Two days later, Jin-woo received another message from Vex.
Vex: "Job available. Transport weapons from Mirewood to Stoneguard. 6 gold. Interested?"
Jin: "Yes"
Vex: "Meet contact 'Razor' at Mirewood village inn. Pick up three crates. Deliver to 'Flint' at Stoneguard fortress back entrance. Don't inspect the crates."
Jin-woo traveled to Mirewood, a village in the eastern grasslands. The journey took ninety minutes by foot. He arrived at the inn at 3:42 PM game time.
A player named Razor stood inside the inn. Razor was a level 52 rogue wearing dark green leather armor. He opened a trade window without speaking.
Three items appeared: "Sealed Crate 1," "Sealed Crate 2," "Sealed Crate 3." Each item was marked as a quest item.
Jin-woo accepted the trade. The three crates went into his inventory. A quest notification appeared.
Quest: Weapon Transport
Deliver three sealed crates to Flint at Stoneguard fortress.
Reward: 6 gold
Razor closed the trade window and walked out of the inn without saying anything.
Jin-woo checked his quest log. The description gave no details about what was in the crates. But Vex had called it "weapon transport" in his message.
Jin-woo left Mirewood and traveled north toward Stoneguard. The path went through open grassland for the first hour. Then it entered a rocky region with cliffs and narrow passages.
At one point, Jin-woo saw a group of five players ahead on the path. They were standing in a formation blocking the road. All five were level 30 or above. Their guild tag said "[Crimson Blade]."
Jin-woo stopped walking. He was fifty meters away from the group.
One player stepped forward. The name was "RedKnight." Level 34 warrior.
"Stop right there," RedKnight shouted. "Those crates you're carrying belong to our guild. They were stolen from our warehouse two days ago."
Jin-woo looked at the five players. They were all higher level than him. All had better equipment. If they attacked him, he would die in seconds.
"Drop the crates and walk away," RedKnight said. "We don't want to kill you. We want our property back."
Jin-woo's mind worked quickly. If he died, the crates would drop. The quest would fail. He would not get paid. Vex would probably not give him more jobs.
If he dropped the crates voluntarily and walked away, the same thing would happen. Quest failed. No payment. No future work.
But if he ran, maybe he could escape. The path behind him was open. He could go back the way he came and find a different route to Stoneguard.
Jin-woo turned around and ran. He sprinted back down the path toward the grassland.
"Get him!" RedKnight shouted.
Jin-woo heard footsteps behind him. He did not look back. He just ran.
An arrow flew past his head. It missed by inches. A mage spell hit the ground behind him. Fire spread across the path but Jin-woo was already past that spot.
Jin-woo reached the grassland. He ran off the main path into the tall grass. The grass was high enough to hide him if he crouched.
He ran for thirty seconds, then dropped to a crouch in the grass. He stayed completely still.
The five Crimson Blade players reached the grassland. They spread out and searched the grass. Jin-woo watched them through gaps in the grass stalks.
"He's hiding somewhere," RedKnight said. "Spread out. Check everything."
The five players moved through the grass in a search pattern. They were twenty meters away from Jin-woo. Then fifteen meters. Then ten meters.
Jin-woo waited until they passed his position. When they were behind him, he stood up and ran in the opposite direction. He ran east, away from both Stoneguard and Mirewood.
"There!" someone shouted.
More arrows flew. One arrow hit Jin-woo in the back. 67 damage. His health dropped to 253 out of 320.
Jin-woo kept running. He reached a forest area and ran between the trees. The trees blocked the arrows. He ran deeper into the forest until he could no longer hear the Crimson Blade players behind him.
Jin-woo stopped and checked his map. He was far off the main path now. He would need to circle around through the wilderness to reach Stoneguard from a different direction.
The journey took four more hours. Jin-woo walked through forests and hills, avoiding all main roads. At 9:15 PM game time, he reached Stoneguard fortress.
He went to the back entrance as instructed. A player named Flint stood there. Flint was a level 48 warrior in heavy armor.
Jin-woo opened a trade window and transferred the three sealed crates. Flint accepted them.
Quest Complete: Weapon Transport
Reward: 6 gold
"Heard you had trouble on the road," Flint said.
"Crimson Blade tried to take the crates," Jin-woo said.
"But you still delivered," Flint said. "That's why we pay you."
Flint walked into the fortress. Jin-woo converted the 6 gold to real money. His bank account increased by $600.
Three days later, Vex sent another message.
Vex: "Job 3. Deliver message to player in Scorched Valley. 8 gold. High danger - active PvP zone."
Jin: "What's the message?"
Vex: "Encrypted scroll. Contact name is 'Shade.' He'll find you when you enter the valley."
Jin-woo accepted the job. He received a quest item called "Encrypted Scroll" through in-game mail.
Scorched Valley was a level 25-30 PvP zone in the western desert. PvP was always enabled there. Any player could attack any other player without warning.
Jin-woo traveled to the valley entrance. A warning appeared when he crossed the boundary.
Warning: You have entered a PvP zone. All players can attack you. Death penalties are doubled.
Jin-woo walked into the valley. The ground was red sand and cracked earth. Dead trees stood scattered across the landscape. Heat waves distorted the air.
Jin-woo saw other players in the distance. Some were fighting monsters. Some were fighting each other. He avoided them all and stayed near the edge of the zone.
After ten minutes, a player appeared directly in front of Jin-woo. The player had not been there a second ago. The name was "Shade." Level 61 assassin.
"You have something for me," Shade said.
Jin-woo opened a trade window and put the encrypted scroll in it. Shade accepted the trade.
Quest Complete: Encrypted Delivery
Reward: 8 gold
"Leave quickly," Shade said. "Bounty hunters patrol this area."
Shade disappeared. Jin-woo started walking back toward the valley entrance.
A player stepped out from behind a dead tree. The name was "HunterX." Level 42 ranger. The player raised a bow.
"That scroll better be worth the price on your head," HunterX said.
A PvP warning appeared. 5 seconds until combat.
Jin-woo ran. He sprinted toward the valley entrance. An arrow hit him in the leg. 89 damage. His health dropped to 231.
HunterX chased him. Another arrow flew. Jin-woo dodged left. The arrow missed.
The valley entrance was one hundred meters ahead. Jin-woo used his full stamina to sprint. Another arrow hit his shoulder. 76 damage. His health dropped to 155.
Fifty meters to the entrance. HunterX was thirty meters behind him and gaining.
Twenty meters to the entrance. An arrow flew past Jin-woo's head and missed.
Jin-woo crossed the valley entrance boundary. He was out of the PvP zone. HunterX stopped at the boundary line and could not follow.
"Lucky courier," HunterX said.
Jin-woo kept running until he was far from the valley. His health was at 155 out of 320. He drank two health potions and his health restored to full.
He had completed the delivery and earned 8 gold. But he had almost died. If HunterX had been slightly faster or his arrows had hit more accurately, Jin-woo would have lost the quest and respawned with severe penalties.
Over the next four days, Jin-woo completed two more jobs.
Job 4 was simple. He met a dungeon team at the entrance of Blackrock Cavern. They had just completed a raid and had extra loot they needed transported. Jin-woo carried three bags of rare crafting materials to a buyer in the next city. The job took two hours and paid 5 gold.
Job 5 was more dangerous. Jin-woo had to transport alchemical materials through hostile territory controlled by an enemy guild. He walked for three hours through back routes and hidden paths, avoiding patrols. He successfully delivered the materials and earned 7 gold.
After one week of mercenary work, Jin-woo had earned 31 gold total from five jobs. He converted 30 gold to real money, keeping 1 gold in the game for expenses. His bank account increased by $3,000.
Jin-woo used the money to pay off his payday loan completely. The balance went to zero. He paid another $800 for rent. He paid $500 toward Credit Card 1. He put $400 toward Credit Card 2. He had $300 left for food and bills.
For the first time in eight months, Jin-woo was not drowning. He still had debt, but he was making real progress.
During this week, Jin-woo also continued grinding when he had no delivery jobs. He reached level 19 after completing Job 3. He reached level 20 after completing Job 5.
At level 20, Jin-woo allocated his stat points. He put 4 into Strength and 1 into Vitality.
Name: Jin Park
Level: 20
Strength: 76
Vitality:29
Agility: 11
HP: 330/330
Jin-woo sent a message to Vex.
Jin: "Any more work?"
Vex: "You've done five delivery jobs. All successful. Good record. But now we need to know if you can fight when necessary."
Jin: "What do you mean?"
Vex: "PvP test. Next job will require combat skills. Details coming soon."