Earth Online was a remarkably pure game.

At least, its interface suggested so.

The overall design was clean and refreshing, free of unnecessary, cluttered UI elements.

Opening the inventory didn’t show a grid-based system like most games. Instead, it simulated real-life backpack mechanics.

For instance, the fox spirit controlled by Leaf Grace wore a tiny sachet-like pouch around its neck. Opening the inventory displayed a fully realistic view of the pouch’s interior space.

Leaf Grace tried stuffing in two small stones. The pouch was nearly full.

But that didn’t mean nothing else could fit.

Adding sand or water was still possible.

The backpack also had a weight limit. It affected stamina drain and attack speed.

In short, it mimicked reality as closely as possible.

The game had no quests either.

No giant exclamation marks hovered over NPCs’ heads like in other MMOs.

To level up, players could grind monsters in the wild or gather intel by talking to NPCs.

Some NPCs offered quests immediately upon interaction.

Others merely pointed in a direction or shared a hint. The rest was up to the player.

It felt like a real world.

Another simple method existed: taking jobs from hiring boards in villages or towns.

Accepting a task meant tearing the paper off the wooden board.

That made it unavailable to others.

Securing jobs required speed.

Many tasks also had time limits.

Leaf Grace had just snatched one earlier. After wandering the mountains for ages without finding the target, time ran out. The quest failed automatically. Her hiring credit dropped by ten points. She couldn’t accept new jobs for twelve hours.

“This is way too realistic…” Leaf Grace pouted. Yet the game’s difficulty sparked her interest.

She’d played other games before. All could be solved with money. None had this depth. She’d gotten bored quickly.

“Chali, Water, let’s team up and grind monsters,” Leaf Grace said, swiveling her mouse to scan the surroundings. “This game’s map uses real-world scale. Plains are packed with players fighting over mobs. Let’s head deep into the mountains. I soloed there earlier and hit level two.”

“Huh? I’m still level one…” Chali sighed, running a hand through her pale gold hair. “This game’s brutal.”

“That’s what makes it fun!”

Leaf Grace grinned and invited them both.

“Young Miss, where are you?” Chali leaned over to peek at Leaf Grace’s screen.

“No clue. I’ll die and respawn. Wait for me at the spawn point.” Leaf Grace leaped off a cliff without hesitation. A respawn prompt popped up.

After clicking it, she noticed… she’d lost a level.

“Why’s the Young Miss back to level one?” Chali asked, confused.

“Probably a death penalty,” Water Poem guessed. “Losing a level, or just enough XP to drop one?”

“Dunno.” Leaf Grace shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s just one level. These mountains stretch forever. Let’s explore deeper!”

The trio set off together.

All three were untransformed spirit beasts. Their skills were pitifully few.

Only two existed.

Left-click for basic attacks. Right-click for blocking.

Basic attacks? Just clawing monsters, really.

Their sole advantage was decent attack bonuses early on, before anyone had weapons.

All starters had 2 base attack. But Chali’s wolf claws gave +2.

Leaf Grace’s fox provided +1. Water Poem’s cat had no bonus but could inflict bleeding on hit.

The mountains teemed with wild beasts.

They dropped no gear. Spirit beasts could use their innate butchering skill to harvest materials like bones or pelts.

But even if gathered, where to store them?

The game let players hold items in hands, on backs, belts, or pockets…

Problem was, all three moved on four legs. They couldn’t carry loads like humans.

Such intricate racial details were impressive.

Wild beasts also didn’t drop gold coins. That alone made this game leagues better than others.

Grinding deeper, they reached level three. Stats grew slightly, but not much.

No new skills unlocked either.

“Yikes, Young Miss!! I found a tiger!”

“A tiger? I told you not to wander off…” Leaf Grace steered her fox toward Chali.

Water Poem followed closely, faster than the others.

It was indeed a fierce tiger.

Far stronger than the boars, rabbits, or wild dogs they’d killed before.

Its sheer size made victory seem impossible.

But it was just a game. Death meant respawning.

Leaf Grace charged in, testing its limits.

Earth Online featured real-time, non-targeted combat. Attacks often inflicted stun effects.

A tiger’s swipe could send the tiny fox flying.

Even Chali’s wolf staggered back several steps.

As spirit beasts, they lacked special attacks. Maybe due to low levels.

Either way, this tiger seemed unbeatable…

“Let’s try throwing it off a cliff!” Leaf Grace yelled. Real-world tactics worked here too.

“Run for the cliffs then!” Chali shouted. She was the slowest.

The tiger had already hit her twice. Two claw marks bled on her character. Her health bar was dangerously low.

Grinding was tough. No one wanted to respawn in town yet.

The tiger’s roar boomed through their headsets. It felt terrifyingly real, like a predator chasing them.

They used in-game voice chat. Headsets muffled real-world sounds.

Voice volume changed with distance.

The game reduced background noise and added environmental effects. It sounded incredibly authentic.

All three sprinted desperately. Yellow stamina bars drained visibly.

Sprinting cost stamina. Normal running didn’t.

But without sprinting, they’d never outrun it!

They reached a cliff edge and skidded to a halt. The tiger lunged behind them.

“Dodge sideways!” Leaf Grace cried.

The tiger missed its target.

It wasn’t a boss—just a regular mob. Its AI couldn’t be too complex, or the game would lag horribly.

The tiger plunged down. A loud *splat* echoed, followed by a deafening roar.

“It’s climbing back up!”

The tiger surged upward. One foreleg was broken. Its body bruised from the fall. Yet it remained deadly.

“We’ll coordinate! Attack from different angles. Draw aggro, then run! Chali, your health’s critical. Don’t pull aggro. Just strike when you can!”

The tiger hunt began.

Even wounded, it fought fiercely. They barely survived until it finally collapsed with a thud.

Honestly, this difficulty made sense. In reality, a cat, wolf, or fox couldn’t beat a tiger—even injured.

Though controlling avatars, they felt utterly exhausted after the fight.

The rewards were huge though.

Killing the tiger boosted all three to level five.

They gained passive skills tailored to their pre-level-five combat styles.

“Hmm… my passive is… Sharp Claws… level one.” Leaf Grace pulled off her headset, sipped water tiredly, and glanced at her two maids. “What did Chali and Water get?”

“Mine’s Thick Hide level one. Boosts auto-heal speed,” Chali replied. “Guess it’s ’cause I tanked most hits?”

“Probably. Mine’s Tree Climbing level one,” Water Poem read her skill description. “Climb trees easily. Speed matches ground running.”

“A solid scouting skill,” Leaf Grace stretched widely. “Oh! The starter pack we can open at level five—finally usable!”

Excited, Leaf Grace clicked the sachet.

That was the starter pack.

Confirming its use made items burst out, scattering on the ground. The sachet vanished instantly.

A three-minute loot lock ensured only Leaf Grace could pick them up.

Diamond VIP perks didn’t break balance. But functionally, they crushed regular players’ gear.

Like the gifted necklace: a spatial necklace with one cubic meter of storage.

That space held plenty. Inventory organization mattered—clever packing expanded capacity.

Other gifts included starter weapons (common rarity, but customizable), plus scattered potions and materials…