Jae-Wook sat at a café table, waiting for his companions.

After spending all his earnings from part-time jobs to buy a personal gaming capsule and taking a leave of absence from school, he had been completely absorbed in *Astra Online* for a while. It had been a long time since he’d gone out during the day.

Jae-Wook sipped his iced Americano while fiddling with his smartphone when he saw a short woman enter the café.

With a bright face, Jae-Wook waved at her.

"Dayeon! Over here!"

The short woman, named Dayeon, approached with a grumpy expression and sat across from Jae-Wook.

"Hey, Lee Jae-Wook. How long have you been here? Oh, you already ordered coffee? I was leveling up until just before our meeting. Isn't 'Cherni' leveling up too? You seem so relaxed."

"Nam Dayeon. It's been a while since we've seen each other, and you're already starting a fight? Or should I call you 'Beimerung'? Can't use third-person speech outside, right?"

"La-la-la, not listening."

Jae-Wook and Dayeon immediately started bickering as soon as they met.

"Chris sunbae wanted to meet up first, you know? Someone who’s been grinding levels non-stop asking for a break must have something in mind."

"Yeah, I came because Chris unnie called too."

Jae-Wook chuckled with his usual playful expression.

These days, every day felt joyful for him. 

Since starting *Astra Online* and raiding dungeons with Chris, his finances had become more than comfortable. As one of the first-wave players clearing elite dungeons and selling weapons, the profit he made was more than enough to pay for his capsule and cover his school tuition.

"I'm even thinking of going full-time with this. I mean, if people are making money in various metaverses, then a standout game like *Astra Online* in the RPG market could become a stable source of income in the future, don’t you think?"

"Who knows? RPG games fluctuate wildly depending on the patches. There’s no eternal goldmine. If this game dies, you'll have to move on to the next one."

"Ugh, even Deathmaster sunbae is already interning at a major capsule company."

"That's Chris unnie’s dad’s company, right? Deathmaster oppa’s got a bright future ahead of him. He couldn’t make it today because he’s busy, but he’s still grinding hard in the game."

Their conversation shifted towards their seniors.

Chris, Jae-Wook, and Dayeon’s upperclassman, was a mixed-race second-generation Korean-American with a Korean mother and an American father.

Though she had a Korean name, having grown up in Korea, she preferred to go by "Chris."

"There are people who use their real names as in-game nicknames, like Chris sunbae."

"Hehe, and it doesn’t even feel weird. Her English name is really pretty too."

*Ding-ling.*

The sound of the café door opening interrupted their conversation.

When Jae-Wook turned his head, he saw a woman with red hair walk in.

As if to prove the saying, "speak of the tiger and it will appear," Chris sunbae, the subject of their conversation, entered.

With a smile, Chris approached Jae-Wook and Dayeon.

"Looks like my juniors are already here?"

"Chris unnie! Long time no see!"

"Even though we were just in-game together yesterday."

Jae-Wook subtly glanced at Chris’s hair.

Though it had been brown with a reddish tint before, now her hair was a vibrant, fiery red, just like her character in the game.

"Wow, you went for full-on bright red? You’re probably the only person who can pull off such a bold color."

"Unnie, the bright red looks amazing! You look exactly like your character, 'Chris,' from *Astra Online*!"

"Haha, well, I didn’t customize anything besides my hair color."

Jae-Wook shook his head with a smile.

"This is the second time I’ve seen such a bright hair color in real life."

"Hmm? Have you seen someone else with flashy hair like this in real life?"

"Yeah, when I was working part-time to save for my capsule. But anyway, that’s not really important."

Recalling a girl he had seen during his part-time job, Jae-Wook quickly changed the subject.

"So, what’s the reason you called us here today? We’ve been grinding levels pretty hard."

"It’s nothing big. We’ve been pushing ourselves for over a month now, so I thought we could take a breather, meet up outside, and chat."

Chris's relaxed demeanor left Jae-Wook feeling puzzled.

"You were rushing us to level up during the last region, but now you seem so calm?"

"There’s no need to hurry anymore."

Chris’s response left both Jae-Wook and Dayeon with questioning expressions.

As if to clear up their confusion, Chris continued.

"I’ve already identified the location of the next elite dungeon. I even know the entry conditions."

"Th-Then shouldn’t we focus even more on leveling up...?"

Chris cut off Jae-Wook mid-sentence.

"Just hear me out. The minimum level to enter the next elite dungeon is 30. But right now, the entrance is sealed."

"Sealed?"

"Yeah, it looks like a dungeon that opens once certain conditions are met."

Chris opened her smartphone and showed her juniors a screenshot.

It was a large fortress with the entrance sealed by a massive magic circle.

"There’s a magic seal on the entrance that’s preventing players from entering. And in the center of the seal, there’s a gauge."

"The gauge is partially filled?"

"Yes. From what I’ve observed, the gauge increases slightly every time players clear one of the four 'Beast God Dungeons' in this region. At this rate, the dungeon will probably open around the time most players in this area reach level 30."

"What does that mean?"

"It’s a way to control content consumption speed. Everyone’s been running non-stop up to level 25 in this region, right? Even first-wave players are getting fatigued."

"Ohhh."

Jae-Wook nodded in understanding.

This way, there would be no need to sacrifice sleep to grind levels. They could also focus on other content while waiting for the dungeon to open.

Chris smiled slyly.

"In other words, we can afford to take it easy for now. But when the dungeon is close to opening, we’ll need to tighten up and get ready."

"There will be a lot more competitors for the first clear."

"Yeah, and like the previous elite dungeons, the first clear won’t be easy. The difficulty will be significantly higher."

Only then did Jae-Wook feel the sense of urgency easing.

It wasn’t just about the money—the thrill and sense of accomplishment from clearing a high-difficulty dungeon with party members was beyond words.

In old raid MMORPGs, like *World of War Thunder*, which had since faded into history, players would take on brutally hard raids, driven by the glory and sense of achievement that came with being the first to clear them.

"Classic online raid games sometimes took over a month to get a first clear."

"Yeah, and when they eventually release legendary-difficulty raid dungeons, we might have to plan multi-week schedules for attempts."

"That’s fine, but the controls in this game are way too hard."

"Well, that’s how virtual reality games are. *Astra Online* compensates for movement with skills like *Backward Evasion*, but there’s still a limit to synchronization rate. This game caps it at about 20%."

"Isn’t there a way to hack the capsule to increase the synchronization rate?"

"There are ways, but it’s illegal, you know? And you’re aware that my dad owns a capsule company, right?"

Under Chris’s sharp gaze, Jae-Wook winced.

"And with current virtual reality technology, even the best hacks can only push the rate to around 40-50%. Any higher, and it could be dangerous."

"Dangerous? Why?"

"You’ve heard the story, haven’t you? About someone freezing to death in a malfunctioning freezer, even though it wasn’t on?"

Jae-Wook slapped his hand on the table. He had heard a similar example during one of his lectures.

"This is why you should study as hard as you game. Higher synchronization means feeling everything more realistically—even pain."

"That makes sense, thinking about all the deaths and resurrections in VR FPS games or dungeon clears in *Astra Online*."

"Exactly. The shock from the pain you feel when your character dies could affect your real body."

"Th-That sounds extremely dangerous."

Jae-Wook wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Well, everyone seems to be doing fine, right? I trust my party members."

"Beimerung is ready to be Chris unnie’s right-hand in any raid!"

Chris patted Dayeon’s head as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

Watching them with a smile, Jae-Wook suddenly thought of something and asked Chris.

"Hmm... what if someone played *Astra Online* with 100% synchronization?"

"Hm? Well, depending on how sharp their senses are, that person could probably become an unbeatable character. They might even solo dungeons that we struggled to clear as a party."

Chris paused briefly and then smirked.

"That is, if they can handle the pain. Do you think modern people, who cry over a paper cut, could manage it?"