Episode 5
Quest: The Path of the Artisan
Grade: Legendary
Details: You received a letter of introduction from the captain of the vigilante corps. It is a letter passed down through generations in his family, connected to a legendary blacksmith. Find the location written on the letter.
Reward: Legendary Job
You have received the tutorial reward.
You have received a job quest.
It was a very simple quest.
The grade was Legendary.
However, the quest itself was nothing more than: go to the place written in the letter.
“Am I going to become the disciple of a legendary blacksmith?”
Even in Eternal Sunshine, quests like this existed.
Of course, back then, Jinwoo had changed his job to a legendary one.
“I’m lucky.”
“Thank you for the letter.”
Jinwoo casually tucked the letter of introduction into his inventory.
“I don’t know if I’ll become a disciple, but…”
The most important thing was that he could now craft in a much more enjoyable way.
“And I’ll probably be able to make higher-quality gear too.”
Jinwoo enjoyed crafting equipment, but he also liked admiring it.
Especially seeing high-quality equipment—it was a form of art appreciation for him.
That’s why he was excited.
Tutorial quest completed!
You have completed the tutorial quest without any help!
You have been registered in the Hall of Fame for the quest [Wyvern Attack Tutorial].
This is an unprecedented result!
Additional bonus from tutorial quest has been added.
Additional bonus from being the first to clear the quest has been added.
Rankings have been recalculated!
[Wyvern Attack Tutorial]
Hall of Fame Rankings
Jinwoo [200 points] NEW!
Slayer [192 points]
Starlight [188 points]
Rapid [180 points]
…
Jinwoo was now ranked first in the tutorial quest Hall of Fame.
Right from the start, he completely reshuffled the rankings.
“That was close, though.”
He clearly gained first place through helping the vigilante captain, but the point difference this time was only 8.
“Looks like someone actually killed the wyvern themselves? Is that what that Slayer guy did? What a monster. At level 1 with no proper gear, and he still managed to kill a wyvern.”
This was a tutorial quest.
As the name implies, it was meant to introduce players to the game and show how to play.
The wyvern was the strongest monster in the tutorial and wasn’t meant to be defeated.
“But it’s not like it was completely unbeatable either.”
Jinwoo felt pretty good.
“They said it was an unprecedented result, but is that just standard praise? Or am I really the only one who beat it this way?”
Still, he liked the fact that he was the only one among the top four to hit 200 points.
“I earned my keep.”
While Jinwoo was feeling satisfied with himself…
“Here, take this.”
The vigilante captain handed him something.
“This is separate from the letter. It’s a reward for what you did.”
Enhanced Reward.
What Jinwoo received was a dark-colored hammer.
You have received a reward!
You obtained the Obsidian Crafting Hammer!
The hammer he received looked quite stylish.
But more surprising was its grade:
[Obsidian Crafting Hammer] <Crafted by Hedorotos>
Attack Power: 10–20
Grade: S
Durability: 5000 / 5000
<<A crafting-only hammer glowing with obsidian black. One of Master Hedorotos’ prized tools.>>
Special Option [Mighty Strength: Increases strength while holding this hammer.]
“S-rank? They give out S-rank gear in the tutorial? And it’s part of Master Hedorotos’ collection?”
“This has been in my family for generations.”
“Along with the letter? Am I taking too many of your family heirlooms?”
To think the captain of a small village vigilante corps had all of this.
“Looks like he came from a prestigious family.”
“You’ve got the talent. And you’ve done something worthy of it. If it weren’t for you, our village would’ve suffered greatly from the wyvern. People might’ve died. But thanks to your sword, everyone lived.”
The vigilante captain waved his hand.
“So don’t think of it as too much. This is a fair reward for what you did!”
It meant Jinwoo’s strategy had been excellent—worthy of an S-rank reward.
“Thank you.”
“Well then…”
Fwoosh—
Jinwoo’s body glowed with light.
The tutorial was over.
Now began the true start of New Gen.
“See you again.”
Synchronization Rate: 80%.
For the first time ever, New Gen’s vice-president came to the monitoring room.
“Huh. It’s real? It’s really 80%? This isn’t a bug or something?”
“It’s a system run by a super-intelligent AI. Bugs are not possible.”
“That’s what I’m saying. It shouldn’t be possible, and yet—80% synchronization? That’s insane.”
He was shocked.
“Didn’t we say it’d be hard for any user to go over 50%? That it might cause physical issues? That’s why we set the limit.”
Indeed, this was beyond the limit.
Such high synchronization could affect the player’s body and mind.
“Any danger signals?”
If there were any risks, the capsule was supposed to immediately alert New Gen.
“No signals at all.”
No warnings—no issues whatsoever.
“So he’s a Matcher?”
Matcher.
A rare person whose body and mind were compatible with full-immersion VR.
In New Gen, they called them “Matchers,” and the main criterion was a high sync rate.
Over 30%, and a player was considered a Matcher.
“He’s a Super Matcher, then.”
The previous highest rate had been 49%.
Now someone had appeared with 80%.
A staggering figure beyond any expectations.
“Amazing. I didn’t think it was possible.”
The VP was stunned but also a little regretful.
“But… he showed up too late.”
In the beginning, they had hoped for a Matcher.
Even just one would make New Gen shine.
But none appeared, and time passed.
Meanwhile, top users surged ahead—completing main quests, side quests, and job quests to level up and boost their stats.
Of course, eventually their growth would plateau.
Time alone wasn’t enough to grow.
Still, time was important.
If someone started a year late?
No matter how good they were, catching up would be hard.
Still, a Matcher’s presence would be significant.
“The importance of sync rate has already been verified by the AI. This player will definitely have impact. I’m looking forward to it.”
The VP stroked his chin.
“Keep monitoring him. He’ll do big things. Even if he’s late by a year, he could still be a ranker. Maybe not top-tier, but high up there.”
With his high sync rate, he would enjoy most quests.
He’d likely provide good content for New Gen’s official channel.
With growing curiosity, the VP left.
“Yes, sir.”
Despite the VP’s excitement, GM Kim Nayoon thought he should be more excited.
After he left, Kim Nayoon returned to her work—until a loud ping made her glance at the side monitor.
[EMERGENCY!]
An emergency message alert.
“Huh?”
The same player again.
The Super Matcher, Jinwoo.
“What now?”
– Legendary Quest Unlocked
“Legendary Quest!?”
Kim Nayoon quickly read the message.
– User [Jinwoo] has started the Legendary Blacksmith Quest
So far, there had only been 20 legendary job quests.
Among those, only two were crafting-based.
Now Jinwoo had started one.
Kim Nayoon immediately called back the VP.
“What is it?”
“Legendary quest.”
She gave him a short report.
“What? I thought the crafting legendary quests were finished?”
The VP waved his hand in disbelief.
“Yes. After Inclassic and Starlight earned their legendary jobs, no more quests appeared. So we assumed it was over.”
“But didn’t it take those two a long time to unlock theirs?”
“Yes. Jinwoo’s the fastest so far.”
The fastest ever.
Kim Nayoon was stunned and couldn’t stop watching Jinwoo.
“Wait—did he already clear the tutorial too?”
She quickly scanned the logs.
The early tutorial was a section where most players couldn’t act freely.
It was the very beginning of the game.
Most users were just tossed around by the wyvern.
Of course, some combat-focused players with insane skill tried to hunt the wyvern.
But it was never meant to be hunted in the tutorial.
“Sure, a few crazies did manage to kill it.”
Some users, like the current top combat ranker Slayer, defeated the wyvern with perfect control.
He scored an astonishing 192 points.
But Jinwoo?
He scored 200.
The first to ever reach the 200s.
“200 points? How the heck did he do that?”
Monitoring team staff needed deep knowledge of New Gen.
That was how they understood the weight of users’ achievements.
Kim Nayoon looked at the 200-point score, barely believing it.
Slayer’s 192 points were already legendary.
“We thought 192 was the max. That it wasn’t even possible to go higher.”
To get that score, Slayer did everything—led the quest, helped the vigilante captain perfectly, and defeated the wyvern himself.
That was how he got 192.
“Crafting-class users usually can’t even break 100 points on this tutorial quest.”
And yet, Jinwoo—who had chosen the path of the blacksmith—scored 200.
