After I ed up today's [Daily Quest], a wave of satisfa washed over me. I decided to bask in this feeling, finding a quiet spot on a ben a nearby park.

  As the sun began to desd, long shadows paihe sky in e and purple hues. It was beautiful in a way I rarely allowed myself to aowledge, given my critical eye for what truly merited my pause. While this was... sure, just aesthetics over what I preferred—pragmatism. Yet, here I was, captivated by the simple pleasure of a su.

  'Sihis is just a game, I afford to feel rexed...'

  Nah...

  Lately, I have been more rexed as I carry out normal daily activities: graduating from school, surfing the i, watg my favorite shows, and spending time with my family. Maybe it was because of the sudden surprise of the VR:Ser that I got carried away by the atmosphere of the past, where evehing had felt difficult.

  My body began to slump on the bench as my eyes stared zily at the holographic s I opened.

  I navigated to [Quest]. The tab expao reveal a detailed list of today's pleted tasks, each apanied by a small, animated i symbolizing Quest's nature—like a tiny pickaxe striking rocks fathering missions, a swlinting for bat tasks, or a scroll unrolling for academic challenges.

  I tapped [Cim Rewards], and the s ged to show my accumuted rewards. The top bar gradually filled up as I cimed them one by one. When it was filled, the gift box i appeared. I clicked on it.

  Daily Quest pleted!Bonus Rewards Cimed! EXP:+1,500Gold:+2,500Ding!

  Leveled up!Leveled up!You have reached level 11! o level 12:167/10,250'This was why such a waste to skip dailies.'Not only did I get EXP with Gold, but I also got other rewards from the [Daily Quest] pletion bonus. One was...

  Random Equipment Box Gained! Random Equipment Boxce to get (on) to (Rare) EquipmentI pressed [Open], and the box began to animate. Its sides unfolded like a blooming flower to reveal its tents. A soft glow emanated from within, casting light on my face as I watched with my eyes narrowed.

  Ding!

  Simple Hairpin (on)Required Level0 Cost5Basic hairpin; quite pin but hold the hair effectively. Max HP +30It appeared before the s and floated down into my palm. It was muted silver in color, and the design in.

  'How very useful, equivalent to my amazing luck!'

  Oh, well, this was the cause of my dislike for the Gacha stuff. Bad luck that I had. Whether in small things or extraordinary ones like fate—Alright, how exaggerating. Last week, I received useless, uncssified Equipment, likely because I was only Level 10 at the time. So this was better than nothing, no? Plus, it had its own status boost and was avaible in a uyle; I wouldn't mind having it.

  I began to b the side of my hair using my fingers and clipped the [Simple Hairpin].

  O settled in the hair behind my ear, the ge was reflected through the menu s; the current [Equipment] slot on the side of the menu interface showed a small i of a hairpin alongside a rendered image of my character.

  This was how [Equipment] worked; pyers were free to model varied accessories rather than the cssic way of wearing clothes, shoes, and hats. They could start with simple things like this hairpin and move on to more unique ones like facial tattoos or jackets. However, they couldn't ge the academy uniform si was the default outfit for all pyers.

  Because of this, pyers could wear as many accessories as they wished, and they were easy tnize, unlike NPCs, eared simple.

  The only limitation for pyers not to overuse it was the [Cost] associated with the said Equipment—a meic desigo bahe game that lihe item to its rarity. A pyer's [Cost] capacity increased by 5 every 2 levels; with my avatar Level 10, I had 25.

  With this many points, it would be fitting to use this [Simple Hairpin] with my ring. I pulled it out from my menu, and the item iion appeared in front of the s when I selected it.

  Spiritual Ring (Rare)Required Level0 Cost20A beautiful ring that amplifies charm if it es in tact with spiritual powerAdding DP Recovery +9%; healing effectiveness +5 with silver-like material fell into my palm—though upon closer iion, it revealed a faint iridest sheen, subtly ging colors with the movement of light. The good news was that the shape of the ring was also unisex with a retively simple carving.

  Slipping it onto my finger, I g the menu s to firm its activation, and, ihe [Equipment] slot dated to dispy the ring's i.

  Also, an additional status dispy appeared beside the picture of my avatar.

  Equipment List Simple Hairpin (ax HP +30Spiritual Ring (Rare)DP Recovery +9%

  Healing Effectiveness +50%

  DP Recovery +9%... it meant my Dragonic Power would recover faster than before. And with a +50% Healing Effectiveness, any healing I receive, including from potion, would be much more effective.

  However, I noted from the pro-tips in the forum that these status enhas operated outside the basic grading system; the effects were additional and didn't ge the values of [Status Grade] such as [Strength], [Speed], or [Defense].

  '[Status Grades] reflect pyer's ability without relying on niche, anyway.'

  sidering this, I got to thinking...

  "...if my avatar eventually bees equal to my real body, what will my [Grade] be?"

  Ah!

  It was easy to get lost in imagining possibilities; I realized my mind started jumping around to various topics. So, instead of thinking about this [Equiment] matter, I tio check the other rewards from the [Daily Quest].

  I swiped through the menu to see if any more surprises were waiting amongst the day's haul. The soft glow from the interface pyed on my face, which showed a mixture of anticipation and resignation—anticipation for what might be, and resignation, well, it was me and my personal vea against these things.

  Mileage Gained! Mileage x1A valuable that grants a single spin on the Blueprint Gacha Mae. Used to obtain unique blueprints for Equipment, Mount, or potentially valuable items to the Academy's enviro.

  Not tradable

  Imagining how easily one could gain legendary items was tempting; with only a few s, you could get a piece of Equipment that previously took months to obtain! But let's be realistic. My luck, plus the location of the Gacha Mae was iral Pza, a super crowded pce for pyers to gather and everades... no, thank you.

  Even if the crowded pce portunity to meet top-level pyers, I still hesitated; the thought of immersing myself in the chaos of the pza seemed overwhelming. No mission or anything forced me to do sht here, right now, anyway.

  'If it was quieter, maybe I'd feel okay.'

  After all, if, for example, there was a high rahere, and they were hanging out with their friends, wouldn't my presence as a newbie interrupt their flow? It wasn't hard to imagihe se: me, awkwardly attempting to i myself into a group dynamily to stick out like a sore thumb.

  With a sigh, I dragged the Mileage into my [Iory] to slot it into a er where it wouldn't stantly remind me of its existehere it would stay, at least for now, with the ones I had collected in the past week. If I collected up to 30 s, I could immediately spin x10. Better just save it all before that.

  For other rewards of the daily bonus, it looked normal, taining upgrade material and some able items that could be useful in a pinch. There were:

  Potion Recovery-F (on) x15% recovery for user's HP, DP, and Fatigue Blue Potion-F (on) x2Recover user's DP by 50 Icecore (on) x1Material frading Catalyst Css GradeWhile none of these items were spectacur, they were the bread and butter of gamepy that supported the daily grind.

  I closed the menu with a wave, the light dimming as the s dissolved into the air. Then, stood up from the bend did a little stretg... umm, ah! Alright. I decided to stop by [Training Ground] sihis avatar's physical problem was something I o handle. And I still remember where it was, thanks to Luna, who took me around Vaughan a few days ago. The [Training Ground] was in the Executioment distribsp;

  I took out my Heart Core and rode my hoverboard to the location faster because the distance was quite far from this Dragonic Department district; it would likely take twelve minutes of traveling alone as it was at the front of the Academy.

  Like usual—while the hoverboard hummed beh me as it sliced through the evening air, I pulled up the [Map] and read more of Vaughan's yout that Luna hadn't show was safe to say Vaughan was quite spacious, and I wao get a better grasp of its yout to avoid missing anything important.

  Entering Executioment DistrictThe message fshed for three seds as I crossed the invisible threshold into the district, promptio close the s. I pn to exami again ter.

  I raised my fad noticed the architectural style had shifted noticeably. Instead of the lush and overbearing desighroughout most of the Dragonic district, the buildings were more austere and pin, likely funal in purpose with less for eborate aesthetibsp;

  [Training Ground] itself was retively easy to find. It was marked by a massive structure that looked like a coliseum with its high walls, and the g of metal and shouts could be heard even through them.

  I dismounted my hoverboard, allowing it to fold bato the Heart Core for me to put into [Iory].

  Wele to Training Ground!I used to e here almost every day, so I khe yout by heart; [Training Ground] was divided into several areas.

  he entrance was ahat resembled a gym. Ahead, an obstacle course to test physical limits. To the right, an open space was filled with batants engaged in sparring matches. While the left was a series of target rahat offered practice for those fav ranged bat. There were more areas on the sed floor, but most were enclosed, all simution rooms.

  Deg to start with the basics, I headed toward a terminal he entrance.

  Select Training Module Basibat SkillsAdvanced on HandlingPhysical ditioningAgility and Reflex EnhaObstacle Course Please hat each pyer is granted free access to each training area once per day. Additional sessions within the same day require payment in Gold. Prices vary by facility.Daily Free Entry:ActiveSeeing the funality of this facility and being able to enter for free once every day, I long included it ioo-good-to-skip list. For the training I would do today, I checked each menu and list avaible while sidering...

  This game allowed the dynamic modification of the avatar's physique, not through superficial ges but through dedicated training, in-game as, or real-life improvements, as I expined before—about how real-world abilities directly influen-game status.

  'If my real-world skills are high, my game status jump to match them. But without further real-world improvement, my game status won't advance beyond that point.'

  Strengthening my foundation seemed the most logical starting point. Without hesitation, I selected [Physical ditioning] for today's training.

  Initiating Training Module...Ding!

  Please proceed to Training Area 1The s fshed an arrow, direg me toward the gym-like area. Weight maes, treadmills, and other fitness equipment were arranged ly. Thanks to the high ceiling, bright lights, digital dispys, and some gss that filled the side of the wall, the space had aic yet focused vibe.