The Golden Fox's Nightmare
Quaaang! The scarecrow shattered completely. It was thanks to properly controlling the recoil of the wooden sword.
“Huff! Hah! Give me a new wooden sword!”
“Ah, understood!”
At some point, the soldiers who had been speaking down to users began using honorifics. Bang! Crash! Thud!
“Huuu…”
Resting for a minute at a time while striking the scarecrows, I received a new wooden sword every three destroyed ones. The more I repeated the swordsmanship, the more my body felt like it was adapting to the virtual reality.
“Here’s a wooden sword!”
“Thank you.”
Bang! Bang!
“Here you go.”
I lost track of time. There was only training to regain my senses.
Quaaaaang! Krrrrrrk!
The fifty-sixth scarecrow was smashed to pieces. Finally, a single strike to the crown had destroyed it in one blow.
Crack. The wooden sword broke along with it.
“H-here you are!”
“……”
Thud! Crunch!
The scarecrow, stabbed through the heart, folded in half.
“……”
Now even the soldier handed over the wooden sword without a word.
Whoosh! Crack!
The scarecrow whose lower body vital point had been perfectly destroyed lost balance and collapsed.
“……Huuu.”
I moved to the next scarecrow.
“Ah, you can use as many as you like!”
A newbie user who had arrived before me was standing there, holding a crudely designed camera in his hands.
“……What’s that?”
“Oh, I saw there was a recording function and turned it on. Is that not allowed?”
At least the Dimension Gate II I was using didn’t have that feature. It seemed to be a function supported only on the latest devices.
“Please make sure my face isn’t visible.”
“Of course! Thank you!”
I passed the newbie and resumed training on the next scarecrow.
Crack!
How many hours had passed? Most of the scarecrows in the training ground were now destroyed. Without the endlessly sustained buffs, it would have been impossible. With only 5 Strength, there was a physical limit.
The results were clear. At least against stationary targets, my body had adapted to movements that delivered the greatest damage along the optimal path.
“……Now it’s time to move on to real combat.”
I realized it was time to graduate from the beginner training ground. Just as the veteran at the fountain had said, it was time to hunt rabbits in the eastern forest and develop a sense for real battles.
The wooden swords given directly by the training instructor NPC are far higher quality than regular ones. Their durability is also extremely high, so they last a long time.
To receive the hidden reward the veteran user had mentioned—the wooden sword with high durability that could be used for a long time—I turned my head.
“Please follow me. I was ordered to guide you to the instructor’s office once training is complete.”
“Ah. I see.”
Come to think of it, the training instructor had disappeared at some point. For someone of the instructor’s caliber, watching repetitive training would hardly be entertaining, so it was only natural.
‘Interesting. In this game too, the NPCs feel just like real people.’
Mason was definitely a company that made games well. Their greatest strength was knowing how to create an environment that let users become fully immersed.
“Yes. Please guide me.”
Following the soldier, I arrived in front of a modestly decorated small building. Remodeling traces in the style of a Korean hanok were visible here and there, likely from another user’s touch.
“You may go inside.”
When I opened the door and entered, the remodeling signs became even more pronounced. Koreans were truly serious about decoration.
“You recognize it. It’s the traditional style of the Joseon Dynasty, isn’t it? I once entrusted it to a foreign architect on a whim.”
“I see. More importantly, it seems you have something to say to me.”
“Indeed. Will you listen to my story?”
The scent of a quest. This development was something neither the veteran at the fountain nor Sung-chul hyung had mentioned.
“Of course.”
That only made me more excited.
“I’m retired now and only manage this small training ground, but I once took pride in being a Royal Knight. Compared to you, it was a smooth life.”
I had heard about Royal Knights from Sung-chul hyung. He had excitedly told me that our country’s first Royal Knight had been born, asking if I hadn’t seen the news. They were on the same level as celebrities praised for elevating national prestige.
“You must have been an incredible person. I’m just an ordinary office worker—or in this world’s terms, an ordinary soldier.”
“Hmm.”
NPCs reading the other party’s emotions had happened in the previous game as well. Strong or special NPCs showed this tendency even more strongly. That was why, as soon as I learned he was a former Royal Knight, I told him the truth.
“An office worker. I heard the foreigner who created this place was also an office worker. Clearly a capable individual.”
“……That’s not wrong either.”
I didn’t regret ending my long life as a jobless person and joining a company. Even though I lost my enjoyment, I became someone a little more presentable.
“Before that, a moment.”
The training instructor presented a wooden sword that looked well-maintained with good oil over a long period and a single sheet of parchment.
“……What is this?”
“A wooden sword I used when I was young. Like you, it’s an item with its own story. That parchment is a letter of recommendation allowing free access to the knight training grounds.”
A wooden sword once used by a former Royal Knight. And a free pass to the knight training grounds. I immediately realized this was no ordinary development.
“Normally, special foreigners are gifted wooden swords made at the royal woodworking shop. They are the ones who will be active in higher places. The recommendation letter is separate. At most two per year, given only to foreigners who stand out.”
“……!”
A letter of recommendation to the knight training grounds from a former Royal Knight. I could vaguely begin to see the secret of the Royal Knight route.
“Foreigners call soul power ‘level,’ don’t they? At the knight training grounds, you can strengthen your body separately from soul power.”
If this was true, the knight training grounds recommendation letter was an incredible item. It meant I could raise stats separately from leveling up.
“And this wooden sword is something needed for the story. I think you’re different even among the foreigners I’ve met so far. Take them. The real story begins now.”
I received the wooden sword and recommendation letter from the training instructor.
You have received a quest item.
And the message announcing the quest. I straightened my posture.
“Yes. Please tell me anything.”
“When I was young, I once encountered a large golden-furred fox in the eastern forest. It was an extremely cunning fox.”
It became clear that the golden fox was the quest objective. Was it a hunting or tracking-related quest? It looked too difficult for a level 1 to handle.
“Back then, I faced the fox with this wooden sword. But I wasn’t alone. My companion had his entire body bitten and torn apart. It was a fox that only targeted the weak.”
“……Ah. So that’s why you’re asking me.”
In short, the fox the training instructor spoke of was a newbie crusher that specialized in hunting only newbies. This made the logic fit.
“To get revenge, I searched the eastern forest whenever I had time, but all I heard was that the number of victims had increased. There were no results. Now I’m sending as many foreigners as possible into the eastern forest to find it.”
This also made sense. Unlike NPCs who died for good, users could revive. Users and NPCs were in a relationship where they used each other.
“I have expectations that you might be able to end my old grudge. I hope you won’t refuse.”
The Golden Fox’s Nightmare
📍 Location: Eastern Forest of Liam
🎁 Reward: ???
The quest rejection button was absent, befitting the dignity of a former Royal Knight. Not that I had any intention of refusing anyway.
“I’ll give it a try. I was just in need of real combat experience anyway.”
“As expected, my eye wasn’t wrong. If you resolve this request, I’ll give you the best possible reward in the direction you desire.”
The reward seemed flexible. Since it involved someone connected to a Royal Knight, for now the limit of my speculation was that related rewards would appear.
“In that case, I must resolve it no matter what. Even if it costs me my life.”
“Haha! Hearing you say that makes me even more reassured! I’ll be expecting great things!”
“I’ll see you again.”
After a light nod, I left the instructor’s office. The smile on my lips wouldn’t disappear. Just not missing the hidden quest that only level 1 users could receive was already an incredible feat. It felt like receiving a rookie award that only came once in a lifetime. Sung-chul hyung would be able to vouch for this fact.
Hidden quest? Just think of it as winning the lottery. Especially if it’s a first discovery, it becomes even more valuable. Just selling the method to accept the quest is worth at least several hundred, and if you sell the strategy guide as well, depending on the reward level you could get hundreds of millions. Some hidden quests are even protected and managed by the government by law.
This was probably the first hidden quest discovered. At least the Mason I knew didn’t reset NPC artificial intelligence. And the training instructor had shown genuine resentment toward the golden fox.
‘I’ll need to organize the quest details in advance. First, at level 1 with 10 Strength, destroy most of the scarecrows in the training ground. The vital points of the scarecrows must turn white in a single strike. How many wooden swords did I break again? Anyway, from the moment the soldier started using honorifics toward me, the instructor disappeared, so hmm……’
While organizing my thoughts, I had already arrived at the entrance to Liam’s eastern gate. Quite a lot of users were gathered here.
“Selling rabbit jerky that raises Agility for 30 minutes! 2 Copper each! Also buying rabbit meat!”
“I’ll guide you perfectly through the eastern forest! I also accept cash! Level 20!”
“Buying wolf tooth necklaces! Only intermediate grade and above!”
They were users buying and selling items. However, when I searched my pockets, I didn’t even have 1 Copper. All I had was the beginner’s waist bag, the bread I received from the veteran at the fountain, one sheet of parchment, and the training instructor’s wooden sword.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t even checked the items I received while organizing the quest. What did Sung-chul hyung say again? 10 Attack Power and 80 Durability?’
Since I wasn’t going to use the parchment right away, I stored it carefully in my bag. The main thing was the wooden sword. I held the wooden sword and stared at it for 2 seconds to bring up the detailed information.
◈ Attack Power: 24~44
◈ Durability: 320 (Cannot be repaired)
◈ Grudge: Activates ‘Rend’ with a certain probability
◈ Rend: Leaves wounds on the target that cannot be healed for a certain period of time.
A wooden sword made from Mauro wood. It has been carefully maintained with good oil for decades. It surpasses most real swords and boasts unparalleled performance among wooden swords.