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The E-World User Management Team oversees all users, including those active in the starting village. However, such instances were rare.

It had been a year since the game launched.

Many geniuses had come and gone, leaving the team struggling to manage them all.

But Lee Won-sang, the team lead, was currently focused not on a top-ranked player, but on one user in the starting village.

[‘Unknown Power’ has enabled the user to surpass their current stat limits.]
[A new stat, 《Dexterity》, has been created.]
[Agility +3, Dexterity +2 permanently increased.]

“Unbelievable.”

It had happened again.

Suddenly, his synchronization rate and other stats skyrocketed, resulting in permanent increases.

Was this even possible?

Most players needed hours of repetitive training or special actions to increase their stats by even one point. But this guy was gaining stats through some "unknown power"?

It was baffling.

For Lee Won-sang, this was entirely incomprehensible.

But today was an unusual day—his boss was out on an external assignment, leaving no one to report this to.

For now, all he could do was watch and wait.

And there was more: seeing the hidden pieces obtained by user Seong made him shake his head in despair.

He had swept up rewards from the butcher's shop as well.

At this rate, a ridiculous monster of a player was going to emerge.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

‘Immortal insists this isn’t a bug and has already ruled it as non-violative behavior.’

Eternal World wasn’t an old game, but it had a spotless record when it came to preventing cheating.

The top-tier AI Immortal had analyzed the situation and declared the same—there was no issue here.

While one player's rapid growth wouldn't necessarily harm the game, a growth of this scale could stir up complaints from others. It warranted close observation.

‘I’d feel better if he just didn’t share any of this.’

Still, surely there wasn’t much left for him to gain now.

As Lee Won-sang was mulling over these thoughts, his subordinate, Oh Jin-hyuk, spoke up.

“Uh, sir? Isn’t he heading over there?”

“Where?”

“Isn’t that where the hidden dungeon is?”

“What? There’s a hidden dungeon in Hindel Village??”

“Yes, right here…”

Oh Jin-hyuk pulled up the game records for Hindel Village, and sure enough, there it was.

The Hidden Dungeon: Hunter’s Forest.

It wasn’t just hard to discover—it had extremely specific entry requirements.

“So, the conditions are… possessing the Steel Sword and the ‘Expert Butcher’ title?”

“Yes, exactly…”

“Which means…”

“It’s definitely him.”

“...Yeah.”

Lee Won-sang burst into laughter, nodding.

The fact that he was actually heading there was mind-blowing.

Thinking about it, the "Foggy Forest of Hindel Village" had been a frequent topic of speculation on various strategy forums.

Most players in Hindel Village wandered into that forest at some point.

While none had unlocked the hidden dungeon due to unmet conditions, this time, it was different.

User Seong, having met the conditions, was heading straight for it.

Seong wasn’t the first to meet these conditions in Hindel Village.

However, most users who fulfilled the criteria did so early in the game and quickly moved on from the starting village.

It made sense that it was only being discovered now.

But why did it have to be that user, Seong?

“At this point, it’s like a ghost is guiding him.”

“What? Really?!”

“Of course not!!!”

“Ahhh!”

“Ugh… If he gets this… he’s going to pick up that item too, isn’t he? Hah, no, it’s fine. As long as he stops at this, it’ll be fine. Yeah… fine.”

As Lee Won-sang muttered in denial, Oh Jin-hyuk thought to himself:

‘Whenever someone says that, they always end up getting more.’

But he wisely kept that thought to himself.

Oh Jin-hyuk wasn’t stupid.

1.

Following the path revealed by the elderly ghost, Seong pressed onward as the fog thickened.

No wonder no one had found this place.

Using the in-game search function, Seong had seen records of other players who reached this misty area but reportedly ended up wandering in circles.

A maze-like place that trapped anyone who entered.

The area was widely known among players as the “Foggy Forest,” but the elderly ghost had called it something else.

‘A magical barrier surrounds this place,’ the ghost had said.

The barrier could supposedly be broken with the help of Hindel Village’s wizard. But meeting the wizard wasn’t exactly easy.

Another method involved meeting specific conditions, which Seong had fulfilled.

Possessing the Steel Sword and holding the title ‘Expert Butcher’ were the requirements to enter.

Apparently, the barrier was designed to keep out inexperienced adventurers, allowing only seasoned hunters through.

Even for Seong, these were not simple conditions to meet.

Without the help of the ghosts, he wouldn’t have obtained either the Steel Sword or the butcher title.

As he pressed on through the dense fog, a message appeared before him.

[All conditions fulfilled. You are entering the Field-Type Hidden Dungeon: 『Hunter’s Forest』.]
[You have discovered the Hidden Dungeon for the first time!]
[Title 『Explorer』 acquired.]
[First Discovery Reward granted.]
[Butchering success rate in 『Hunter’s Forest』 increased by 50%.]
[Quality of butchered items in 『Hunter’s Forest』 increased by 50%.]
[First Discovery Reward effects last until dungeon clearance.]

Faced with the flood of messages, Seong carefully reviewed them.

“Whoa.”

The rewards for discovering just one hidden dungeon were overwhelming.

He hadn’t even cleared it yet, and the game was already showering him with bonuses.

And a new title, too?

Seong immediately opened the title interface.

『Explorer』
→《Rare》
→Awarded to users who discover a Hidden Dungeon for the first time.
→Increases item drop rate in Hidden Dungeons by 20%.

It felt a bit underwhelming to call it a good title.

After all, the Hunter’s Forest only contained beast-type monsters that had to be butchered. Since they didn’t drop items outright, the title wasn’t immediately useful.

Moreover, the effects only applied to hidden dungeons, which were rare to discover. Without the first discovery rewards, it might have been a bit disappointing.

Still, having a new title was better than nothing.

And who knows?

"Maybe the boss will drop something interesting."

With that hopeful thought, Seong stepped into the dungeon.

As soon as he entered the Field-Type Hidden Dungeon: Hunter’s Forest, the thick fog dissipated like a dream, revealing a mystical forest.

Golden sunlight filtered through the towering, ancient trees, casting shimmering beams that illuminated the ground below.

Bioluminescent moss glowed faintly, while fireflies danced around it, adding an ethereal touch to the forest’s atmosphere.

“Wow.”

For someone as composed as Seong, who rarely voiced his emotions, this sight was enough to draw a genuine exclamation.

He took a deep breath and surveyed the surroundings.

The lush greenery of the forest exuded an otherworldly beauty—a testament to nature’s grandeur.

As Seong admired the scenery, movement caught his attention in the distance.

Turning his head, he spotted a deer with shimmering green fur.

“Oh.”

The creature let out a low whinny, almost like a horse, pawing at the ground in preparation to charge.

Its long antlers looked particularly menacing. Seong quietly unsheathed the steel sword strapped to his waist.

Sssrrrng—.

The blade quivered as it slid free.

"A green stag, huh?"

Seong glanced at the creature’s name floating above its head as he tightened his grip on the sword.

In most beginner hunting grounds, deer were the strongest monsters one would encounter.

After rabbits, deer were the next tier up, but most new players avoided hunting them unless it was part of a quest.

However, this green stag appeared to be a tier above the ordinary deer.

"This could be fun."

As that thought crossed Seong’s mind, the green stag charged at him.

With a loud whinny, the green stag rushed forward. Its speed was anything but slow.

It aimed its antlers straight at Seong, using its momentum to try and impale him.

But Seong wasn’t an ordinary player.

As the charging stag closed the gap, memories from Hunter Apik suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Drawing on the hunter’s experiences, Seong waited until the very last moment before sidestepping lightly to evade.

Much like rabbits, stags weren’t adept at changing direction mid-charge.

Whoosh!

The green stag rushed past him, its eyes tracking Seong as he effortlessly dodged. The next thing it saw was Seong raising his sword.

That was the last image the stag could process.

With a fluid and swift motion, Seong brought his sword down in a gleaming arc, slicing through the stag’s neck without resistance.

[Critical Hit!]
[『One Strike!』 effect activated!]

With a heavy thud, the stag’s lifeless body hit the ground, skidding along the forest floor.

Another clean one-hit kill.

The combined effects of a critical hit and the One Strike! title had proven too much for the stag to withstand.

This time, Seong felt even faster than when he hunted rabbits. That was thanks to the spirit of Hunter Apik.

His Agility had increased by three points since then, and his new stat, Dexterity, seemed to enhance his precision.

"Dexterity seems to make a difference too."

While his higher agility improved his speed, dexterity allowed him to maintain control despite the increased pace.

His swordsmanship felt sharper and more refined than before.

"Not bad."

The thrill of hunting the green stag far surpassed that of hunting rabbits.

"This is really fun."

With his heart racing, Seong stored the stag’s corpse in his inventory.

He didn’t butcher it immediately for a good reason: as long as he avoided taking down the boss monster, he could take advantage of the First Discovery Rewards by butchering everything later.

Why waste the thrill of the hunt by rushing to butcher?

Both Hunter Apik’s and the ghost instructor’s memories and skills were invaluable, but Seong hadn’t fully adapted to them yet.

"I need to get better."

It wasn’t enough to rely on borrowed experiences. He needed to make them his own.

Venturing deeper into the forest, Seong encountered another green stag.

The creature charged at him, but just like before, Seong utilized Apik’s memories and the instructor’s techniques to take it down with ease.

[Critical Hit!]
[『One Strike!』 effect activated!]

The hunt continued.

As the number of stags increased, so did the intensity of the battles.

Even when faced with three green stags at once, the result remained the same.

If anything, the challenge only made it more exhilarating.

The stags attacked in staggered intervals, making it difficult to dodge them all at once. However, this forced Seong to refine his footwork, learning to move gracefully and adapt to the situation.

When the first stag charged, Seong sidestepped and struck it down with a swift slash.

As the second one approached, he crouched low before leaping upward, slicing its neck in a diagonal arc from below.

The final stag charged at him, and Seong leaped into the air, performing an acrobatic slash that severed its neck mid-flight.

[Critical Hit!]
[『One Strike!』 effect activated!]
[Critical Hit!]
[『One Strike!』 effect activated!]
[Critical Hit!]
[『One Strike!』 effect activated!]
[You have defeated more than 30 beast-type monsters of equal or higher level in one strike.]
[Title 『Hunter』 acquired!]

Having just taken down three stags in quick succession, Seong couldn’t help but smirk slightly as he murmured to himself:

"This is doable."