Chapter 11

“Have you heard of pilgrims?”

“... Pilgrims?”

“Yes. Those who make a vocation of hardship.”

Woojin frowned slightly at the shopkeeper’s words.

'Right... That class does exist.'

He couldn’t name any famous ones. Pilgrim was, after all, one of the most shunned classes in [Evil Tale].

'They said being a pilgrim was a hard life.'

What they did was very different from ordinary players. While most received quests from the Adventurers’ Guild, pilgrims received theirs through divine revelations. The quests were so difficult they could only be described as absurd, but rumor had it that completing them all would unlock a hidden class.

Still, few eccentrics were willing to endure such hardship on the strength of an unsubstantiated rumor.

'People play games to have fun. They wouldn’t want to suffer inside the game too.'

Like he was doing.

“What kind of pilgrim?”

Rashin, god of light. Haden, god of darkness. And Mha, god of nothingness.

These were the three gods at the foundation of [Evil Tale]’s world, each with a religious order devoted to them.

“I didn’t hear the god’s name, but the robes the pilgrim wore were red.”

It was an indirect answer, but enough. Each order used a different color for its robes.

'A pilgrim of Mha.'

Mha, also known as the god of the void, had the smallest following on the continent. In fact, the god had virtually no worshippers at all. Naturally, followers of Mha were a rare sight even on the central continent.

'And someone that rare is in the beginner area?'

Was it a coincidence?

Well...

Perhaps it was just him, but something about this pilgrim’s appearance felt contrived to Woojin.

“Pilgrims are hard to come by... How did you meet?”

“We only met recently. The pilgrim said she was looking for something.”

“Looking for what?”

“People say light is the source of creation, but adventurers know better, don’t they? All life actually comes from rifts.”

Woojin nodded. There was nothing remarkable about that. It was simply part of the game’s lore—an excuse to explain respawning, the endless generation of monsters inside dungeons.

'Is it because an AI made it?'

Players saw nothing particularly strange about dungeons resetting and monsters continually spawning. But things were different for the people inside the game. This was simply a piece of worldbuilding designed to explain why slain monsters reappeared in the same place.

'It even gave meaning to unnecessary little details to eliminate inconsistencies.'

The perfect game.

The slogan used when [Evil Tale] first launched suddenly came back to him.

'Perfect, my ass... '

Instead of fussing over trivial lore like this, they should have spent that time fixing the system. The worst game error of all was right here...

Thinking of his own predicament, Woojin could only smile bitterly.

“Anyway, she said she was looking for a rift. One completely unlike any found before.”

“A new rift...”

Did that mean a new dungeon?

But a moment later, he tilted his head.

'Even if they added a dungeon, shouldn’t it be in the Labyrinth Tower or on the central continent?'

Every region had an upper level limit. They couldn’t suddenly put a level-80 dungeon in a level-10-to-15 area. Besides, the game was well past its initial launch, and the Dark Forest was so vast that it could hardly be running out of hunting grounds for new players.

If a dungeon was appearing here despite all that... it had to serve some purpose other than hunting.

For instance...

'... A quest?'

Woojin’s eyes flickered slightly. If they were creating an entire dungeon for a quest... it certainly wouldn’t be an ordinary one.

“Where should I go?”

There was no point standing around puzzling over it.

“The area around the Orc Citadel. She said she would investigate there. There are rumors of a red-eyed orc appearing, you see.”

“A red-eyed orc...”

Woojin nodded, recognizing what the shopkeeper meant.

'The Orc Citadel’s hidden monster.'

He had seen it mentioned on the community forums.

Sightings cropped up now and then, but no one knew exactly what triggered its appearance. Some said it appeared if you kept hunting orcs until dawn. Another post claimed the writer had encountered it while fleeing orcs just before daybreak.

Ultimately, however, every attempt had failed. By now, most people were leaning toward the idea that the purported sightings themselves were lies.

'Looks like it really does exist, though.'

An NPC was searching for the red-eyed orc, after all. If word got out, it could cause quite a stir on the forums.

'Well, it’s still just a monster in the beginner area. The top players won’t care much.'

But even the overlooked Goblin Nest had concealed a genuine gem. No matter how strong they were, those people were still players. They couldn’t know everything in the game.

Perhaps... he would get lucky there too.

“That is unusual, though. A pilgrim who knows how to work on armor. Are you sure... she doesn’t have some ulterior motive?”

The religious orders were on the central continent. That meant one had to be at least level 50 to become a pilgrim. If this pilgrim suddenly coveted his materials and tried to take them... he would be in danger.

“You needn’t worry about that. Her background is beyond question.”

“What do you mean?”

“As I mentioned earlier, she isn’t human.”

He straightened his stooped back and declared confidently,

“She’s a dwarf.”

Aha.

“And a daughter of the renowned Mur family, no less.”

He had heard of them. No, it would be more accurate to say they were famous. It was the family of Miller Mur, the finest blacksmith on the central continent.

Despite being an NPC, Miller was also a member of the Phoenix Corps’ raid team. Players tackling the Labyrinth Tower would line up to buy his creations.

'A daughter of a prominent dwarven family, living as a pilgrim... '

If he were the head of that family, would he really look favorably upon such a daughter?

Hard to say.

He needed more concrete proof.

“Did she happen to have a hammer?”

“Hmm, yes. She certainly had a long hammer slung across her back. An unusual sight for a pilgrim. I thought it was a staff at first, but it wasn’t.”

“That’s a relief.”

Woojin nodded.

A dwarf’s hammer was bestowed only upon those recognized by their family. If she had joined the religious order without Miller’s permission, she would have had to give hers up. Since she hadn’t, she was still a member of the family.

'At the very least, she won’t do anything that dishonors her family.'

The honor of iron. Nothing mattered more to dwarves.

DING!

[Quest Name: Kahira, Pilgrim of Mha]

▶ Rank: C

▶ Meet the pilgrim Kahira.

▶ According to the general store’s owner, she is likely to depart for a new region in 15 days.

▶ If you fail to reach the designated location within the time limit, the quest will automatically fail.

He stared at the window that appeared, his gaze even more parched than his lips.

'Fifteen days... '

It wasn’t impossible. Even on foot, ten days would be enough to cover the distance.

'As long as nothing goes wrong.'

[You have accepted the quest.]

* * *

'Thirteen orcs.'

Woojin watched the monsters from his hiding place.

It was his fifth day crossing the Dark Forest. Contrary to his worries, the hunting had gone smoothly. Without any particular trouble, he had made it far enough to see Parta with the naked eye.

[You have arrived at the Parta Wetlands.]

[Trait: Adventurer has activated.]

▶ Gain 15% additional experience from hunting in a new region for one day.

▶ Deal 10% additional damage when fighting a monster you encounter for the first time.

“Good.”

Woojin nodded at the notification. He was currently level 16, but his stats were equivalent to those of a player in the forties. Handling orcs would be no problem. It was something else he was wary of.

'It was worth keeping the hunting to a minimum to get here. With the Orc Citadel as the main hunting ground, there are fewer people out in the field.'

People avoided the hunting grounds around Parta. Understandably so: the orcs took a long time to respawn, and their spawn points were spread so far apart that traveling between them took far too much time and effort.

'The citadel is crawling with orcs. There’s no reason to run back and forth out here to hunt them.'

That was precisely what Woojin was counting on. Since orcs habitually traveled in groups, most people had to form parties to hunt them. He had no need for that.

'No one around.'

After checking his surroundings, he swiftly drew his sword.

[Trait: Presence has activated.]

▶ Monsters take longer to notice your presence.

He opened with [Sprint].

[“Snort?”]

Seeing Woojin burst out of the forest, the orcs belatedly grabbed their weapons. But he was already upon them, swinging his sword upward at the throat of the orc in front.

[“Kreeeegh...!!”]

The orc screamed, and its head fell to the ground.

[Trait: Solitude has activated.]

▶ All stats increase by 5% during solo play.

▶ Experience gained increases by 10% during solo play.

His grip tightened. He could feel strength flowing through his sword hand.

BOOM!!

Stepping forward, Woojin brought his raised sword straight down. It was [Power Strike], a basic warrior skill.

CRRUNCH...!!

But its power was anything but ordinary. The descending sword split the orc behind the first clean in half.

[“Sn... snort...?”]

TAP-TAP!!

Woojin darted into the midst of the bewildered orcs, lowering his torso as he set his stance.

BZZZZT...!!

As he swept his sword sideways, blue electricity erupted in a semicircle.

[“Keggh...!”]

[“Kegegegh...!!”]

The five orcs standing around him screamed as though they had been electrocuted.

[“Gr... grrk... ”]

With their numbers halved in an instant, the orcs began backing away, putting distance between themselves and Woojin.

“Still better than goblins.”

Goblins would already have fled in terror by now, but these creatures, gripping battered hammers and axes, still looked ready to fight.

“Good. That could’ve been a nuisance.”

To a predator, prey that refused to flee was simply the finest prey of all.

BOOM!!!

The hunt began.