"Noah, this 'desk mate' you keep talking about… don't tell me it's actually you?"
Snow's eyes gleamed with a teasing glint, seeing straight through his little act in a single glance.
Noah raised his hand as if swearing to the heavens. "May the gods pity me—it really is my desk mate!"
Snow gave him a long, meaningful look.
"Theoretically speaking," she said, "if a low-level player wants to enter a higher-level map, the only official way is to reach the highest level of the current map and then accept a breakthrough quest."
That made Noah's heart skip.
"So… you're saying there's actually another way, right?"
Snow neither confirmed nor denied it. She simply continued, "When I first enrolled, my mentor was working on a research project titled On the Feasibility of Players Entering Higher-Level Maps Ahead of Schedule.
Back then, I was the top scorer in Jiangnan Province's college entrance exams, so I was fortunate enough to participate in that study."
Imperial Capital University—the number one ranked institution on Blue Star in terms of overall strength—had the most formidable faculty, and its research results carried an authority equal to the official system itself.
For two centuries, humanity had faced countless challenges in the Land of Divine Punishment.
Ninety percent of these problems had been solved by professors from Imperial Capital University, leading humanity's exploration of that perilous realm.
"What was the result of the research?" Noah asked.
Snow looked at him, brushing her lips lightly with a finger.
"Noah, this study is currently classified at SSS-level secrecy. In all of humanity, only my mentor and I know the full details. Are you sure you want to know?"
"Ah—forget it. I was just asking casually," Noah said quickly, waving his hands.
If something was SSS-level confidential, there was nothing more to say. He wasn't about to put Snow in a difficult position.
Well… not when he had the Eye of the Gods talent to fall back on anyway.
Snow, however, gave a sudden sweet smile. "But if it's you, Noah… I can tell you."
"W-why?"
"Because you're my dear little brother."
That "dear" was delivered with such an ambiguous tone that it was impossible not to imagine something else entirely.
At that moment, Noah's Eye of the Gods successfully extracted the research report from Snow.
The last line of the report contained only five words:
[Brute force creates miracles.]
…Seriously? No wonder Snow had dared to say it out loud. This was basically the same as saying nothing at all.
Outwardly, Noah just laughed. "Snow, please don't say more. I was only joking."
"True. The result is so absurd it's basically impossible for anyone to actually do it."
Then, almost to herself, Snow's brows furrowed slightly. "Noah, forget these unrealistic thoughts. With your talent, breaking past level 50 is far from impossible. Just focus on leveling up and stop daydreaming."
"Yes, yes, yes." Noah nodded repeatedly—then froze.
"Wait, no! It's my desk mate who's daydreaming, not me!"
After Snow left, any trace of sleep in Noah vanished. His head was full of that single phrase: Brute force creates miracles.
"…Should I try it?"
Leaning back against the bed, he thought for a while before decisively taking out the Link Crystal and entering the Land of Divine Punishment.
At the same time, in a cramped rented apartment, a scrawny young man with glasses logged out from the Land. His eyes blazed with manic excitement.
"Perfect… This shot is absolutely perfect! Not only did I capture the full image of the Demon-Slayer, but I also caught my own unparalleled handsomeness—at one hundred thousand percent enhancement!"
In his hands, light shimmered and wove together until a full-color photograph slowly materialized.
Today, the Demon-Slayer had appeared in public more often than ever before, interacting with players and setting off waves of excitement across both Shura City and the novice zones.
The young man had been one of the lucky few to greet him up close.
The Land of Divine Punishment didn't allow screenshots or video recording—normally.
But certain talents made it possible. His talent was just like a camera's shutter.
When the chance came, he'd instantly unleashed a ten-shot burst, immortalizing the moment. This was the best one.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment… If I post this online, I might even be the first to release a Demon-Slayer photo. That's a guaranteed trending topic!"
Excited, he picked up the newly-formed photo and held it under the light, admiring his flawlessly beautified face… checking to make sure no one could spot the enhancements.
"…Wait. Where's the Demon-Slayer?"
His eyes went wide. The photo showed nothing but his handsome self—the Demon-Slayer had vanished entirely.
"What the hell?! He was definitely there before the photo was generated!"
Worse still… when he tried to recall the Demon-Slayer's face, his mind came up blank.
It was as if… all memory of his appearance had been erased.
"…Did I… uh… 'overdo it' and give myself memory loss?"
With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone and searched: Can too much self-pleasure cause memory degradation?
The top answer: No cure. Might as well throw a banquet and accept your fate.
He cursed under his breath, but then a recommended thread caught his eye:
"Shocking! This is what the Demon-Slayer actually looks like!"
It had over 999+ replies.
Clicking it, he found a photo—just an empty background.
The replies were savage:
"At least slap a mosaic on and pretend. You just posted scenery!"
"Clickbait trash. Report him!"
"I'm actually his friend. This was taken at a foot spa in Buckingham. That's his seat—marked in red."
"No way! I'm his wife. He'd never go to such a place. Here's our marriage certificate!"
"Enough lies. I am the Demon-Slayer. Jiangnan's Qin Master. End of discussion."
Curious now, the young man checked the trending topics—there were dozens of similar posts, all claiming to have Demon-Slayer photos, yet every single one was blank.
"I get it now…" he whispered, chills crawling up his spine.
There was an unseen power—a force so overwhelming—that it erased any trace of the Demon-Slayer's real identity.
And he… had just tried to rip away that veil.
Terror crashed over him like a tidal wave. Cold sweat poured down his face, and his spine tingled with dread.
What if that power traced him through the network… and wiped him from existence?
"Nope. No way. I'm moving. Right now!"
Within minutes, he'd packed his things, bought the cheapest night train ticket, and fled into the darkness.
9 p.m., northern edge of the novice map.
Light flared and shadows danced as the Demon-Slayer blurred through a horde of monsters, leaving afterimages in his wake.
Noah was heading toward the entrance of the next map.
While traveling, he opened the Auction House pass and began remotely selling off his extra loot—mainly level 50 B- to S-grade gear.
A quick market check told him B- and A-grade items were worth almost nothing. Only S-grade gear fetched a decent price—about 8,000 gold.
"Eight thousand? Forget it."
With a net worth nearing one hundred million, Noah didn't care about such pocket change.
He'd rather gift them to Tang Xia. Something worthless to him could very well change her fate entirely.
The real pile he wanted to clear was his mountain of fresh Silver Wolf Meat.
He had no idea how other players handled these low-tier drops, so he decided to just list them in bulk.
To his surprise, they were worth a lot. A single piece sold for 100 gold.
"…That's gotta be market manipulation, right? This price is insane for a newbie-zone drop."
Skeptical, he tried listing a single stack of twenty at 100 gold each.
And then—
Ding!
Your [Fresh Silver Wolf Meat] ×20 has been purchased by player [Gargamel].
2,000 gold has been deposited into your account.
As a VIP Auction House Pass holder, no transaction fee was charged.
Noah blinked.
"…It sold instantly?!"