All users of Wings Online have their own ‘My Home’.
Each person has their own home in a separate instance space.
You can expand your house or remodel the interior to your taste as much as you want.
Some people decorate elegant mansions, some build magnificent castles, and some dig underground bunkers.
And someone creates a laboratory.
“Ahem ahem ahem~.”
A user entered his My Home while humming a song.
Wings Online has a system where you can design and create your own equipment, and there are a variety of skins and cosmetic items available, but this user’s equipment was particularly unique in appearance.
The user was dressed like a medieval plague doctor.
He wore a long mask like a crow’s beak, a coat with a glossy black sheen, and a wide-brimmed, low hat on his head.
His house was also of a strange shape.
Stuffed monster corpses hung on the walls, and shelves lined them with flasks containing ominous-colored potions.
“Ahem~ Ahem ahem~.”
The user entered the house, humming happily, and headed to the innermost room.
“Today too~ Enjoyably~ Renewing the collection… … .”
The user took a flask out of his pocket.
Inside was a small slime and filled with black poisonous fog.
The user, who was laughing while looking at the contents of the flask, opened the door.
And then I screamed.
“Mommy, aaaaah?!”
A large black knight stood in the room.
It was a knight wearing pitch-black armor and a crimson cloak on his back. The black knight was looking around at the contents of the room and admiring them.
“That’s amazing, ‘Doctor.’”
There were hundreds of flasks on display in the room.
The flasks were filled with colorful poisons, along with small slimes.
The user called ‘Doctor’ was terrified and started swinging his sword at the Black Knight.
“Who are you, dadadada! How did you get into my home…?!”
My Home is an instance space. It is a place where only the user and those invited by the user can enter.
But this black knight had suddenly entered his home. This was impossible according to the game system.
It was natural for the user and the doctor to be surprised.
Regardless of whether they were surprised or not, the Black Knight and Labo examined the flasks one by one.
“Did you collect all the monsters’ debuff skills as samples? How did you do this… … .”
The doctor smiled brightly at Labo’s words.
“No, you’re looking into it! My research!”
At those words, the doctor let his guard down, ran over to Labo’s side, held up a flask, and began to explain in a babbling manner.
“That’s right! This is a collection of all the debuff skills of the monsters in this game, organized by type! Isn’t it amazing? This is my own collection that I’ve collected over the course of five years since the game was released!”
“But… … how?”
There were many ordinary debuff skills, but some of them were extremely dangerous.
A contagious debuff spread by boss monsters.
Since it was a debuff that would obviously cause chaos if it were to escape from the dungeon, we made thorough preparations to prevent it from leaking out of the dungeon, but how did they get it out of the dungeon?
“I set it so that non-user objects cannot leave the dungeon if they are affected by the contagion debuff, but how come…? No, really?”
Labo looked back at the doctor, startled. The doctor nodded and laughed heartily.
“Yes, I can just put it on my body and leave the dungeon.”
The doctor’s occupation is a necromancer. Among them, his 4th job title is ‘Poison Eater’.
A sub-dealer and sub-healer job that can handle poison and gas, and also act as a field doctor.
After being affected by the boss debuff himself, he halved the damage with his job trait of resistance to various poison damage, and as a sub-healer, he endured by also using self-healing to collect samples.
“These slimes are called ‘Immune Slimes’, and are monsters that are immune to all types of abnormal status effects.”
The doctor pointed to a small slime inside the flask.
The Immune Slime is a monster from Season 3 that only takes damage from physical attacks.
However, since the entity splits into two whenever it receives a hit and also recovers its own HP, it could theoretically multiply infinitely.
“However, it’s just that you won’t be affected by the abnormal status effect, but the abnormal status itself will still be there. Furthermore, since it’s a counter-effect of immunity, the duration of the abnormal status itself will be permanent.”
“… … .”
Labo clicked his tongue inwardly. That part was a loophole in the programming during development.
In an attempt to ignore all status abnormalities, the code was twisted so that it would not be affected but would have an infinite duration.
Anyway, there were no particular problems in the game, so I left it alone, but who would have thought that they would take advantage of that gap like this… … !
“So, like this. You can now save all kinds of monsters’ debuffs as a collection.”
“… … .”
Labo, who had been looking through the collection with the doctor, asked.
“Why are you doing this, Doctor?”
“Why? Why? Why? Well, why is that?”
The doctor put his hand in front of his mask and giggled.
“There was an online game released in the US a long time ago. It was a masterpiece that was said to have perfected the MMORPG genre with its expansive world, captivating story, and well-established system.”
The doctor explained, referring to an old online game that has now become a classic among classics.
“33 years ago. So… … in 2005, a plague spread throughout this game world.”
“… … !”
“The boss monster’s debuff called ‘Contaminated Blood’ was transferred to the player’s pet, and this pet transferred the debuff to an NPC, and when it spread to users who approached the NPC… … a great disaster broke out.”
Labo also knew about it. It was such a famous incident.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“At that time, there were hundreds of papers studying the transmission routes of the epidemic and the behavior of users.”
The doctor spread his arms out in front of Labo, making exaggerated gestures like an actor in a play.
“Isn’t it really fun? Of course, the game is a virtual world, but the operating principles here are not much different from reality. In short, it’s a story about how ‘social experiments’ are possible in the game world!”
The doctor suddenly thrust his gloved hand forward. The doctor’s index finger stood stiffly before Labo’s eyes.
“Do you know about the 2004 ‘Server Liberation War’ that left a long mark on the history of Korean online gaming? It was an uprising of the people against the oppression of a small number of powerful users.”
“I know. It’s a legendary event.”
“But the moment the representatives of the people coveted power, that purity disappeared. The server liberation war and revolution ultimately ended in failure, and the oppressors once again ruled the server.”
The doctor, who had been pouring out his words like a machine gun, stood next to Labo and poked Labo in the side with his elbow.
“Isn’t it fun?”
Labo snickered because the doctor’s attitude was even funnier.
“Games, even though they are virtual, are a society. Each game may have slightly different principles, but in the end, they are played by people, and as long as they are played by people, they follow the principles of society.”
The doctor began to spin around in place.
“It’s fun! It’s so fun! This ecosystem! The food chain! The irony is that the game I enjoy because I want to escape from reality is more similar to reality than anything else! It’s so fun I’m going crazy!”
Labo, who had been watching quietly, blurted out.
“So you’re conducting a social experiment, Doctor? In this game?”
One of the urban legends within the game Wings Online.
Plague Doctor.
Commonly known as Doctor.
The doctor, who had stopped dancing around in circles, looked back at Labo. Labo spoke calmly.
“Season 1, the ‘Apathy debuff’ incident spread throughout the beginner village. The user who spread the debuff was permanently banned, but… … I think I understand. That was you.”
Kick.
The doctor bent down and let out a small laugh.
“The lethargy debuff is an annoying but non-lethal debuff that reduces movement speed and stamina recovery speed. Above all, the basic debuff removal magic, ‘Cure’, can be used to remove it in one shot.”
It was a voice that seemed to be sweeping away distant memories. The doctor clasped his hands together and became lost in his memories.
“Cure is a magic that anyone can learn at level 10. Every job.”
“… … .”
“I was wondering. When this debuff spreads to the beginner zone… … will the existing users come to the aid of the beginners?”
Labodo quietly recalled the incident.
“Will you volunteer? To heal a non-lethal, merely annoying debuff? Will this little ‘noblesse oblige’ happen?”
And, the users.
“It happened.”
I’m here to help beginners.
“It was a touching scene. More users than patients came running and spread cures everywhere. Everyone volunteered! The beginner village was completely purified in half a day.”
The lethargy debuff incident was resolved by the users themselves.
Before GM even intervened.
In the five years of operation, it was one of the most heartwarming incidents that Labo himself can remember.
“It was beautiful. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t enough. So I decided to increase the intensity of the experiment.”
I guessed what the experiment was.
Labo nodded.
“So… the ‘Water Prison Debuff’ incident was also your doing?”
“Yes, you know a lot.”
Season 4 raid boss Kraken’s debuff, ‘Water Prison’.
If you are affected by this debuff, you will be trapped in a large water droplet, and your HP will continuously decrease. You will also be unable to perform any actions other than using items or trading.
If another user touches this droplet, that user will also be trapped inside the droplet. It is a structure that is transmitted through contact.
“There is only one way to remove this debuff. It is the ‘Waterproof Potion’ that drops from the Kraken’s dungeon or is sold by the merchant in front of the Kraken boss room.”
The doctor took the waterproof potion out of his pocket and shook it.
“They were a bit pricey. They cost 50 gold each. The purchase limit was 50 per day.”
“… … .”
“But it’s a debuff that only needs to be lifted once during a raid. In fact, it’s not really that burdensome of an item. That’s only from the perspective of ‘users who can do raids.’”
The doctor laughed evilly.
“Do you remember what happened?”
“Ah… … I remember it well.”
In the city where the water prison spread, a real hell was unfolding.
“At first, a few kind-hearted users bought waterproof potions and gave them away for free. But when the quantity we had prepared ran out… … everyone got angry at those users. ‘Why aren’t you giving them to me?’”
“… … .”
“Do you remember what happened next?”
I remember it well. Labo sighed. The doctor continued his explanation with excitement.
“High-level users started ‘doing business.’ The price of a 50 gold waterproof potion instantly skyrocketed to 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1000 gold. Users who had the level to buy waterproof potions rushed to buy them to make a quick buck.”
The doctor clenched his fists and shook his shoulders.
“I can’t forget that chaos. Low-level users dying in the water prison, users fighting over potions, high-level users trying to get even a little more money… … .”
There was even a hint of joy in his voice as he spoke. The face behind the beak mask was probably smiling broadly.
“Can you imagine how much fun I had directing that Abigail?”
“… … .”
Labo asked, shaking his head slightly.
“So, Doctor, what are the conclusions of those two social experiments?”
“Ahem!”
The doctor coughed, put his hands together in front of his chest, and opened his mouth. He seemed like a teacher giving a lesson to a student.
“Cure is a magic that anyone can learn at level 10. In short, it’s not a valuable asset. You can just use it as much as you want as long as you have mana.”
“yes.”
“However, waterproof potions are limited in quantity and have a high price range. They are valuable goods.”
Two plagues spread through the city.
One was a minor illness, easily treatable.
One was a large bottle, expensive and limited in treatment.
“The former was a case of noblesse oblige. However, the latter was the opposite. High-level users took advantage of low-level users and made huge profits.”
And the results were very different.
“It may be premature to draw conclusions from only two experiments, but my conclusion is that humans do not help others out of good intentions.”
“Not helping out out of good intentions?”
“Humans simply use others to the extent that they need. The former obtain emotional satisfaction by being good people through low-cost goods, while the latter obtain additional financial gain through high-cost goods.”
The doctor, who had been pouring out his words, stepped back and bowed.
As if he were an actor on the closing stage of a play, concluding his story.
“That’s all there is to it.”
“Is that all?”
“But that’s all, it’s a very interesting story, isn’t it?”
Labo burst into laughter.
“You are truly… … a villain through and through.”
“Haha. I’ll take that as a compliment. Oh, by the way, I didn’t ask your name. And how did you get into my house?”
I was the only one who told me that this collection was amazing, so I found myself chatting away excitedly.
The doctor pretended to be startled and jumped back.
“Oh, are you the operator? Are you stuck? Is it the spirit tablet again? It’s okay. I backed up the collection, and if I do another experiment… … .”
“No. I’m not an operator, Doctor.”
Even though he was the ‘operator’, Labo swallowed his words and strode towards the doctor.
“I have come to ask for your partnership.”
“Partnership… you say?”
“Follow me and I’ll give you the ultimate social experiment.”
The doctor tilted his head. Labo slowly spoke.
“How do humans behave in a destroyed world?”
“… … ?!”
“When cities disappear, homes burn, and nations collapse from foreign enemies… … how do people act?”
This time, Labo tilted his head to the side.
“How is it? Are you interested, Doctor?”
Hot.
The next moment, the doctor ran towards Labo and grabbed Labo’s hands with both of his.
And then I shouted with great excitement.
“There is something there~!”
