Daisuke blinked his eyes open, l the hands that had instinctively shielded his face. For once, he hadn’t smashed his head against solid stohe st thing he recalled was the fliving way beh him, the overwhelmiion of being swallowed by a n of blinding light—and the frustrating realization that he’d missed the ce to secure Gothor’s corpse before being teleported to God-knows-where.

  It didn’t take him long to realize where he was—a graveyard. The air was thick with the stench of death and decay. Standing at the ter of a sprawling, sixty-meter crater, Daisuke sed his surroundings, wary and alert. The skeletal remains of tless monster species bhe massive iion like fresh snow on asphalt, though this sight was anything but sere was utterly chilling.

  Activating the Eye of Verity, Daisuke quickly verified his location. He’d somehow been transported into a Hidden Dungeon; the ominous purple aura seeping from every crevice firmed as much. But was this twist of fate a blessing or a curse?

  “I guess only time will tell,” he muttered under his breath as he started to climb over the ivory bones scattered across the desote ndscape. That bastard, he thought, recalling Gothor’s malicious grin as it shattered the grouh him. Was this its a the hole, to trap me here… or worse, to let me bee fodder for the mobs lurking in this pce?

  Willing the shiver creeping up his spio cease, Daisuke carefully checked that Zephyr was still led safely in his shirt. The pup was sound asleep, the aftermath of the Berserk still weighing heavily on him. Afterward, he g his HP, MP, and the cooldown time of his skills, before taking a quick swig of mana potion to restore himself. With a steadying breath, he began sg the steep ine, wishing he had something higher up to anchor his magic s.

  That would certainly make this a heck of a lot easier.

  Daisuke exhaled in relief as he emerged from the eerie basin, momentarily lost in thought. The se reminded him of the catastrophic aftermath often shown on dotaries when dinosaurs were said to have been wiped out by an asteroid—though the scale of destru here, he imagined, paled in parison to the extin-scale event that ehe Mesozoic Era.

  Mentally assigning the Dash and Shadow Veil skills to speed dial, Daisuke sed his surroundings with uo his surprise, several other craters marred the ndscape, each teeming with the skeletal remains of various monsters.

  Familiarizing himself with the area was crucial; he khere had to be a foe out there eager to either devour or tear him apart. The first to find the other would hold the advantage, and Daisuke was fident as he had a particur set of skills that would grant him the upper hand in this grim game of survival.

  The Bird’s-Eye View and Eagle Eye skills bio grant Daisuke an aerial perspective of the dark dungeon, but it wasn’t as detailed as he had hoped. A thick mist rolled across the barren terrain, obsg much of the ndscape.

  However, he could at least firm that this chamber was the only one present, and its sheer size more than pensated for the absence of additional floors. The vast exparetched out all around him, filled with ominous shadootential dangers, creating an atmosphere thick with tension and anticipation.

  Oable feature caught Daisuke’s attention: a t tree in the far western region of the dungeon. It loomed like a natural mo, its expansive branches reag skyward with an a majesty. Embedded within its bark were glowing ks of mana crystals that emitted a soft, ethereal light, casting a gentle luminesce along its limbs and filtering through its dense opy.

  The light shimmered down radiantly, illuminating the tree’s vibrant emerald leaves and trag the tours of its sprawling roots. In the oppressive gloom of the dungeon, shrouded in mist, the tree stood as a bea—a living ntern amidst the darkness. It was no surprise, then, that a small hut had beeed beh its expansive branches.

  Daisuke approached cautiously, daggers at the ready as he felt a sense of unease wash over him. The patch of nd enpassing the tree and the hut seemed out of pce, as if it had been plucked from the pages of a fairytale. Vibrant butterflies flitted about, perched delicately on bdes of grass that carpeted the rolling meadow. A small pond, framed by decorative stones, shimmered uhe soft light, teeming with fish and other aquatic life. Nearby, a well-tended garden burst with color, a riot of flowers and pnts thriving against the odds.

  This enting sery stood in stark trast to the looming, dungeonesque features that surrou, creating an otherworldly oasis amid the decay and despair. It was clear that the resident of the crude dwelling wasn’t fond of strangers or trespassers, because it didn’t take long before an imposing figure emerged from the building.

  The bipedal, reptilian humanoid towered at least twelve feet tall, its powerful frame and muscur tail gleaming golden armor and rugged leather that starkly trasted with its brilliant red scales. Two massive dadao swords were strapped across its back, their bdes glinting menagly ihereal light. Its striking blue eyes shimmered with an iy remi of a tidal wave, filled with both curiosity and a tent ferocity that warned Daisuke to tread carefully.

  The atmosphere shifted as the creature stepped forward, the ground trembling slightly beh its weight. With every deliberate movement, it exuded an aura of authority, an unspoken and that hi the strength and skill it possessed.

  DING!

  [The Hidden Dungeon Boss awakens to your presence!]

  DING!

  [?Kaizyreus, the ons Master? approaches!]

  DING!

  [Kaizyreus | Lvl 430 | Named Monster | HP: 119411000/119411000]

  The blood drained from Daisuke’s face.

  ***

  “Kheh?!”

  “Gheeki?!”

  A band of Goblins darted into hiding, making themselves scarce as waves of grinning humans swept through the dense forestry. Despite their innate loathing for people, instinctively, all manner of beasts shrank back, sensing the dark i in the air.

  But these humans weren’t here for mohey were orail of something far more entig. Their faces, twisted with greed, betrayed their aim: they hunted a single, elusive human, a target precious enough to justify the ruthless pursuit unfolding across the wilderness.

  Dozens of individuals, meraries, and several guilds dotted the forest floor, exging gossip about a pyer rumored to possess a legendary skill—ohat not only allowed him to locate and one-shot unique monsters but also to transform rocks into gold aire kes into healing elixirs.

  As word of Haxks Starfrost circuted across the web, spreading like wildfire through online unities, cims of his abilities quickly spiraled out of trol. Yet, even if most of these cims were exaggerated, one fact was undeniable and verified by the Leaderboard: Haxks had cleared both a standard and a hidden dungeoed five Field Bosses, and taken down a unique mohat alone was reason enough to justify the hunt.

  One among the hunters, however, sought a different kind of prize. cealed behind a thick tree trunk, a male journalist quietly shadowed a group, eavesdropping on ss of versation exged between several suspicious figures. Leading them was a man outfitted in high-grade gear, his attire setting him apart from the others who trailed behind in worn, dark attire—the unmistakable mark of hired meraries.

  A crude, metallic device—remi of a modern-day drone—hovered soundlessly beside the anxious journalist. Its mana crystal lens, ented to capture both visuals and audio, glowed faintly. Intricate runes engraved along the gadget’s frame enabled flight, levitatioe trol, silence, and a host of other elements. These runes made the device both discreet and highly effit for the task at hand.

  Fighting to steady his shaking knees, railed the group as quietly as he could. But when a Honey nded on his forehead, he barely mao choke dowartled scream rising in his throat.

  “What was that?” one of the meraries demanded, his sudden outburst stopping the group iracks.

  “…I didn’t hear anything,” replied anng around.

  “Me her,” added a third, watg as his rade peered suspiciously around, then approached the dense brush where the sound had supposedly e from.

  As the Honey crawled onto his nose aled there, Nigel slowly slid dowrunk of the tree that neighbored said brush, tears pooling in his eyes, his bdder teetering on the brink of disaster.

  Gripping his polearm, the merary edged toward the suspicious bushes, his gaze fixed as he prepared to probe them with the bde of the on. Nigel paled, soolih his . Just as his hiding spot was about to be promised, a Bullet Hare shot out from the undergrowth and darted into the opy—only to be brought down mid-leap by a ruthless volley of throwing knives.

  “False arm,” the man said with a frustrated sigh as he sheathed his menag on.

  “You bastard,” another man replied, a devilish grin spreading across his face. “You’re just itg to kill something, aren’t you?”

  “It’s that obvious, huh?”

  “Let’s move,” ahe man impressive gear. “The longer we lihe greater our disadvantage.”

  Nigel let out a sigh of relief, only to nearly yelp as the Honey decided his nose was the perfeding pad for its stinger. As it daintily buzzed away, he quickly peeked over the brush to check if he’d been heard. With tears streaming down his face, he gulped down an antidote, his nose now swollen and glowing like a traffic light. “Great, just what I needed,” he muttered, fighting to keep his posure.

  Simir to obtaining a driver’s lise, the minimum age to py Sehrei Online was set at sixteen. However, eligibility extended beyond just age. Just as some individuals possessed a natural tolerance f-forces or seasiess, pying Sehrei Online demanded a unique kind of talent.

  Unfortunately fel, he didn’t quite fit that bill. To make matters worse, the game’s hyperrealistiature deterred many parents from letting their children py. Even with the option to lower the immersion level, the thought of being devoured limb by limb—agonizingly slow—by a monster was enough to instill a serious case of lifelong trauma, no matter how you sliced it.

  Fortunately, Nigel wasn’t part of the game’s diverse user base for the thrill of hunting, adventure, lory. He was a journalist, and Sehrei Online was his full-time gig—his bread and butter. By crafting informational aertaining tent in the form of newsletters, videos, and live streams, he could gee ine aultiple ptforms. It was a lucrative niche, provided one knew how to market their work and spin a pelling story.

  Of course, acquiring exceptional tent material required a certain degree of hunting and exploration, but Nigel wasn’t about to let that dampen his enthusiasm. As a journalist, he had the flexibility to choose a subcss that suited his rep style. For those eager to get up close and personal during dungeon raids uild wars, a tanky subcss might be ideal, allowing them to withstand crossfire and motacks. versely, if someone was more ied in c stories about the undead, a clerical or neancy css would prove invaluable for their needs.

  Nigel, for his part, opted for the assassin css. It erfect for pyers who wao ambush and stealthily take down their foes. However, it also had a reputation as the go-to css for cowards looking to specialize in hiding and making a swift exit. When it came to leveling up, he employed a different strategy altogether: he simply paid rao ?power-level? or ?carry? him. In essence, while he maintained a safe distance, powerful party members would sy monsters, ensuring he received a full hundred pert of the Experience Points without lifting a finger.

  After downing a potion and witnessing his once-swollen nose gradually return to normal, ook a calming breath and resummoned his drone. His instincts were rarely wrong, and this time they were whispering that following this group would lead him to great fortune—and by “fortune,” he meant a massive scoop that could make headlines and fatten his wallet.

  Though, if I had to be pletely ho, I’m curious about this guy in the fancy gear. Why does he look so familiar? Where have I seen him before?

  Vaughn_RR_Seider