With my parents' permission secured,
now all that remained was to dive into the game.
"Before that, though, I need to know what I need to know."
With two full days still to go before the VR gear arrived, I logged into the main game community site to check out Silmaria leveling guides.
"There's a ton of them."
A click of the mouse brought up a list of popular posts.
Each one had anywhere from hundreds to thousands of comments.
"Alright, let's see what they've got."
I was a gaming pro.
An all-rounder who could handle any genre, though I especially favored strategy sims, AOS games, and RPGs.
And Silmaria was an RPG-based virtual reality game.
You raised a single character, grinded quests, hunted down countless monsters, leveled up, and grew stronger that way.
Unlike strategy sims or AOS games—where ranks and scores directly reflected wins and losses—RPGs made it easy to overlook the importance of "strategy" in character building.
Just pour time into leveling, run dungeons, farm gear, and eventually, your character would get strong no matter what.
The only difference was content consumption speed—even casual players could eventually catch up somewhat to heavy spenders who'd dumped cash for a head start.
"Me? I'm a vet among vets. Nuclear waste level."
I'd joined the documentary team because I loved nature and animals, but looking back, maybe I should've gone pro gamer.
Maybe I was scared, too.
Scared that the moment my favorite hobby turned into work, I'd start hating games.
I loved them that much.
"Anyway, strategy is key."
Back to the point.
Even in RPGs, "strategy" mattered—not just raid tactics, but unique growth paths that set you apart from the crowd.
I hated losing so much that I'd even factor in sleep schedules, diets, and steady workouts into my "strategy."
For that reason, I'd trained myself into a true "gamer" to reach the top faster than anyone. Friends looked at me like I was some cyber gladiator, equal parts impressed and exhausted.
"Hold up, seriously?"
...Then an unexpected problem cropped up.
As I steeled myself to read the verified guides, it hit me: Silmaria was different from any game I'd played before.
The post title read as follows.
[📰 Breaking News [Top 10 Things Every Beginner Must Know]]
It was a title my self-proclaimed expert ego rebelled against clicking, but skipping it would've been a huge mistake. The content was that crucial.
1. 'Silmaria' is terrifying.
▷ You have to swing your fists and swords yourself to take down monsters. Silmaria is another reality. Exploring dark caves, facing grotesque monsters—it's all on you. This isn't a game. It's another reality. If you thought it was casual, snap out of it now.
"...Right, it's a VR game."
My gaming instincts were top-notch, but this changed everything.
I was a natural weakling who couldn't fight to save my life… even with game buffs, could I really hold my own?
This was a fatal flaw.
"Hoo...."
Sighing at the early setback, I kept reading.
2. Your race and class are chosen by your algorithm.
▷ Silmaria collects your tendencies and actions long-term to build your algorithm. Want to be a warrior? Charge in and hunt monsters aggressively. Aspire to mage? Study and experiment with magic like a scholar. If you want to pick deliberately, equip weapons tied to your dream class and fight in that style.
▷ Of course, you can just play naturally too—and that's recommended. The more immersed you get, the more it suits your aptitudes, the higher your VR sync rate climbs.
▷ Warriors, mages, archers specialized in combat aren't the only paths. You might have talent as a healer or buffer supporter—or even non-combat like merchant, craftsman, musician, singer. Remember: Silmaria is another reality. Pick what fits you and bloom your talents.
"Oh-ho."
A class based on the player's algorithm? Pretty intriguing. It seemed designed to prevent folks from wasting time on mismatched classes.
Though I wondered if players would buy into it.
Popular online RPGs let you choose race and class from the start for a reason.
"Eh, just use the right weapons from the get-go, no big deal."
The key was starting with actions tied to your desired class.
If you wanted archer but scrimped on arrows early and used sword-and-shield instead, your options might lock to warrior.
"Gotta commit from the start."
Every game had its busted classes—no matter how devs preached "perfect balance," OP jobs always emerged.
The class forums would reveal which ones were broken.
"...Huh?"
But the next point made me ditch the pre-pick plan entirely.
3. Silmaria is unfair. Just like reality.
▷ Hidden class evolutions, bonds with named NPCs, lucky drops of legendary gear—Silmaria overflows with ways to skyrocket your growth. But those chances are for the few. Just like not everyone can own buildings or land in the real world, it's the same here. This game mirrors reality. Talented, lucky players will effortlessly outpace the rest.
"...Bold confidence."
A hidden class in an MMO? Wild.
Couldn't risk missing one by pre-committing to a regular class. Hidden classes were the epitome of OP.
"Tempest sure is gutsy, though."
How fun did Silmaria have to be for them to straight-up embrace unfairness?
A few chosen ones would breed envy in the masses, yet Tempest bet players would stick around anyway.
And they were right—800 million subs in a year proved it. Hitting 1 billion soon seemed inevitable.
"What, they love it more?"
Scanning comments, complaints about point 3 were rare. Most said the slim shot at instant riches made it better.
4. This game reflects real-world talent.
▷ The VR gear imports your DNA data perfectly into Silmaria. Athlete players with sharp reflexes will excel in melee from the jump. Quick thinkers with high IQs will cast spells effortlessly. Once more: Silmaria is unfair. Recognize your talents clearly and leverage them hard.
Point 4 overlapped a lot with 3.
The gist: identify and use your talents. But without playing, I couldn't know mine.
"Rest is basic stuff."
The rest was generic—hunting spots, routes, tough quest guides, beginner gear sets. Useless to a vet like me.
"Gotta skim 'em all."
Tedious, but I dove in like cramming for certs. Gaming was my job now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I pulled an all-nighter, squinting at the rising morning sun.
"This game… it's a hit."
I let out a deep sigh of admiration.
Silmaria was incredible.
Now I got why it smashed 800 million subs in a year. User count would keep climbing—1 billion was just around the corner.
Even if RPG meant role-playing game, gamers assumed growth via "hunting." Silmaria shattered that—it truly was another reality.
"They basically created a whole world."
Non-fighters like kids, elderly, or women could thrive too.
With lifelike graphics, you could just chat with friends, perform on stage, sell home-cooked meals, or invent breakthroughs for riches.
And convert that gold to real cash for bills.
"Insane. A god-tier game like this."
Exactly—Silmaria was another reality.
Now I understood why Jin-gyu nagged me to join.
"First, sleep."
Yawning wide, I shut down the PC and hit the bed.
Body exhausted but mind buzzing to play. Sleep wouldn't come easy.
"Yawwwn... Wonder what my talent is."
No interest in non-combat like chef or singer.
To make bank, hunting was essential.
'Melee sounds scary, so ranged DPS maybe. Support ain't bad either.'
Archer, mage, dark mage, priest, sniper, necromancer, summoner, shaman, thrower, bomber, puppeteer, etc....
I listed classes that might fit.
'...No clue.'
Hard to pin down mentally. Testing in demo mode before gear arrived sounded smart.
Sample combat, check VR sync—clear answer.
'Exciting.'
Clutching long-lost thrill despite lost legs,
my mind sank into sleep.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A clear blue sky—low fine dust today.
Under the wide-open heavens, Seoul streets bustled with Saturday afternoon crowds of all stripes.
Couples on dates, suited businessmen, packs of Chinese tourists swarming everywhere.
"...Tons of Chinese folks."
All buzzing with weekend vibes.
And the least ordinary one? Probably me.
Whirr—
My electric wheelchair rolled by, drawing lingering glances from a pretty young woman.
From a kid clutching Mom's hand.
From a designer-clad housewife.
Everyone's eyes brushed past.
No contempt or pity.
Just mild wonder at the chair conquering the slope.
Utterly neutral glances.
"There it is."
Slide—
Auto doors parted.
I entered the VR room.
Gear arrived tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to try VR. Plus, Mom's nagging to get fresh air helped.
"Welcome."
"Hi. How much for a session, boss?"
I asked price first.
Silmaria's cheapest normal gear ran 5 million won, so rooms wouldn't be cheap.
And I was broke.
"Premium's 33,000 won per hour, normal's 3,500. Sir."
"Ah...."
Mine was normal, but premium tempted—higher sync caps, less fatigue for long sessions. Still, one-day room use? No splurge.
Especially broke.
"Normal it is."
"First time here?"
"Yep."
"We collect play footage for promo with user consent. Okay with that?"
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
Hesitated a sec, but others seeing my footage? Fine. Promo use? Bonus for me.
"I consent."
"Right this way."
Whirr—
I followed the boss in my chair.
What wonders had Tempest crafted in VR?
My heart raced.
Continue reading up to 80+ chapter on NovelsHub.org