Chapter 22

All players are given the qualification to leave Raycin the moment they achieve level 10.

Of course, it's not mandatory to leave. Players could stay in Raycin until they reached 99% experience at level 10.

When a player reached level 10 and spoke to the NPC village chief 'Kedlock' inside the large mansion in the center of the village, they would be sent to the mainland where the main game begins.

However, it was rare for a player to leave Raycin immediately upon reaching level 10. Most players preferred to stay a bit longer.

The reason was simple.

Boom!

[You have reached level 10. You can now perform the class change quest from the Back Order.]

"Ah! Finally level 10!"

"Now you can change your class, right? What class are you going to choose?"

"Is it up to me? I have to go with whatever the Back Order assigns."

"True, but still, try to choose a melee class. I'll go for a ranged class."

"Hey, let's meet up after the class change. If there's anything special, let me know."

Level 10 not only symbolized the end of the beginner zone but also the level at which players could obtain a class.

The trend at this point was to complete the class change in the beginner city before moving to the mainland.

"Why?"

-If you do the class change quest on the mainland, it tends to be a bit harder. Well, not a huge difference, but people generally want to make things as easy as possible.

"Hmm, I see."

So, would players immediately move to the mainland after hitting level 10 and completing their class change? Not really. Most players had similar thoughts.

-When you gain power, you want to use it.

The skills you get upon completing the class change!

Sword techniques and magic!

It was incredibly satisfying to see the wolves that you had struggled to defeat now being taken down with a single skill.

-After using your skills to the fullest and then moving to the mainland, or for those who want to push their limits in the beginner city, like you are now.

Raycin had a boss monster for players who couldn't be satisfied with just wolves.

-There, we've arrived.

Pushing through the bushes, they reached a spacious clearing. At one end of the clearing was a cave with a large hole in the rock wall.

"Looking for a tank to kill the Hell Beast! Burst damage dealer here!"

"Oh, healer, please come quickly. Have you seen the Hell Beast pattern guide video? Ah, if you haven't, take a moment to watch it. There's a detailed guide video for verbal abuse."

"Buying Hell Fire Essence at a high price!"

And about half of the spacious clearing was filled with players. They were shouting loudly, full of energy, making it feel like a bustling market.

"There are a lot of people here."

-If you limit it to outside the city, this is the second most crowded place. It's like a landmark in the beginner zone.

"Where's the first?"

-You eliminated it, remember? The place where the Horned Deer quest was.

"Oh, right."

Karpé nodded. Indeed, there were more players lined up to complete the deer quest here than anywhere else.

As Karpé approached the cave, the conversations of the surrounding people became clearer.

"Hey, did you see the video that went viral yesterday? The best one."

"Ah, that old quest video? Of course, I saw it. But when I went to the place in the video, there was no NPC."

-It seems to be a guerrilla quest, so the NPC's location might change. Anyway, who is it? The person is still in the beginner zone, right?

"Why? What would you do if you knew?"

-Not necessarily, but it would be nice to get to know them and maybe party together.

"Party? Did you even watch the video properly? That person can solo one-hit kills. The Hell Beast can be soloed too, so forget about a party."

"Ah, that guy. Can't even talk to him? He's so embarrassing."

-Anyway, someone like that wouldn't even consider a party with us. Hurry up and find a party member at our level. My time is running out.

"Ugh. Got it. Tank and healer here. Looking for a last damage dealer!"

Karpé's expression changed strangely as he listened to the conversation. The feeling was a mix of embarrassment and pleasure.

-Why don't you join a party, Mr. Heaven?

"…No thanks."

-Imagine it: You're in a party, and when the others struggle, you step forward and dominate. Can't you picture it? The others would say, "Oh! Mr. Karpé, how can you be so strong!" and "Add me as a friend!"

"Ah, no way! I'd be so embarrassed!"

-What if there's a female player in the party? She might blush and hesitate to talk to you, but you'd just smile and coolly leave. Wow, that's like a whole novel.

"…Bro, you really need to cut down on the novels."

You're really crazy. How can you describe such an embarrassing situation so casually?

-It's human nature to want recognition. There's no need to hide it. If you act shy now, how will you handle it when you become a star?

"I want to be the supreme, not a star."

-That's the point. Do you think the supreme won't be a star?

"That's true, but… Anyway, I'll think about the future when it comes."

The cave entrance was blocked by a transparent barrier. When Karpé touched it, a notification appeared.

[Do you want to enter the dungeon 'Hell Beast's Cave'?]

[If you form a party and enter, all party members will enter, and the difficulty will be adjusted based on the number of party members.]

*This is a special dungeon. It's a 'Time Attack Dungeon' where the clear time is recorded.

"Time Attack Dungeon?"

-Yeah. See those steles?

Next to the cave entrance, two large steles were erected. People were also recruiting party members near these steles.

"Recruiting for a record-breaking party. Only those with rare items or special classes can apply."

"Excuse me, I have a rare dagger from killing wolves. Can I join?"

"Ah, that's a bit…."

Min-su, Gwang-su, and Jung-su, known as the '3-su' among friends, were the main characters of the clearing party.

The 3-su ignored the gazes of the crowd and ran straight to the clear stele.

"Hey, hey! What rank are we? We must be in the top 20, right? Can we make it to the top 10?"

"Top 20 is too easy. From what I see, we're in the top 10… Oh, there it is! 17th place!"

"Wow. We must be the highest-ranked high schoolers. The rewards will be sweet."

"Let's get the rewards and quickly move to the mainland!"

The 3-su appeared as quickly as they left. Those who wanted to talk to them just stared at their backs in a daze.

"Seems there are rewards for ranking."

-Of course. But it's not that great. At 17th place, the village chief will probably just give a few potions and that's it.

"…Not very sweet at all. Then, do we really need to do it?"

-Many people don't. But as I said, humans want recognition.

Your name and record will be permanently engraved.

I don't know about someone like Karpé who has less desire for recognition, but for others, it can be very appealing.

-Plus, it can be a good resume. If you say, 'I achieved this record in the beginner zone,' it's easier to join a large guild.

Anyway, that's why players keep challenging the Hell Beast.

"But what does '???' mean in the rankings?"

-When you enter the rankings, you can choose whether to reveal your ID. If you choose to keep it private, it shows as '???'.

"Oh, I see. And the top rank is my brother?"

-Hehe. Did you figure it out?

"Well, it's not hard to guess."

The top solo player's record was 1 minute and 7 seconds. It was overwhelmingly better than the second place.

"Who else could make such a bug-like record besides my brother?"

-Many people called it a bug. Now it's just a memory.

On the second day of Lase's opening, when others couldn't even clear it, making such a record would naturally draw such comments.

-It's been half a year, but no one has come close. At least the second place did well.

"Second place… Tado Tushin? It sounds familiar."

Karpé narrowed his brows, trying to remember who it was, but he couldn't. Well, if his memory is fuzzy, it must have been a trivial matter.

Karpé stood in front of the cave entrance, thinking this.

At that moment, a man approached Karpé.

"Excuse me, would you like to join a party?"

The man glanced at the armor Karpé was wearing. He must have recognized it as a rare armor.

"Ah, sorry. I want to try solo."

"Oh… I see. It will be tough solo, but I wish you luck. If you fail, please come find us."

The man left, clearly not believing Karpé would succeed.

-We won't see that guy again.

"Agreed."

Karpé just chuckled.

[Do you want to enter the Hell Beast's Cave?]

"Yes."

[Confirmed as solo play. You will be moved into the dungeon in 5 seconds.]

Thus, 5 seconds later, Karpé disappeared in front of the cave.

* * *

The inside of the dungeon was a vast, enclosed space, with walls and a ceiling.

There were no other passages, like a coliseum.

[The Hell Beast will be summoned in 3 minutes. Prepare for battle.]

A notification appeared immediately after entering, and a 3-minute timer appeared in the corner of the screen, starting to count down.

"Seems it's a dungeon where you directly face the boss."

-Yeah. No place to hide or run. It's a perfect stage for those who want to test their own strength.

"Definitely."

No obstacles, and the space is wide. The developers' intention to fight with minimal variables is clear.

"Xiang."

When Karpé called, a black squirrel popped out of his shadow. This was the effect of Xiang's skill 'Shadow Step'.

[Shadow Step (隱影步) - Lv. 1]

-You can move between your shadow and the shadows of your minions. The maximum distance increases with the skill level.

A skill that allows you to stay in or move through shadows.

Karpé had been using this skill to keep Xiang hidden.

If he brought a pet around in the beginner zone, other players would undoubtedly ask a lot of questions.

"Chirp chirp."

"Sure, sure. Sorry for keeping you in a cramped place. It's my fault."

Karpé petted Xiang, who climbed onto his shoulder and acted cute. Then, he took out the Green Skin Slayer from his inventory and equipped it.

-Those gloves, they're really a cheat item. How can you equip another weapon on top of them?

Chunma whistled.

Since it had attack power, it was expected to be classified as a weapon. However, the legendary gloves were classified as 'accessory items,' allowing another weapon to be equipped on top of them.

"Didn't I check this on the way here? What's the big deal?"

-It's just so ridiculous. How can an accessory item have attack power comparable to gauntlets? It's like a broken, poorly balanced game.

Thus, Karpé now had the attack power of two weapons.

While Chunma and Karpé were grumbling, the timer's remaining time quickly passed.

The moment the timer hit 1 minute.

Boom.

A magic circle appeared on the cave floor, summoning a giant monster.

[The Hell Beast, the guardian of Hell, is summoned!]

A 10-star player, strengthened by luck.