The First Hunter
After lightly hunting down five werewolves, Yujin's path forward was smooth sailing in the most literal sense.
Of course, that did not mean nothing stood in his way.
Slash!
It simply meant that whatever blocked his path was cut down with perfect equality.
From rotting zombies to skeleton soldiers, fanatics, and bizarre monsters of unidentifiable form, all manner of creatures threw themselves at Yujin—yet not a single one managed to harm him.
He would parry an enemy's attack with a single stroke of his sword, dodge a few times to read their patterns, then swing again and cleave them cleanly in two.
Watching that sequence of movements mesh together with the precision of interlocking gears, repeating endlessly, the viewers could only stare in silence and murmur their admiration.
They had played Nightfall themselves, or at least watched other streamers' playthroughs, so they knew exactly how difficult the feat Yujin was pulling off so casually truly was.
While the chat flooded with nothing but awe, Yujin cleanly severed the neck of another lizard-like trash mob in a single strike and offered his honest impressions so far.
"Hmm… I guess it really is the tutorial, because every monster's level is just low. The game's difficulty doesn't seem as high as I expected either."
Yujin's casual remark set the chat ablaze once more.
But what could he do? From his perspective, that was genuinely how it felt.
The path was a straight line, so all he had to do was keep walking forward. There was hardly any tension at all.
The viewers were excitedly spamming comments, but Yujin realized half of it was just hype and paid it little mind—right up until that moment.
A chill.
An ominous aura of pure malice suddenly washed over Yujin's body from somewhere.
It was so intense that even he instinctively flinched for a second.
"This way. Come this way. It seems you and I have much to discuss."
The next instant, a voice whispered right beside his ear as if from nowhere.
It was clearly the harbinger of some extraordinary event.
He stopped walking and scanned his surroundings. Up ahead, a steel door wreathed in an unnervingly crimson aura came into view.
"Yes, come this way. The First Hunter… Ariandel himself shall welcome you…"
"…The First Hunter, Ariandel?"
Yujin tilted his head at the voice that so abruptly revealed its identity.
"Who's Ariandel? Is that person waiting for me up ahead?"
Even though it was still the tutorial section, the viewers—annoyed at how leisurely Yujin was strolling through the game like he was out for a walk—answered that way. Gyeoul sighed and filled him in.
"Once you pass through that door up ahead, the tutorial boss, the First Hunter Ariandel, appears. And in the tutorial boss fight, even you are definitely going to die, oppa."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Because… the First Hunter Ariandel is designed so that you can never beat him. That's just how the boss is made."
At Gyeoul's words, Yujin made a face of pure disbelief.
A boss designed to be completely unbeatable?
Did that even make sense?
To be more precise, it's a boss you can't beat with your current specs. Because Ariandel is this game's final boss, and the version you meet now has almost the exact same specs as when he appears as the final boss.
At the teasing reactions from the viewers, Yujin finally nodded as if he understood and asked,
"So that doesn't mean it's systemically or physically impossible to kill him. He's just overall so strong that you can't. Then beating Ariandel and progressing the story isn't completely impossible, right?"
At Yujin's completely clueless remark, Gyeoul blinked her eyes.
She had gathered a great deal of information about Nightfall while preparing for today's stream, so she knew full well just how infamous Ariandel was.
A full month since the game's release, even among streamers who had already cleared it and were enjoying their second or third playthroughs, not a single one had ever defeated Ariandel in the tutorial.
Not only was the overall stat gap far too severe, but the various systems that allowed a player to strengthen their character only unlocked after being killed by Ariandel.
Even in the absolute late game, after a player had fully maxed out their specs, a casual attack from Ariandel still one-shot them. At this stage, the very concept of a "match" against him simply did not exist.
Well… if it's oppa, maybe the possibility isn't completely zero…?
Of course, Gyeoul knew that Yujin's physical ability was extraordinary.
But no matter how outstanding his physicals were, the impossible remained impossible.
It was like a brand-new level 1 account in an online game trash-talking the server's number-one ranked player into a PvP match.
"Well… then go ahead and try. I'll cheer you on from behind at least. Fighting!"
Unaware of whatever sinister thoughts lurked in his little sister's "encouragement," Yujin opened the door leading to Ariandel without a second thought.
Creeeak—
He had been a little tense thinking it was a boss room, but the interior was surprisingly ordinary.
It felt more like a real home where someone actually lived.
And standing in the center of the room was a white-haired old man leaning on a staff.
"…."
Outwardly he looked like a withered old man so thin he might not even be able to move without the staff.
But Yujin instinctively understood.
The old man before him was incomparably stronger than any of the trash mobs he had dealt with so far.
"Ho… Seeing you in person, you are young, and a talented hunter at that. In any case, I welcome you. To Arkham."
The viewers excitedly chattered over Ariandel's new lines.
"Why has a talented hunter such as yourself come to this Arkham? To hunt beasts? Or perhaps for your own honor?"
"I…"
Yujin's body automatically began to answer Ariandel's question, but the old man waved a hand and cut him off.
"Ah… There is no need to answer an old man's muttering. There is only one reason a hunter like you would set foot in Arkham of his own will."
Ariandel's blood-red eyes slowly looked Yujin up and down.
"…But it is not enough. Mere talent is far from sufficient to survive in this Arkham. Arkham is already a city that can be called a demonic realm beyond the human. With only that level of skill, rampaging through this city would merely result in one more filthy undead."
Having said that, Ariandel straightened his bent back.
"But there is a way. Young man, you must receive an invitation to the Hunter's Haven. If you can reach the Haven, you will be able to grow stronger. Strong enough to hunt every monster that exists in this city… perhaps even the Rulers themselves."
An eerie laugh filled the room.
From Ariandel's mouth came a grotesque laughter that could never belong to a mere old man.
"Of course, the entrance fee to the Haven is not free. And you have no right of refusal. But do not worry overmuch. This old man is here precisely to resolve such matters."
Ariandel rose.
He struck the staff he had been leaning on against the floor with a sharp thud. The middle split open and a massive blade sprang forth.
In an instant the staff had become a giant greatsword. Ariandel lightly swung it with one hand and smiled at Yujin.
"Well then, shall I test the skills of this talented junior of mine?"
In the next moment, as Ariandel radiated a terrifying aura, Yujin felt his own heart begin to pound.
Just as Gyeoul had warned earlier, if he did not focus, he really might die right here—and that very expectation was making his blood race.