The Golden Fox
News of the Golden Fox spread easily among players you ran into while passing through. “You’re not seriously hunting the hidden boss, are you? I wouldn’t recommend it. Last year the community finally confirmed it’s a boss they deliberately made unkillable.” “The Golden Fox? It’s a hidden boss that sometimes spawns in this forest if a newbie wanders around alone. You’re not a newbie, right? Need any help?” “Don’t. At least the hidden elements in the eastern forest have already been cross-verified and cleared by rankers with reporters in tow. The Golden Fox was concluded to be a teaching tool for the importance of party hunting. This game has a brutal death penalty, so seriously, don’t do it.”
According to the players, the hidden quest target—the Golden Fox—was a boss designed to be left alone. Plenty of bosses in the previous game had carried the same warning. “Does this company even want to make money? How does it make sense to have a final-boss-level monster patrolling right from the starting area? They’re basically praying players quit.” Still, every boss that had once been called unkillable, I had slain with my own hands.
“……So that’s the story.”
Bosses rumored to be impossible to defeat usually made it impossible for villages to even form nearby, yet this area had a thriving beginner town full of active trade. On top of that, the Golden Fox was an animal-type boss. It hadn’t transcended its species; its only gimmick was that only beginners without high-level escorts could encounter it.
Kiiiiiik!
So I decided to hunt the rabbits that seemed to be its main food source, drain their blood, and use them as bait. Its sense of smell had to be highly developed if it could detect threat levels.
Crack.
The only extra effort I needed to make was moving deeper into the forest where few players ventured. Pure exploration.
Crunch. Crack.
Deeper in, I spotted noticeably plumper rabbits. That gave me confidence.
Thud.
I dropped a drained rabbit carcass where the wind would carry the scent, then pulled a loaf of bread from my waist pouch and kept watch.
Step.
Light footsteps. They didn’t feel human.
“……!”
Golden fur flashed between the bushes. I shoved the bread into my mouth.
Well-Baked Bread (Masterpiece)
Strength +5, Stamina +5
Minor increase to wound recovery speed
Duration: 30 minutes
Power surged through me as the buff took effect.
I still had two unallocated points. I wasn’t sure what I lacked yet. I simply raised my wooden sword and focused on the Golden Fox’s movements.
“Grr?”
For some reason, I could almost read its expression. Is this guy crazy? Its eyes looked genuinely baffled. Then the look shifted to curiosity. This might be fun.
“Yeah. Nice to meet you. You’re the hidden boss, huh?”
“Grrr……”
I tried speaking to it, guessing it might be a spirit beast, but it didn’t understand. That ruled out any hidden dialogue content.
‘At least it’s a mob I’m allowed to kill.’
It didn’t seem ready to charge me yet. I measured the strongest opponent I could currently face against the cards I held.
Strength +7, Agility +7, Stamina +7, Wisdom +7, Luck +7
First seven attacks deal double damage
Duration: ∞
Agility +2, Stamina +2, Luck +5
High chance to avoid fatal blows
Wound recovery speed greatly increased
Duration: ∞
Stats equivalent to three newbies combined, plus powerful raid-level effects. Overwhelming buffs meant for short, decisive fights.
Shhhk! Wham!
“Hm?”
It had been a full-power swing aimed at the tailbone. I’d believed that much wouldn’t kill it outright. Yet the Golden Fox twisted its body and minimized the damage.
“……Pretty fast.”
What I needed was now crystal clear.
[Unallocated Points: 2]
Agility. I dumped both points into it, raising it to 18.
Shhhk! Boom!
“Kreeek!”
This time the blow landed cleanly. Seven Impact even triggered, doubling the damage. But the feedback felt wrong—too light, as if the impact had been deflected by some hidden force.
—You can never ignore level differences. Even if you land a clean hit, the damage won’t stick. The bigger the gap, the worse it gets.
This had to be the level penalty Kim Sung-chul mentioned.
“Actually, this is good.”
If the penalty was this severe, I could freely target vital spots without worrying about killing it too fast.
“Kak!”
Now I was faster. Only by a hair, but enough to dodge its counterattacks.
Shhhk! Crack!
The second Seven Impact struck.
Rend: Chance to inflict wounds that cannot be healed for a time
Twenty-four to forty-four attack power, doubled by Seven Impact. No ordinary newbie could produce numbers like these.
“Kreeeeek!”
The Mauro Wooden Sword already carried several times the power of a normal wooden blade; the synergy was overwhelming.
“Kree! Kree!”
I had struck its right hind leg, widening the speed gap even further. The fact that it had never been hunted before suggested it might have an escape gimmick.
“Now who’s the toy?”
“Kreeak!”
Boom! Crash!
Its attacks kept bouncing off. I welcomed it. Even its counters came without pause. This was nothing like a training dummy. The Golden Fox had become the perfect sparring partner.
“Third one. Here I come.”
BOOM!
“……Kehk. Kehk.”
Seven Impact’s bonus effect had ended long ago, yet the Golden Fox still lived.
Wham!
“Kek!”
A low-probability strike bypassed the level penalty and landed a critical hit. Even the fox’s exceptional natural regeneration couldn’t recover from consecutive critical wounds.
“There we go.”
You have been playing for eight hours.
Excessive gaming may interfere with daily life.
“Already eight hours.”
From character creation to dummy training, rabbit hunting, and now the Golden Fox—I had been moving nonstop since day one. I had to start thinking about reality. I was still an office worker, after all.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
“Kehk. Kehk.”
The fox’s health had long since bottomed out. Whenever it tried to flee I chased it; whenever it blocked I kept striking until the opening appeared. In strength, agility, and stamina I was superior. The only thing I lacked was level.
“Infinite buffs really are broken.”
Shhhhhhhk!
For the first time, I swung at its head.
Wham!
The level penalty didn’t trigger.
“Huh.”
The result was the Golden Fox knocked unconscious. I had swung with the intent to crush its skull, yet its durability was astonishing.
“Guess I’ll make some money off the pelt.”
I snapped the fallen fox’s neck, ending its long life. Messages flooded in.
Five levels at once. The messages kept coming.
Hidden Quest: Nightmare of the Golden Fox — Complete
📍 Location: Eastern Forest of Liam
🎁 Reward: ???
Report your results to the Training Instructor.
“……No extra loot, huh.”
Nothing but the corpse. Understandable for an animal-type boss. Given how long it had survived, the pelt alone had to be worth a fortune.
“Time to get to work.”
I stuffed the fox’s body into my pouch. Space was tight—I had to discard other items—but nothing was more valuable than the Golden Fox.
“Didn’t expect the head to stay intact too.”
Fox pelts were both practical and luxury goods. And luxury goods meant money—especially one with this radiant golden sheen.
“Hidden class clue plus a boss pelt. I wonder how much all of this will fetch.”
Anticipation welled up. After checking that no golden fur was sticking out, I secured the pouch.
“Let’s go. To the merchant guild.”
Today’s final settlement was one step closer.