Chapter 13

Bang!

The giant deer fell to the ground from Carpe's attack.

[You have defeated the Mutant Stag.]

[You have obtained the quest item 'Mutant Stag's Antler.' Return to the worried farmer to claim your quest reward!]

[Level Up! You have been awarded bonus points.]

“Phew. It’s over.”

Although the One-Pi-Dan members caused the main and guest to be inverted, Carpe originally entered this forest to complete the quest.

-Well done. Now, let’s head back to the village and claim the quest reward.

“Hmm. It’s a bit disappointing to leave now. There are still quite a few One-Pi-Dan members around.”

They were, after all, the efficient mobs that dropped items one by one when caught. From Carpe’s perspective, he wanted to maximize his gains, but...

-There’s nothing we can do. You saw them, didn’t you? They’re traveling in groups now.

“Right.”

It seemed that an order had come from above, and at some point, they started traveling in groups. Instead of the usual 3-4 person parties, they now moved in groups of at least 8.

Even if Carpe was limited to being a beginner city’s version of Guan Yu, such numbers were indeed burdensome. He was confident he could survive, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility of being logged out if he made a mistake.

-Now that you’ve messed with the One-Pi-Dan, they’re on high alert. There’s no merit in taking unnecessary risks and hunting them right now.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Carpe’s level was now just 3. With the beginner city’s level cap still 7 levels away, there was plenty of room for growth.

“There’s no need to rush. So, guerrilla quests from now on?”

-Not really. As I mentioned, there are specific conditions for NPCs to appear. Even if you go now, they won’t be there. Sometimes, they don’t appear for a week.

“Seriously? So if I’m unlucky, I have to wait a week in the starting village?”

That’s a bit much.

Carpe looked at Chonma with a doubtful expression, and Chonma gave him the answer he wanted.

-Of course not. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. When we warped to Rayshin, the system clearly said it was June 1st.

“Right.”

The date referred to the in-game date, not the real-world date.

-What time is it?

“Let’s see, it’s... 11:37 AM in-game time.”

-Just a moment.

Chonma paused for a moment, then exhaled loudly and said,

-In 4 hours and 27 minutes. The location is the church to the 5 o'clock direction from the central square.

“Huh? What are you doing now?”

-Nothing much. I just calculated the coordinates where the NPC will appear using the formula.

“...”

So that’s how it works. Carpe looked at Chonma with a bewildered expression and asked again,

“How did you do that?”

-Hmm. It’s not hard to explain, but do you know high school-level vector math and basic college-level calculus?

“...No.”

-Do you still want to know? It might be hard to understand.

“No, it’s fine. And I apologize.”

Chonma, it turns out, was a science major. He looked like someone who would just enforce discipline at a physical education university.

Carpe thought to himself and bowed his head.

-Well, the process isn’t important to you. You won’t be doing this quest again anyway. I’ll just tell you the result.

“Right. Everyone has their own specialty. I’ll focus on grinding and leveling up.”

-That’s the spirit.

“So, while we wait for the guerrilla quest, should I level up? And what’s the best way to level up in Rayshin? Any hidden pieces would be great too.”

-There happens to be a hidden piece that’s perfect for a user who’s as conscientious as you. The closest hidden piece is to beat the hell out of the scarecrows in the city training ground.

“Scarecrows?”

-It’s a common cliché. When other players leave the village to hunt, if you stay in the beginner training ground and relentlessly beat the scarecrows, the instructor will approach you with a pleased smile, saying, ‘Haha! It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a determined young person!’ and shower you with items and titles.

“...Is that really in Rayshin?”

-Yes. But you have to hit them a lot.

“How many?”

-100,223 times.

“...How many?”

A hundred... thousand?

No, even if you hit them once per second, it would take over 24 hours!

“I don’t think I heard that wrong. But how did you figure that out?”

-After regressing for the third time, I was a bit out of it... I hit them mindlessly and figured it out.

“Did you really count 100,000 hits?”

There’s no such thing as a pervert.

“No, but if it’s 100,000, why 100,223?”

-It’s to trick people like you who think something will happen at exactly 100,000 hits.

“What a crazy game. And you, Chonma, are also crazy for figuring that out.”

-Yeah, I was really crazy back then. Anyway, the reward is pretty decent. Want to try it?

“...No, let’s go with another route.”

-I knew you’d say that. Fortunately, there’s another suitable one. Let’s go with that.

* * *

Upon arriving in the city, Carpe first completed the farmer’s quest and received the reward. According to Chonma, the lower the clear level, the higher the gold reward.

Since Carpe’s level was 3, he received a suitable amount of gold. Additionally, he received a notification that the farmer’s favor had increased, and his level went up by 1 again.

[You have completed the quest.]

[Level Up! You have been awarded bonus points.]

After that, Carpe visited the general store and bought the items Chonma told him to. He had enough money after organizing the quest rewards and the items he obtained from the One-Pi-Dan.

Three acorns and an empty bottle.

Carpe bought these items, filled the empty bottle with water from the fountain in the village square, and then left the city.

“This is the opposite direction from where the mutant stags are. The area is wider than I thought.”

-It’s a beginner area, but the map is quite large. There are many hidden pieces as well.

Many beginner players were engaged in tough battles with animals not far from the village.

“Hey! This crazy squirrel! Why is it so quick!”

“Ah! Ow! The rabbit bit my leg. Oh no! I lost half my health!”

“Yeah, yeah! I caught the rabbit by biting it back!”

It was a scene of chaos.

Perhaps this is what it looked like when humans first started hunting.

“...This is a bit depressing.”

-If you didn’t have the title bonus stats, you’d be rolling around in that mess... but not really.

You’re the second-ranked player in the world, after all. Even without the bonus stats, you wouldn’t have struggled against those animals.

Chonma thought this and led Carpe deep into the forest near the village.

After some time, they arrived at an open space in the middle of the forest, centered around a large tree.

-Good. Here.

“No one is here?”

-There’s nothing to gather and no mobs, so no one would be here. Now, take out one of the acorns and scatter it under that tree.

“Like this?”

Swish.

The moment Carpe threw the acorn under the tree, a large shadow appeared from above and darted towards the acorn.

Ding!

[A hidden monster, 'Tyrant Squirrel,' has appeared!]

The squirrel was so large that it was embarrassing to compare it to the ones he saw near the village. The Tyrant Squirrel picked up the acorn, stuffed it in its cheek, and started making sharp noises at Carpe.

“Squeak!!!”

“No way, what kind of squirrel is that?! It’s bigger than a Jindo dog!”

-It’s still a squirrel. With your current stats, it’s harder to lose.

Indeed, while it was labeled as 'hidden,' it was just an enhanced version of the squirrel in the beginner village.

Having already defeated a Goblin Warrior in the tutorial, this monster wasn’t very threatening to Carpe.

“Phew. Anyway, since it’s a hidden monster, it should give a lot of experience. Maybe 3 levels for one kill?”

-You’re still making unrealistic statements. Rayshin prevents power-leveling through loopholes. No matter how strong the monster, you won’t gain more than one level.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

In the tutorial, he only gained one level after defeating a level 35 Goblin Warrior. Now he knew why.

Jeonghoon took a deep breath and pulled out the 'Green Skin Slayer' from his inventory, equipping it. He then pointed it at the Tyrant Squirrel with a serious expression.

“For coveting my acorns, you deserve to die.”

-...Crazy guy.

“Hah!”

Carpe rushed at the Tyrant Squirrel at high speed. The result was exactly as Chonma predicted, very anticlimactic.

“Squeak!”

[Level Up!]

[Your level is now 5.]

[You have been awarded bonus stats and skill points.]

Precisely three sword strikes.

The Tyrant Squirrel couldn’t do anything and fell to Carpe’s sword.

...It was just a squirrel, no matter how strong.

“Oh. A drop item?”

-Luckily, it dropped on the first hit.

The body of the Tyrant Squirrel turned to ashes and disappeared, leaving behind a large acorn. Carpe picked up the acorn and checked its information.

[Tyrant Squirrel’s Acorn]

[Category: Material]

[Grade: Rare]

[This is an acorn cherished by the Tyrant Squirrel in the forest near Rayshin. It can be sold to a collector merchant for a high price.]

“Wow. This is great.”

Just by defeating one monster, he gained a level and a rare material item. Indeed, information is power. The 0-star background spirit he thought was a dud turned out to be the strongest background spirit!

“With this, the hidden piece here is complete...”

-What are you talking about? We haven’t even started. Plant the acorn you just got.

“Huh?”

-After planting it, pour the water you brought from the fountain. Something interesting will happen.

“This isn’t the end?”

Carpe did as Chonma instructed, planting the acorn and pouring water over it. A sprout grew from the planted spot and quickly grew into a 4-meter tall tree.

“...Wow.”

-Good. It worked. Do you see a large hole in the tree trunk?

“Yes.”

-Place your hand on it.

The moment Carpe placed his hand on the black hole,

Ding.

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, 'Nest of the Tyrant Squirrel.']

[Dungeon Grade: Hero ~ Legendary]

[Level Restriction: Level 5 or below]

[When entering the dungeon for the first time, the experience points and item drop rate from monsters will increase by 100%.]

[The drop rate of the boss monster will increase by 200%.]

Carpe’s mouth dropped open.

-Ready?

“...”

-Ready to sweep all the hidden pieces?

“...When I read martial arts novels, I always found the demon sects much better than the righteous factions.”

Heavenly Demon Manifestation (天魔現世) Ten Thousand Demons Bow (萬魔仰伏)!

A devout demon sect follower was present here, worshiping Chonma.

A 10-star player who became strong through luck.