.

The intense sense of reality I was feeling was probably due to the high synchronization rate. If it hadn’t felt this real, I might have regretted buying the capsule.

For a moment, I considered reporting the bugged account and getting a reward. But I realized that playing a game with this level of tension was more exciting than a bland, safe experience.

If I didn’t want to get hurt, I just needed to block, dodge, and attack.

And now, with this body that could at least partially follow the reactions and combat instincts I had as the hero, I could fight.

The high synchronization rate made that possible.

Though my stats were low due to my current level, as I continued to grow stronger, I could reach the top here too.

Adventure and growth.

And this time, I didn’t need any companions.

If I didn’t make any, I wouldn’t have to suffer the pain of parting from them again.

The story of Rain, the hero starting anew on the Astra Continent…

This time, I’d do it all on my own.

---

As I wandered around, adapting to my virtual body and taking in the scenery of the tutorial zone, I suddenly snapped back to reality.

By now, the early players must have already leveled up quickly and entered the first city, where they could choose their professions. Meanwhile, I had been wasting time, and I was falling behind.

I needed to level up.

Fortunately, likely due to concerns about the server being overwhelmed by too many players at the start, the tutorial zone leading to the first city was an enormous personal instance field. 

In other words, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else stealing my hunting targets until I reached the point where I could pick my class.

But my current body was weaker than I’d expected.

It couldn’t compare to the ‘Hero Rain,’ who had been protected by vast amounts of mana and the holy sword.

Now, I was just an ordinary girl with limited stats, barely able to move her legs.

Of course, things would improve once I leveled up, but for now…

“Pant, pant.”

I had attempted to herd the slimes for a quick power-leveling session by tapping them, but instead, I ended up being chased by a horde of slimes.

This game made it tough to mob monsters in the early stages.

The basic HP of my character wasn’t particularly high, and without any profession skills, I couldn’t fend off the slime attacks coming from every direction.

Surprised by the acidic slimes’ attacks stinging my body, I panicked and ran as fast as my short legs would carry me.

*Dash!*

To think that the former hero was now being hunted in the tutorial zone.

How long would it take before I could regain even a fraction of the power I had during my time as a hero?

"Hah..."

After fighting for my life against the slimes and finally reaching the level required to change jobs, I arrived in the first city and let out a sigh of relief.

[The City of Adventurers, Erenburg]

Even though I had logged in right when the servers opened and leveled up at a decent pace, the city was already bustling with players. It seemed the delay caused by my sightseeing and wandering through the tutorial field had set me back.

First things first, I needed to get a job.

I opened the in-game internet and navigated to an anonymous community forum. Since the game had just launched, these raw forums were likely to have more valuable, real-time information than any official guide sites.

The first post that caught my attention was a job evaluation.

---

**[Title]**

Don’t Pick Swordsman (+31)

**[Content]**

It was decent during the open beta, but it seems like it got nerfed for the live version. Sure, blocking a 180-degree frontal area and covering multiple attacks sounds good, but the damage is trash.

My friend chose Martial Artist, and if you want to level up quickly, offensive skills are much better than defensive ones. You barely take any damage from field mobs anyway, so just chug cheap potions and mow them down without needing to block.

**[Comments]**

- For real. I picked Swordsman too, and now I regret it. Thinking of rerolling.

- Yeah, right. You’re just trying to keep the good stuff to yourself, lol.

- Martial Artist’s counter only works for single-target attacks, right? Wouldn’t blocking all 180-degree attacks be good? I mean, sure, field mobs are easy, but later in elite dungeons, the mobs will hit hard.

   - Even if you block, you still take damage. It’s not 100% damage negation. You’ll still need to chug potions.

   - Then what’s the point of blocking? Lol.

   - It still reduces damage by 90%, right?

   - This game’s main focus is dodging. Every class has a dodge skill, so once you’re in elite dungeons, you’ll probably rely more on dodging.

---

"Umm..."

Is the Swordsman really that bad?

I had heard that during the open beta test, it was considered one of the better-rated classes. However, it seemed the perception had changed since the official launch. Still, as someone who had wielded a sword as a hero on the Astra continent, I couldn’t let go of my attachment to the sword.

Besides, the concept of "blocking" was crucial for me.

The Swordsman's defensive skill allowed you to block 180 degrees of frontal attacks. Since I had a high synchronization rate, it would be tougher for me to grind mobs by taking hits head-on compared to other players.

Deciding not to change my growth path, I opened the city map, found the location of the Swordsman's Guild, and started heading there.

Step by step.

But soon, my confident strides became more hesitant.

I could feel the gazes of female players on me.

"Oh wow, look at her character customization. She’s so cute!"

"Should we ask for it?"

"Do you know how detailed customization options are now? Good ones can be sold for real money!"

Avoiding their attention, I pulled the hood of my beginner adventurer’s robe deeper over my head and hurried along.

Scurrying quickly for a few minutes, I suddenly stopped when I caught the scent of something delicious in the air.

At the end of my gaze was an NPC's street vendor stall.

What kind of bird meat is that?

Perfectly grilled meat and vegetables skewered together. The aroma made my stomach growl.

Gulp.

The sound of me swallowing echoed loudly in my throat.

Was it due to my high synchronization rate?

After living off nothing but instant noodles and triangle kimbap for so long, the fresh scent of grilled meat and vegetables was an intense temptation.

[Kopopo Grilled Vegetable Skewer]  
[5 Copper]

I checked the menu’s price and opened my inventory.

My current balance was 30 copper.

The total I had earned from hunting around 30 slimes.

People make money in virtual reality jobs nowadays, but I wondered how the currency exchange rate worked in this game.

Could the money I earn here help my real-life financial situation?

Since it had only been a few hours since the game launched, the in-game currency exchange market probably wasn’t established yet. But with millions of users having pre-registered worldwide, it was safe to assume that participating in the launch rush could be profitable.

I idly rubbed my soft belly.

Even though virtual reality food wouldn’t fill me up, it would at least satisfy my taste buds.

Five copper.

That was an amount I could afford.

With trembling hands, I handed over the small sum to the street vendor.

"Yes! One grilled skewer, thank you very much!"

The NPC handed me the skewer, and I sat down at a street-side table, gazing at it with a small smile.

"Heh."

I took a big bite of the meat.

"Mmm!"

My body shuddered.

It was delicious!

The meat’s juices filled my small mouth completely.

Chomp.

Before I could savor the lingering taste of the meat, I bit into the vegetables skewered along with it.

Crunch, crunch.

The vegetables were cooked to perfection—crispy enough to leave a pleasant texture.

Was it some kind of green onion?

Whatever it was, it tasted amazing!

My short legs, which didn’t quite reach the ground, began to swing back and forth on their own.

"Oh."

I made a new discovery.

When you eat something delicious, your legs swing.

"Congratulations! From now on, you are a Swordsman. Continue on your path and hone your skills with the sword."

The process of becoming a Swordsman was quick and simple. All I needed was to reach level 5 as a novice adventurer. There was no bothersome quest for the class change.

I gripped the training iron sword that the Swordsman's Guild NPC handed to me. The beginner wooden sword I had been using had an attack power of 4. With my current strength stats, I had to swing three times to defeat a single slime.

However, this training iron sword boasted an attack power of 10.

It didn’t come with any special attributes or options, but with this sword, I could defeat slimes in one hit, even without using any skills.

"Hmm."

So, what should I do with this beginner’s wooden sword?

I visited a nearby general store to check its resale value.

1 copper.

The price of one slime.

It wasn’t an impressive amount, but in the early stages of the game, where gold was scarce, it wasn’t something to ignore either.

I sold the wooden sword to the store and then recalled something that caught my attention earlier—the pile of discarded wooden swords near the entrance of the Swordsman's Guild.

Were those left behind by other players who had just changed classes?

Feeling a sense of urgency, I rushed back to the Swordsman’s Guild.

Thud. Thud.

Even as I returned, I saw two newly minted swordsmen tossing their beginner wooden swords onto the pile.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry.

Do they not realize the value of money?!

If left unattended, the discarded swords would eventually disappear.

But to me, they were money!

Five wooden swords would buy me a skewer!

Ignoring the hunger pangs that followed my realization, I hurriedly gathered up the abandoned swords and stuffed them into my inventory.

With my current strength, I could carry up to ten wooden swords in one go.

Two skewers!

"Heh."

Grinning from ear to ear, I packed my inventory full of wooden swords and made my way back to the general store, imagining the delicious skewers I could soon afford.