Chapter 15 – The Hint (１)

Park Yunseok loved Hwarang.

He wanted Hwarang to become the best guild in the Republic of Korea—no, even the best in the world.

But to achieve that, there was one mountain he absolutely had to climb.

The top-ranked guild: Ure.

They were currently the best in the Republic of Korea.

And ranked among the global TOP3.

The reality was that Hwarang still fell short of Ure.

Even if they were strong, even if they were a top-tier class…

Because the gaps within that tier were always there.

“Of course, we still can’t be sure of the full potential of the Superhuman Baek Gijun.”

Cha Miyeong’s assessment was cool-headed.

That was just her nature.

She never got carried away, never got excited.

She simply judged the reality as it was, with cold clarity.

“That’s correct.”

Park Yunseok agreed.

Gijun had performed well.

But that was it.

He’d merely taken down the Boss of a measly Level-2 Dungeon.

By Gijun’s own standards, it was certainly an impressive feat.

But in the world of true Superhumans, he had barely taken his first steps.

That didn’t mean Gijun was worthless, though. Not at all.

“Let’s see how far he can reach.”

Cha Miyeong said those words.

Park Yunseok could feel it.

Cha Miyeong had expectations for Gijun too.

“Since things have gone this far, how about we set up an interesting game?”

Cha Miyeong smiled faintly as she spoke.

“A game…?”

Cha Miyeong handed over a file.

It was a dungeon where a Gate would open in a few days.

Park Yunseok’s eyes widened as he saw it.

“This is…”

The dungeon Cha Miyeong had designated was a Level-2 Dungeon.

But it wasn’t an ordinary Level-2 Dungeon.

It was a Solo Dungeon.

And there was something more important.

“A Time Attack Dungeon.”

It was exactly what it sounded like.

A Level-2 Solo Time Attack Dungeon.

This dungeon carried special significance.

‘A Level-2 Time Attack Solo Dungeon… it’s a kind of test.’

It was a stage that promising talents with exceptional potential were required to pass through.

In other words, it was an essential step on the road to becoming a star.

“But… is this okay? The Guild Master would have to approve it.”

“I’ll contact the Guild Master. As for persuasion… it’ll work. Demand for Magicians is exploding worldwide anyway. The Guild Master probably won’t refuse. No, I’m certain they’ll allow it.”

Cha Miyeong spoke with conviction.

*

“Ugh… my head…”

The next day.

He must have drunk so much that his head felt like it was splitting open the moment he woke up.

But…

“Hehehehe…”

The moment he saw his account balance, a laugh slipped out.

The account that had hit rock bottom after buying the dive suit was now swelling up again.

Just looking at it made his hangover melt away.

“Ah, this is good.”

Gijun was happy.

So happy he couldn’t remember the last time life felt this good.

“I hope it stays like this from now on.”

Gijun wished it with all his heart.

It felt possible.

If he kept going like this, it wouldn’t just stay the same — he could become even happier.

Opening the bank app, another smile crept across his face.

Had his account ever been this fat before?

Staring at it, Gijun drifted into thought.

‘Maybe… just a little splurge.’

A sudden urge for Cash Purchase surged up.

It wasn’t because he’d made thirty million won in a day and gotten dizzy with the money.

‘Efficiency.’

It was because the efficiency was different.

Of course, Real Spirit’s Equipment prices weren’t a joke either.

Cheap items cost hundreds of thousands of won, while expensive ones easily sailed past hundreds of millions.

But as he’d said, the efficiency was different.

Even with the same amount of money, in-game items were inevitably cheaper than physical gear.

And since the Superhumans earned insane amounts of money, their Equipment was absurdly expensive too.

‘So…’

Gijun made up his mind to spend money on the game.

‘Just ten million won.’

A third of what he’d earned yesterday.

If an investment this size could rocket him forward, it was hardly a waste.

Ten million won no longer made his hands shake. Not anymore.

He could keep earning.

‘Okay.’

The decision took a heartbeat.

He converted the ten million won into roughly a hundred million Lico on the spot.

Then he started hunting for information.

What items did he actually need?

What should he buy to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of his budget?

*

About an hour later,

Gijun, after digging through data, logged into the game and scanned the Auction House.

‘No joke, this is insane.’

Staring at the listings made his head spin.

A dazzling flood of pricey items poured across the screen—endless, relentless.

His hundred million Lico felt pitifully small in comparison.

‘That one… three hundred million Lico. That one’s a billion… Holy shit.’

He felt it in his bones: the sheer river of money flowing through Real Spirit at this very moment.

Even items worth billions of Lico were vanishing and reappearing in a constant, frantic churn.

Billions of Lico—that was hundreds of millions of won in real cash, wasn’t it?

And in that instant, he sensed just how vast a world Real Spirit truly was.

‘Someday, I’ll be able to afford those, too.’

No doubt about it.

Before long, he’d be wearing those same exorbitant items.

So for now, he just needed to focus on the task at hand.

Gijun searched for the item he’d researched earlier.

[Robe of Flame]

>Grade: Rare

>Defense: 15

>Magic Defense: 35

>Fire Attribute Attack Power +25%

>Fire Attribute Resistance +15%

The robe came first.

He’d chosen it for the fire attack bonus.

An item that would boost the power of his main spell, Fireball.

Next, he bought:

[Wind Boots]

>Grade: Rare

>Defense: 33

>Movement Speed +15%

>Wind Attribute Attack Power +23%

This time, something tied to the wind element.

Wind attack power plus movement speed—there was no reason not to buy it.

‘Those two cost sixty million Lico.’

Roughly six hundred thousand won in cash.

That left him with forty million Lico.

And then—

Gijun flinched.

‘Huh?’

He’d spotted an item listed at an absurdly low price.

Something far more valuable than what he’d originally planned to buy.

No time to think.

Afraid someone might snatch it, he slammed the purchase button.

His fingers trembled.

Surely he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed it.

Countless people were rifling through the Auction House at this very moment.

Then a message appeared.

[You have purchased the item!]

‘Nice!’

Gijun let out a breath of relief.

He’d heard this happened sometimes.

A good item posted at an absurdly low price.

Either the seller had quit the game, or they didn’t know the market and just threw it up carelessly.

Whenever a screenshot of that kind surfaced online, envious comments flooded in.

Gijun had seen those posts himself.

But to think he’d be the one to get that lucky!

‘The heavens are truly helping me out!’

Of course, stumbling on an item like this was as rare as picking a star from the sky.

Even just finding it was nothing short of a stroke of luck…

And the item in question was:

[Ring of Greed]

>Grade: Artifact

>All Stats +3

>Recovers MP equal to 5% of damage dealt

An Artifact-grade ring.

Stat +3 on top of an MP recovery option—an item loaded with value.

Gijun quickly checked the price of comparable items.

Just as he thought.

This ring was absurdly cheap.

‘Insane.’

Only 40 million Lico for something like this.

Sure, that wasn’t pocket change.

But it was also true that 40 million Lico couldn’t get you another ring like this.

With this, his MP issues were as good as solved for the foreseeable future.

‘Good. Real good.’

It had been a satisfying shopping trip.

No,

more than satisfying, even.

The joy of this moment was almost beyond words.

How much stronger had he gotten?

And how much stronger could he still become?

‘Thrilling.’

It was electrifying.

So much so that he felt like singing and bouncing on his heels right now.

The surge of energy from deep in his chest was almost impossible to contain.

And now, it was time to move.

He didn’t want to stay still for even a moment.

He wanted to charge out and sweep every monster away—right this instant.

Wasn’t he now equipped with stats that completely dwarfed what he’d had before?

‘Let’s head out.’

The destination was already set.

‘Rapalam Hills.’

The place the Seeker he’d met before, Ruf, had told him about.

He’d said there was a hint there—a clue about the path he needed to take.

He didn’t know what it was yet, but now he had enough stats to hunt in the Rapalam Hills.

He was excited.

What else would be waiting for him there?

How much stronger would it make him?

Just thinking about it sent a thrill through him.

*

‘Here it is.’

The Rapalam Hills weren’t far from the city of Brioum, where Gijun had first arrived.

Players usually hunted around here until they hit at least level 50.

Once you passed level 50, you moved on to the next city.

Gijun’s plan, of course, was to jump straight to the next stage by the mid-30s.

He’d arrived at the Rapalam Hills, but nothing special had shown up yet.

He’d half-expected a quest to appear on the spot.

‘It’s fine.’

The Rapalam Hills were a hunting ground he’d have to pass through eventually, anyway.

‘There’s one thing I need to do here.’

There was an Achievement in this place that every user had to obtain.

‘Hunt 300 Rapalam Great-Bees in one hour.’

Only one chance to attempt it.

Success rate: 50%.

An Achievement that exactly half of all users would ever claim.

The reward for completing it was monstrous—permanent 10% boosts to both Experience gain and Skill Proficiency.

‘I’ve heard people delete their characters if they miss this one.’

And that was no exaggeration.

Over time, that 10% gap widened into a chasm, and the half who failed would inevitably fall behind in the race.

Some guilds even made the Rapalam Hills Achievement a prerequisite for membership.

There was a level cap on it, too.

Level 25.

At level 25, you were just barely able to start hunting Rapalam Great-Bees.

Hunting them in overwhelming numbers at that level was practically impossible.

The one saving grace was that party hunting counted.

Even so, a 50% success rate spoke to how brutally difficult the mission was.

Rapalam Great-Bees were monsters that earned their reputation.

They were swift, and one wrong move could have dozens swarming in to wipe out a party in seconds.

“We did it! We actually did it!”

“Hoorayyy!”

Cheers erupted from somewhere nearby.

A party that had just nailed the Achievement.

At the same time, plenty of others were advertising themselves to get into a party.

Listing their Skills, their Items, everything.

You could feel the sheer drive to complete it burning through everyone.

‘I need to get this done as fast as possible. I’ll look into the hint Ruf mentioned after.’

Gijun never once doubted he would claim the Achievement.

In fact, it played perfectly into his strengths.

Fire-attribute magic dealt bonus damage to Rapalam Great-Bees.

And with Strong Wind in his arsenal, even if they swarmed, it would be a welcome situation for him.

Thinking this, he drew his Staff.

The moment he attacked the first monster, the Achievement challenge would begin automatically.

Gijun faced his first Rapalam Great-Bee.

And the instant he hurled a Fireball at the creature—

[Achievement Challenge Started.]

[Hunt 300 Rapalam Great-Bees]

– Time Limit: 60 minutes

Just as expected.

The message announcing the challenge appeared.

But the real surprise came next.

[Flame Seeker exclusive Achievements unlocked.]

[Hunt 10 Rapalam Great-Bees]

– Time Limit: 1 minute

– Reward: All Stats +5

– Restriction: Party not allowed

[Hunt 500 Rapalam Great-Bees]

– Time Limit: 60 minutes

– Reward: Magic Power +10

– Restriction: Party not allowed

[Complete two Flame Seeker exclusive Achievements]

– Reward: Class Quest unlocked

‘Huh?’

It was a set of messages — exclusive Achievements for the Flame Seeker class.

Two of them were tied to the Rapalam Great-Bee.

One was hunting ten in a minute.

The other was hunting five hundred in an hour.

Both looked far tougher than the standard Achievements.

But the rewards? Impossible to ignore.

What stunned him more lay beneath.

‘A class Quest?’

Right.

If he cleared both exclusive Flame Seeker Achievements, a class Quest would unlock.

‘This is…’

Gijun understood.

Those three exclusive Achievements were the path to the hint Ruf had mentioned.