"Thank you for the ride!" Seoyeon bowed,
"How much do I owe?" He asked, looking at the taxi driver from outside.
The taxi driver put his hand up, gesturing a five.
Seoyeon repeatedly bowed, his face showing immense happiness and gratitude,
"F-five Credits? Thank you so much, sir!!! You are a merciful saint!"
"W-what!? Are you crazy? Fifty Credits!" The taxi driver—annoyed—angrily yelled out.
…
"Hehe…" After dealing with the mess with the fare, the taxi driver stormed off annoyed, driving into the horizon.
Seoyeon turned around and saw a vast forest in front of him.
"Ah… It's been a while since I've been here."
…
Seoyeon remembers when he just joined the game, as a beginner, he often went to the Borealon forests to do early-game Environment Quests (Quests that are obtained by exploring and talking with certain individuals).
The more Seoyeon leveled up, the more he learned about the game, and he had soon enough learned of credit farming, utilizing the Borealon forests to gain as much credits as he could, taking him a few years to amass the team he had upon raiding floor 100.
He stepped into the dark, shadowed forest. The forest roof covers the skies in thick leaves.
Seoyeon felt the bark of the tree, rough and damp, he trudged through the thick grass and made his way to a vast glade within the Borealon forests where he saw several monsters.
"Let's see…"
He looked ahead of him, goblins and wolves were scattered all across the glade.
Seoyeon smiled, brushing his long hair back and grinning ear to ear.
"I've memorized this game to a fault…"
A dire wolf approached him.
"There's another reason why I went to the Borealon forests early… So I can't have my time wasted on you all."
The dire wolf lunged at him, it was huge, the size of a human, its fangs as sharp as a sword, its eyes as ferocious as a beast made to kill—because it was, in fact, made to kill… However, Seoyeon simply dodged out of the way.
"I remember getting mad whenever these wolves lunged at me… It got predictable as time went on though."
The dire wolf readied its stance and lunged once more.
Seoyeon, this time—didn't dodge—instead, he clenched his fist and pummeled the dire wolf's head, striking at a critical location.
"Years of fighting alongside Maydon forced me to memorize most weak spots…"
"In Withering Moon, combat's a game of analysis and logic."
"...And I don't plan on losing a game of logic to a low-level monster."
…
[You have defeated 'Dire Wolf' x1]
[You have leveled up]
…
The other monsters all bared their fangs, the goblins readied their wooden clubs, and an elite goblin knight unsheathed its dagger—the metal shining greatly despite the dim sunlight.
"Be patient. I'll get to the rest of you soon, let me invest my stat points first."
[Han Seoyeon]
[Agility (Evasion) 10]
[Luck 10]
[Strength 10]
[Dexterity 10]
[Speed 10]
[Vitality 10]
[Mana 10]
…
[Other stat points will be locked until a corresponding quest, map discovery, location unlock, or other prerequisite condition is completed.]
…
"Right. I forgot how many stat points this game had… Eh, it doesn't matter… I'll invest in those other stat points when I unlock them."
"...For now, the most important stat point I can invest in is…"
[Agility (Evasion) 12]
"That should do it."
Seoyeon closed his interface and looked forwards, the fierce eyes of the predators and monsters around him piercing into his soul—but he didn't budge.
He jumped forwards and leapt above a dire wolf.
*Thwack*
A shockwave rang across the air as the dire wolf was slammed into the ground. Its eyes went dull as it slowly became limp.
[You have defeated 'Dire Wolf' x1]
[You have leveled up]
"Yeah, yeah. Please don't notify me anymore."
[Minor enemy defeats will no longer be announced.]
"Right, no distractions."
His eyes were even fiercer than the beasts in front of him.
A goblin wielding a wooden club sprinted towards him—ready to strike—with its eyes firm and convicted, and its grit showing.
Goblins—mischievous creatures typical of most fantasy stories and games—they're small, green, and frail—in WIthering Moon: they're more like annoying flies, one of them was easy to deal with, but that's the problem… Goblins never come alone.
Several other goblins surrounded Seoyeon, ready to strike all at once.
A goblin jumped head first into him, swinging his club.
*Boom*
Seoyeon's fist dug into the goblin's head as blood spat out of its mouth.
*Crash*
The goblin went flying through the air as it crashed into a tree nearby.
The other goblins became hesitant to charge, but a lone goblin knight wielding a shining metal dagger slowly walked towards him.
"Huh… That's menacing, isn't it?"
Seoyeon mockingly remarked, dashing forwards towards the goblin knight.
*Thwack*
The goblin knight's armor caved in as it was slammed into the ground by Seoyeon's fist. The knight dropped down and became limp, Seoyeon grabbed the goblin knight's dagger and spun it around.
[Dull Dagger]
[Details:]
[Rank: F-Class]
[Description: A dull, basic dagger, not much to say…]
"Thanks for the weapon." He said, quickly saluting the knight on the ground.
The other goblins backed away, but Seoyeon didn't let them move an inch as he jumped forwards, slashing away at the remaining goblins.
*Slash*
"Kargh!" A goblin yelled out, Seoyeon dealt the fatal blow to its neck with the dagger as the glade went quiet.
[Congratulations! You have completed a hidden achievement!]
[Within 2 days of transportation from Earth to Eioth, kill 15 enemies in a single attack with a critical blow.]
…
[You have unlocked the title:
[Combat Critical Technician]
[Description: Long ago in Eioth, there once lived a master swordsman, adept at finding his opponent's weak spots. This swordsman, through trial and error, had memorized every critical point for every monster there lived.]
[Increased Critical Strike damage. Increased Critical Strike chance.]
"Hm… Looks like I got it. This'll be useful."
"It's also exactly what I need to get a much more powerful skill."
Seoyeon remarked, continuing onwards, he walked past the many bodies on the ground, going deeper into the forest as he left the glade.
Then, a bright light appeared within the forest.
Strong winds blew Seoyeon's long hair all over, as he covered his face with his hand, slowly making his way through the winds.
Then, he reached his arm out to the bright light…
[You have entered the hidden dungeon:
[WARNING]
[This dungeon is recommended for level 15-30 players!]
…
[The beasts within the dungeon awaken due to the smell of a new visitor.]
…
Seoyeon stepped forwards through a whirling portal which let out a faint humming noise.
The dungeon was vast, the large cobblestone corridors were dimly lit by burning torches mounted on the walls.
This fantastical and medieval setting was rare for a game like Withering Moon—and the Advent of a Higher Eye dungeon was a hidden dungeon too—making it even rarer.
Seoyeon remembered a core memory from when he first completed one of the game's main quests,
He had read a book which was a reward for completing the quest, along with the quest's other rewards… Players would normally skip the lore books, but Seoyeon found them interesting and read every single piece of text within the game.
It is only through his immense and deep understanding of the game's lore—through reading every single piece of text and listening to every dialogue
The Advent of a Higher Eye dungeon, a dungeon created by the Major God of Information—Oraclon—held a key component to his journey to the top of the Horizon Tower…
"I need to obtain…"
"The
The Eye of Oraclon—an S-Class skill which allowed players to see everyone else's information, including players, characters, monsters, and even certain objects.
As Seoyeon continued walking forwards, he could see a faint light at the end of the corridor.
However, the smell of blood, death, and dust soon blocked his way, as a spirit clad in shining metal armor, wielding a heavy metal greatsword blocked his way.
"Looks like we meet again, Runther."
Runther—a mini boss in the Advent of a Higher Eye dungeon, was an artificial spirit created by Oraclon to guard the ruins… It was the only powerful monster in the dungeon, the rest being weaker spider monsters or lesser spirits.
However, one thing separated Runther from the other monsters lurking in the dungeon.
Seoyeon dashed forwards and struck Runther as hard as he could.
However, Runther didn't budge.
*Cling*
*Clang*
The clanking of the metal armor echoed throughout the corridor as sparks flew everywhere, but Runther only stood firmly.
The metal armor's eye sockets emanated a bright red glow as it readied its greatsword.
…
[The target is invulnerable.]
"Hah! You still have that stupid ability of yours, huh?"
What separated Runther from the rest of the monsters was… An ability which made it invulnerable to all non-critical strike attacks. This made the dungeon unimaginably difficult, to the point where most players ruled it out as "impossible to beat."
After all, Runther's critical strike point was nowhere to be found, even with the most advanced critical-strike identification abilities like Maydon's
However, Seoyeon knew Runther's critical strike points…
Among the game's hundreds of thousands of lore books and billions of words… 8 books in particular, scattered all around the world in different quests, explained Runther's ability and how to defeat it…
All eight of those books were written by Oraclon, Runther's creator.
Seoyeon thought to himself, as he just barely dodged Runther's attacks.
"This dungeon isn't a dungeon at all… It's a quiz… A test, to see if the player actually reads the story."
…
He remembers the words that he pieced together with those 8 specific books…
"Runther's weakness is in his inability to attack his master."
Seoyeon ran past Runther as Runther slammed its greatsword into the ground in an attempt to hit him.
As Seoyeon sprinted forwards into the light at the end of the corridor, Runther followed behind him.
"Most players never read the story, in fact, I'm probably the only one who knows this much of Withering Moon's lore…"
He finally made it to the main hall of the dungeon, a vast circular room with the ceiling reaching the skies, the walls lined with bookshelves that touched the clouds. At the center was a spinning mechanism orbiting around a massive manifestation of mana and a throne positioned near the mechanism, facing Seoyeon.
Seoyeon quickly went up the stairs and sat on the throne.
He faced Runther, who slowly stepped up the stairs and moved towards him…
Then, Runther knelt down as Seoyeon crossed his legs—sitting on the grand throne.
"Call me… The lore master."
…
Seoyeon let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew… I knew it would work so why am I so worked up?"
"...I mean, I guess it's a whole different story when my life is actually on the line now instead of it just being a game."
…
The grand throne at the center of Oraclon's grand library was where Oraclon once sat, commanding his army of spirits in organizing the books and documents. It is also where Oraclon sat when he gave Runther the order to defend the library.
Runther simply sees a mirror of its owner within Seoyeon.
…
Seoyeon got up, and turned around to face the mechanism in the center with Runther still kneeling behind him.
"Knowledge is the key to survival." He muttered, then a bright glow emanated from the mana manifestation in the core of the mechanism.
"H-huh?! Who dares awaken me from my slumber!" Yelled a deep, coarse, disembodied voice, originating from the mana manifestation.
"What!? Runther? Why're you kneeling!? Get the intruder!"
…
Even with the voice yelling as loud as it can, despite the voice's orders echoing through the chambers, Runther continued kneeling in silence.
"Hey there, Oraclon." Seoyeon said with a devilish smile.
"Who are you?" Oraclon asked.
"You're the God of Information, I know that you know who I am."
"Especially with your
"WHAAAAAT!? How do you know about the
…
"I'm a
"Oh… I see."
"Well, it seems like you found the mechanism to the dungeon… How'd you find out anyway?" Oraclon asked in an exaggerated voice, to the point where Seoyen could imagine him making small little gestures.
Seoyeon pointed to his head, "By using my head…"
He thought to himself,
"The players of WIthering Moon never tried to understand its lore, thinking it was a massive waste of time… In fact, whenever a newbie asked whether they should pay attention to the story in the forum, most pro players would say "no." as they found it a waste of time."
Seoyeon shrugged,
"Well… They unintentionally gatekept the most overpowered ability in Withering Moon…"
"...Literacy."
"? What're you muttering to yourself? I can't hear you, speak up." Oraclon said frustratingly.
"Ah, don't mind it… Anyways, Oraclon, I have a question for the God of Information…"
Oraclon's interest piqued,
"Hm? And what might that question be?"
…
"Why didn't you become a game administrator or developer like the others?"
Oraclon sighed,
"Ah… Well, it isn't just me, many other major and minor gods chose not to become game administrators and developers either. I just didn't want to be hassled and chose to spend my time as a mana manifestation reading an endless amount of books in my library."
…
"Then… I take it that you dislike the abyssal being too?" Seoyeon replied.
The mood in the hall immediately went dark, the pressure felt suffocating as Seoyeon could tell he asked a question he shouldn't have.
"..."
"Don't say that out loud… He's the ruler of everything on Eioth, remember?"
…
"You could incur his wrath just by saying that."
…
"Anyways, yeah, you're right. It's not that I hate him… But I don't like how he killed the six central deities… Especially when Aleia and her husband Veiroth were my bestest buds…"
"...But there's nothing I can do about it, I may be a major god, but only regarding information, I'm not as powerful as the others…"
…
Seoyeon spoke up,
"Well… That's the thing."
…
"Information is power, Oraclon… And with your power, I can avenge Aleia and Veiroth."
Seoyeon could feel Oraclon's interest pique even more, the god's mana manifestation fluctuating rapidly.
"Really now?"
"Well… I have nothing better to look forward to anyways… Let me hear your grand plan."
Seoyeon smiled,
"I need your S-Class skill,
"That's it?" Oraclon asked with a curious tone.
"Yes."
"Hmm… Alright, seems easy enough."
Then, a bright blue orb surrounded in geometrical figures, and fractal-like patterns emerged from the mana manifestation and approached Seoyeon.
Seoyeon grabbed the orb with his palm, as a surge of power flowed through him, an immense and deep understanding of the world of Eioth and everything around him all quickly flashed into his mind.
…
[You have acquired the S-Class Skill:
"Nice… Now watch carefully, Oraclon."
"Hm?" Oraclon watched intently as Seoyeon manifested a great deal of mana and power, system messages began flickering all around him and a powerful pressure sent shockwaves across the library, shaking the grand hall, and making dust fall from endless columns of books.
Books began falling left and right, as Oraclon's mana manifestation responded harshly,
"W-what!?"
…
[You have successfully sacrificed
…
[S-Class Skill:
"Woah! I didn't even know you could do that with my powers!" Oraclon yelled out in amazement.
[Eye of Criticality]
[Details:]
[Rank: SR-Class]
[Description: Allows the player to read information and details directly from the system regarding a target or subject.]
…
He tested out his new skill, looking at the Oraclon's mana manifestation.
…
Then, a magic circle appeared in his right eye as a whirlwind of figures and a flurry of visions and patterns surrounded it.
[Mana Manifestation: Oraclon]
[Oraclon's mana manifestation, an ascended form used by Oraclon to laze off and read novels and stories without end.]
"Hah! It works."
"Wow!" Oraclon said in an extremely amused tone.
Despite having no body, Seoyeon could already imagine Oraclon's hands clapping in amazement as he looked on.
"Well, Han Seoyeon, you have certainly amused me…"
"It's like I'm witnessing a novel in real life!" Oraclon exclaimed.
"Well… About that… Actually, you know what, nevermind." Seoyeon stopped, shrugging.
"Thanks for the skill, Oraclon. I'll make sure to avenge Aleia and Veiroth for you."
Oraclon's mana manifestation fluctuated, almost mimicking a wave goodbye,
"Alright! I'll be watching you from now on, Han Seoyeon!"
…
As Seoyeon stepped out of the dungeon, he noticed the dim sunset on the horizon as he returned to the forest of Borealon.
"It's getting dark, I should contact Roderick and head to the player apartment he talked about…"
Then,
[You have successfully conquered the
[Congratulations! You are the first to conquer the
[Rewards will now be delivered accordingly.]
…
Then, an endless flood of level-up messages filled Seoyeon's vision.
"W-woah… Isn't this… Too much!?"
…
He smirked,
"Well… Thanks, I guess… Let's invest these properly.
…
[Han Seoyeon]
[Level 8]
[Skills:]
[SR-Class
[Items:]
[F-Class
[SSS-Class
[Stats:]
[Agility (Evasion) 14]
[Luck 12]
[Strength 14]
[Dexterity 12]
[Speed 12]
[Vitality 12]
[Mana 12]
"Phew… I forgot that the amount of stat points you received upon leveling up was rather arbitrary."
"Well, it doesn't matter."
He walked forwards, heading out of the forest.
"Let's go back home."