Night Hunt Invitation
“Do-hyun! Need anything?”
“We've got fresh reindeer meat that came in today—try some before you go!”
“If you need any hunting gear, come find me anytime. I'll give you a good deal!”
As soon as I emerged from the Sword Tomb and reached the village, the tribe members greeted me like an old friend they'd known forever.
Reputation really does change how they treat you.
I waved lightly in response and started walking through the night streets.
Even after collecting all the key fragments, I'd used up every last minute grinding to my final level-up before heading out, so the Northern Plateau was deep into midnight. Still, plenty of people were up and about in the village—hunters heading out for the famous night hunts.
The north has monsters that only appear at night. According to the records, they're pretty tough...
In Dimension World, monsters varied by time of day, and at night, their base stats got a 1.5x boost. Plus, the ones exclusive to nighttime were elite-grade, making them no easy prey.
“Oh, right—Kael was looking for you,” one hunter prepping his gear said, tapping my shoulder and pointing to a spot.
“That's Kael's place. Well, you'd know since you're close with him, but he said to make sure you got the message if I saw you.”
“Thanks.”
I'd spent nearly the whole week holed up in the tomb, so I had no clue about the village layout, but I nodded anyway.
Hmm... What's this about?
What puzzled me more was why Kael wanted me.
The sword? Nah, unlikely. He'd handed it over himself. He wasn't the type to take it back.
Hmm...
Only one thing came to mind.
Sudden quest.
Maybe something to do right before leaving the north.
Entered Kael Harun's house.
This is a place accessible only to selected individuals, so all outside communication is blocked. Whispers, messages, and all other functions are disabled.
Hm? A warning popped up the moment I closed the door to Kael's house, leaving me a bit puzzled.
Most buildings are shared spaces, not instance zones... even palaces and temples are open to players. But Kael's house is private?
I had a gut feeling this wasn't just any house.
“Ah, there you are. I was waiting.”
Like most Kalun Tribe homes, Kael's wasn't huge, but one wall was lined with weapons hung like decorations. He welcomed me with a cup of steaming northern liquor, sarakju.
“Thank you.”
“You've changed a lot since I last saw you—your presence is sharper now.”
“Yeah. I've finally gotten a bit familiar with the sword.” I smiled lightly at his words.
Current level: 35. I'd been 20 when I took down that corrupted goblin mage—a ridiculous leveling speed. Plus, soloing an entire dungeon meant not just levels, but solid stat gains from basic attacks.
The downside is no job class yet, so no skills... Do I stay jobless until I collect all of Chil-ya?
There were common skills unrelated to jobs, but they were weak. Skills had a mastery system like experience points—long-term use made a huge difference between basic and master levels.
Ideally, job change ASAP for class skills and grind them. But with Chil-ya acquisition unpredictable, I couldn't risk it.
Skill slots are limited. Can't waste them on common skills.
That was why I'd even ditched Yong-gong Geom-sik.
What I awaited was mastering True Chil-ya 1st Sword, the skill dormant in Tesaro's sword.
But swordsmanship is only level 12 now. And one level came from the sword's bonus... Just one level after a week of grinding.
Leveling swordsmanship was tougher than expected. Still, over 10 in this situation was impressive, and without Memory Borrower, I couldn't even use Tesaro's sword.
Soloing the tomb would've been impossible without the heroic weapon's power.
Unlocking locked skills needed level 20, and I was far from that.
Need another way...
“By the way... I have a favor to ask. Could you help with our hunt tonight?”
That's when Kael spoke up as I pondered.
[Quest: Night Hunt]
📍 Difficulty: B-S Rank
📍 Conditions: Kael Harun alive + Kalun Tribe reputation at Perfect Trust
📍 Rewards: Kalun Tribe Insignia
📍 Rewards: Unknown
You've been invited to the secretive night hunt performed only by Kalun Tribe hunters at Lang-a Fortress, said to be the home of the legendary Soul White Wolf.
...Hm?
The unexpected quest made my eyes widen slightly as I tapped the alert.
“We're short-handed for tonight's night hunt. As you know, it's an honorable event reserved for select hunters... but I figured it'd be fine to ask you.”
He looked at me expectantly.
Soul White Wolf...? That's the divine beast from northern legends.
I couldn't hide my surprise reading the quest.
They plan to hunt a divine beast?
But as if reading my mind, Kael smiled faintly.
“It's an honor for hunters, but not that difficult. Night hunts originated from hunting the Soul White Wolf, one of the three great divine beasts of old... but the divine beasts are long gone. Think of it as a ritual.”
He was right. In my memories, divine beasts had vanished ages ago.
The three great aspects: Divine Deer, Alcar. Soul White Wolf, Roarbrok. Blue Horn, Kalduan.
All extinct. Rumors said Alcar's descendants survived under druid protection, but they were just hearsay.
Even the wildfolk druids vanished, so no way to confirm.
I hadn't known the north still held hunts in their honor.
“Night hunt is a major event for northern tribes—not just us Kalun, but others join too. Inviting an outsider is extremely rare. Hasn't happened in decades.”
I nodded.
Makes sense. No one's maxed reputation this fast. I'm the first.
And in my dream, the north would vanish in a few years... This was uncharted even there.
True sudden quest. An event I didn't know.
Got the world quest scroll from the Sword Tomb too... Thought I knew the continent's history cold, but surprises keep coming.
But it could be an opportunity. Meet other tribes, maybe useful NPCs. Couldn't visit them all before the cataclysm—perfect chance to scout.
[Quest Accepted: Night Hunt]
“I'd be honored to join the night hunt.”
“Haha, glad to hear it. Gear up quick—we meet at the village center in an hour.”
“Got it.”
As I turned to leave after accepting, Kael called me back.
“Oh, for night hunt prep, check Unto the tool merchant. He's got good stuff.”
“Pardon?”
“Night's different from day.”
He waved me off with that cryptic line. I tilted my head but opened the door.
[Unto's Tool Shop]
The Kalun village wasn't big, so finding the tool shop Kael mentioned was easy.
“...”
I paused my raised hand before knocking, hesitating.
Night's different from day...
Kael's parting words nagged at me. He wouldn't say it without reason.
Some kind of code?
If it tied to the quest, rushing in could ruin it. I'd learned the hard way—one mistake could derail everything.
Suspect. Think. Essential for Dimension World quests.
“Shop's closed. Come back in daylight.”
A low, gravelly voice made me turn as I pondered. An old man with a hunched back and hollow eyes looked up at me—out of place in the north. Not just fatigue or age. An odd, alien vibe.
“Are you Unto?”
“Aye.”
Despite max reputation, he was indifferent—unlike the others.
Reputation doesn't affect everyone? Or...
I eyed him.
Maybe not a tribe member.
“Go home.”
He turned dismissively, ignoring my thoughts.
“But you must have things for sale?”
“Told you, shop's closed.”
“Night's different from day, isn't it?”
“...”
His steps halted mid-turn.
Bingo.
Kael's words were the entry code.
“What makes it different?”
But his sharp-eyed question caught me off guard.
It was a test.