The login lockout ended at 2:00 PM. Jin-woo logged back into Eternal Realm Online at 2:03 PM. He spawned at the village entrance in Rotwood Forest.
He opened his character screen. His bank showed 3 gold 70 silver. The death penalty had cost him 50 silver and 200 experience points. He was still level 14 with 1,240 experience out of 2,800 needed for level 15.
Jin-woo walked into the forest. He avoided the clearing where he had fought DarkSlayer. He turned left at the twisted oak tree and followed a different path deeper into the zone.
After fifteen minutes of walking, he entered a new area. The trees here were larger and older. Their bark was completely black. Moss covered the ground in thick patches.
A creature moved between the trees ahead. Jin-woo stopped and watched it.
The creature was a Corrupted Treant. It looked like a walking tree. Its body was made of dark wood twisted into a rough human shape. Two thick branches formed its arms. Its face was a pattern of knots and cracks in the wood. Green light glowed inside the cracks.
Jin-woo used his Inspect ability.
Corrupted Treant
Level 17
HP: 800/800
The treant was three levels higher than Jin-woo. Its health was much higher than the bandits he had been fighting. But the treant moved slowly. It walked with heavy steps that shook the ground slightly.
Jin-woo drew his sword. He approached the treant from behind. When he was five meters away, the treant noticed him. It turned with a slow grinding sound. The green light in its face grew brighter.
The treant raised one arm. The branch arm swung down at Jin-woo. Jin-woo stepped to the side. The branch hit the ground where he had been standing. Dirt and moss flew up from the impact.
Jin-woo moved in and struck the treant's body. His sword hit the dark wood. The blade bounced back slightly. The treant's health bar dropped by 35 HP.
The treant pulled its arm back. It swung again with its other arm. Jin-woo backed up three steps. The branch missed him by half a meter.
Jin-woo moved forward again. He struck the treant twice in quick succession. 35 damage. 38 damage. The treant's health dropped to 692 HP.
The treant stepped forward. Both arms rose at the same time. The branches came down together in a hammering motion. Jin-woo rolled to the left. He came up next to the treant's side.
He activated Power Strike. He held his sword in attack position. The blade began to glow red. After two seconds, he released the attack. The sword struck the treant's side with a heavy impact. 112 damage. The treant's health fell to 580 HP.
The treant turned toward Jin-woo. It was slow. Jin-woo backed away while the treant turned. He created distance between them.
The treant finished turning. It stepped toward Jin-woo. Jin-woo waited. When the treant swung its arm, he dodged to the right. He struck the treant's arm three times. 37 damage. 35 damage. 36 damage.
The treant's health was at 472 HP. Jin-woo continued the pattern. Wait for the treant to attack. Dodge. Strike while the treant recovered. Back away. Repeat.
The treant swung both arms in a wide arc. Jin-woo ducked under the swing. He struck the treant's chest area. 39 damage. He backed up before the treant could respond.
Power Strike came off cooldown. Jin-woo charged it. The red glow built on his sword. He released the strike. 118 damage. The treant's health dropped to 315 HP.
The treant raised its arms high above its head. Both branches came down together with more force than before. Jin-woo jumped backward. The branches hit the ground hard. A small shockwave spread out from the impact point. The shockwave reached Jin-woo. He took 23 damage.
Jin-woo's health was at 257 out of 280. He drank a health potion. His health rose back to 280.
He continued fighting. Dodge. Strike. Back away. The treant's attacks were easy to avoid because it moved so slowly. But each fight took a long time because the treant had so much health.
After four more minutes of fighting, the treant's health reached 0. The creature stopped moving. Its body fell backward. It hit the ground with a heavy thud. Green light faded from the cracks in its face.
Jin-woo gained 95 experience points. A notification appeared.
Loot: Corrupted Wood x3, 8 copper
Jin-woo picked up the items. He checked the corrupted wood in his inventory. The item description said it was a crafting material used by carpenters and woodworkers.
Jin-woo looked around the area. He saw two more treants in the distance. They were standing still between the trees like normal trees. They would only move when something came close to them.
Jin-woo walked to the next treant. He started the fight the same way. Attack from behind. Dodge its slow swings. Strike when it was recovering. Use Power Strike when the cooldown finished. Back away to create distance.
The second fight took six minutes. The treant died. Jin-woo gained 93 experience. He looted 2 corrupted wood and 7 copper.
Jin-woo fought the third treant. This fight went faster because he was learning the treant's patterns better. He knew exactly when to dodge and when to attack. The fight took five minutes. He gained 97 experience and looted 4 corrupted wood and 9 copper.
Jin-woo continued grinding treants for the next eight hours. He found a section of the forest where five treants spawned close together. He would kill all five, then wait three minutes for them to respawn. Then he would kill them again.
Each treant took between four and six minutes to kill depending on critical hits and Power Strike timing. Jin-woo fought carefully. He never got greedy with attacks. He always maintained distance. The treants were slow but their hits were heavy. One mistake could cost him 40 or 50 HP.
By 10:15 PM, Jin-woo had killed 67 treants. His inventory was completely full of corrupted wood. He had 201 corrupted wood pieces total. His copper had increased to 5 silver and 47 copper from vendor trash drops.
Jin-woo returned to Rotwood village. He found a player standing near the crafting area. The player's name was WoodworkMaster. He was level 32. A sign above him said "Buying Corrupted Wood - 25 copper each."
Jin-woo walked up to him.
"I have 201 corrupted wood," Jin-woo said.
WoodworkMaster opened a trade window. "I will buy all of it."
Jin-woo put the corrupted wood in the trade window. WoodworkMaster put 50 silver and 25 copper in his side of the window. Both players confirmed the trade.
Jin-woo's silver increased to 55 silver and 72 copper. He converted 50 silver to real money through the currency exchange. His bank account increased by $50. It now showed $121.88.
Jin-woo checked his experience bar. He was at 7,651 out of 8,000 experience needed for level 15. He returned to the forest.
He killed four more treants over the next thirty-five minutes. On the fourth treant, a notification appeared.
Level Up! You are now level 15.
Jin-woo opened his character screen. He had 5 stat points to allocate. He put 4 points into Strength and 1 point into Vitality.
Name: Jin Park
Level: 15
Strength: 53
Vitality: 29
Agility: 11
HP: 290/290
Jin-woo's damage had increased. Power Strike now dealt around 125-130 damage instead of 110-118. Each normal attack dealt around 40 damage instead of 35-38.
Jin-woo killed three more treants to test his new damage. The fights were slightly faster. Each treant died in about four and a half minutes instead of five.
At 11:47 PM, Jin-woo returned to the village. He had collected 12 more corrupted wood pieces. He sold them to WoodworkMaster for 3 silver.
Jin-woo logged out. He had earned 53 silver for the day, about $10.60 in real money. It was not as much as running dungeons, but it was steady income with no risk of bad groups or wipes.