Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Off to Steal Again Today
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At first, the task seemed deceptively simple: catch squirrels. However, anyone who thought it would be a walk in the park was sorely mistaken, as the quota was set at a staggering one thousand. It wasn't just a handful or even a hundred; they expected him to spend his entire day chasing a thousand of the nimble creatures across the fields.
'So, you're bringing the heat right from the start, aren't you? You really think a number like that will make me throw in the towel?!'
Shark grit his teeth. He knew that if this was truly a hidden scenario, the difficulty had to be dialed up to this level. With sheer stubbornness, he filled the quota and returned to the village chief.
Hamilton, the chief, simply chuckled. "Excellent. Now, go catch a thousand rabbits."
"Urgh!"
After squirrels came rabbits. The count remained at a thousand. A string of curses threatened to erupt from deep within Shark's throat, but he swallowed them for the sake of the grand reward he knew must be waiting. He ground away for nearly twenty-four hours straight until another thousand rabbits were accounted for.
"Is that enough for you now?!"
"Ah, very satisfactory indeed. Next, I’ll need a thousand deer..."
"You son of a—!"
Deer were followed by foxes. Then came pigs, then wolves. And right after that, the chief made a request that pushed Shark over the edge.
"Hahaha, old man. That animal doesn't even live in this region."
"I am well aware. That is why you will be heading outside. I shall specially grant you the permission to come and go from the village as you please."
"You absolute fossil of a man!"
Eventually, Hamilton was sending Shark to hunt beasts that existed far beyond the village boundaries, granting him rare access rights to the Starting Village in the process. Shark felt like he was losing his mind, but he couldn't quit now. He had already invested too much time, and the quest was beginning to bear fruit.
As proof of his progress, he had officially changed his job to Hunter through the chief and mastered several related skills. The hidden quest provided hefty experience rewards, allowing him to cut his growth period in the village by half. He was now zipping between the village and the outer world, pushing his level to 19.
"Wait, they called me the 'First Hunter,' but I'm just a plain old Hunter class, aren't I?"
"Ho ho, do not worry. Once you officially inherit that person's will later on, you will unlock the true power of a Hunter," the chief had promised, teasing that special rewards awaited at the end of the line.
'It better be worth the grind,' Shark thought as he stepped into a farm just outside Parten. He had taken a farmer's request regarding variant wild boars that were trampling crops, which perfectly coincided with the chief’s hunt list. Leveraging his experience as a second-year gamer and a former ranker, he chose this specific spawn point from the Remus info app—an exclusive tool for dark gamers.
Black variant wild boars were everywhere, ruining the harvest. Shark pulled out the bow he had purchased at the auction house. Though he had struggled with the mechanics at first, he had mastered the art of archery in record time. He nocked an arrow, drawing the string fully as he aimed at a boar in the corner.
Suddenly—Splat! "Squeee!"
A variant boar was smashed into the dirt by a woman's leaping cross attack. The sudden strike drew the attention of the entire pack, and the variant boars swarmed the short-haired woman in an instant. Shark rushed forward to help, thinking she was in mortal danger.
But he stopped dead in his tracks. Splat! Thwack! The air was filled with crisp impact sounds as the woman unleashed a frenzy of relentless strikes. She swung a massive cross with devastating power, unilaterally thrashing the boars without even needing to use active skills.
"Hoo." Once the area was cleared, the woman wiped sweat from her brow and cast a spell. A brilliant glow enveloped her—a priest's healing skill.
'A h-healer?!' Shark stared in shock. He had seen the giant cross, but a priest solo hunting in brutal melee was a sight he had never witnessed. Their eyes met in midair, creating an excruciatingly awkward silence.
"What are you staring at?" she shot him an annoyed glare. "Have you never seen a priest hunt before?"
Shark swallowed his words, thinking to himself that it was indeed his very first time.
Meanwhile, Luke had spent several days in the demon cave with Mira and Rabbit. They were currently on the third underground level, a dungeon suited for level 50 players. While it was a bit overwhelming for the girls, who were nearing level 40, Luke’s reliable presence in the guard position allowed them to manage.
"They're incoming," Luke warned as four goblins charged with assorted weapons. "Are you ready, Mira?"
"Yeah, all set," she replied with a determined expression. She shot forward, her steel gauntlets connecting with the lead goblin with a heavy thwack. Following up with an 'Iron Mountain Charge,' she shoulder-checked the creature into a wall, knocking it out cold.
As the other goblins lunged to avenge their comrade, Mira blocked two blades with her gauntlets, shoving them aside before unleashing a devastating straight punch into the gut of a third. She was isolating her targets perfectly, creating a brawler's playground. Luke watched with satisfaction, seeing that the training he had given her over the past few days was paying off. She moved with a form that was still rough, but she was pulling more than her weight.
"I can't believe this even as I'm watching it," Rabbit whispered from the side. "How is she growing so fast?"
"Mira just gets it," Luke explained. "Think of her as a machine that moves exactly as inputted. She only moves as she's taught; the moment something else happens, she glitches out." Just then, Mira began screaming as she got cornered by the remaining enemies. "Oppa, what do I do here?! Get off me, you jerks!"
Luke pointed at the struggling girl. "See? Just as I said."
After the last goblin fell, the party found themselves back at the save point between the second and third levels—the safe zone. Groups of other players were scattered around, either recruiting for level 4 dives or resupplying.
Mira looked around at the deep tunnels. "I was just wondering—how long has this cave been here? Oppa said it appeared out of nowhere, but the stairs and these rooms... everything feels so artificial."
Luke listened, and the question began to nag at him. Famous developer Yong Hoseop was known for never creating anything without a reason. The cave’s sudden appearance and the artificial traces within it were details that had been largely ignored by players who had explored down to the sixth level and found nothing of note. But the mystery felt deeper to Luke now.
Suddenly, three burly men approached the group, ignoring Luke entirely to proposition Mira and Rabbit. "Excuse me, are you all a party? We were wondering if we could join you for the descent."
Luke bristled at their lecherous eyes. 'Do you really want to die that badly?' he thought. But as he prepared to drag them somewhere quiet to delete them from the server, he noticed something peculiar. Red tattoo lines were peeking from beneath their armor and guards. They had tried to hide them, but not well enough for a veteran to miss.
His eyes zeroed in on the middle man's wrist guard. A specific emblem was etched there: a black mask. It was the mark of the Night King.