I was able to earn 300 Coins from this joke of a quest. But that wasn't the important thing.
'I didn't say anything about Eye of Perception…'
I hadn't said anything about Eye of Perception's grade increase, but the quest was cleared anyway.
'What does this mean?'
It meant… that Senia didn't know about the gift the Nameless Observer gave me.
'But why?' I had no idea. 'Is that really how it is?'
I was probably correct. Senia didn't know that my Eye of Perception's grade was temporarily increased.
"Satisfied? I memorized it perfectly, right?"
"You did. But Player Kim Hyukjin needs to listen more carefully to my explanation. It could be directly tied to your survival."
"Isn't it fine since I memorized it?"
"…Yes, but—"
It wasn't good to talk to a Streamer for too long. A chat between a Player and Streamer wasn't what the Guardians wanted to see. What they wanted to see was how I would clear this 'special hidden piece'.
'Though, for someone like the Whispering Devil, I'm sure they'd like to see me suffer and suffer some more.'
In any case, I moved forward. I could tell from Eye of Perception that the scale of this forest was enormous, so large that it was difficult to determine exactly how far it extended.
'It'll take a while.'
Everything else wouldn't be much of a problem, but I was a little worried about my mom and older sister.
'But nothing will come out of worrying now.'
This was a path I chose to walk. There were no take backs, and there was no path back, anyway.
'The clue is to find the master of the forest.'
That was my only hint.
'It's evening right now.'
The 'flow of time' existed in this hidden piece. The sun was setting, which meant that side was to the west.
'Without a dungeon compass, that's the only way for me to tell the direction.'
According to the wisdom of the Great Explorer Jackson, when you didn't know where to go, it was most favorable to walk to the 'west'. There wasn't any law behind it, but in his experience, west was best.
'It shouldn't be a high difficulty dungeon that changes directions on its own.'
I decided to begin my survey after setting a point of reference. A day passed in that manner.
* * *
Using the camping tools the Guardians provided, I set up my campsite. The effect notifications of the Magic Campfire and Magic Camping Set came in.
[A Safe Zone has been established.]
[The Safe Zone will be marked in green.]
I was inwardly satisfied. 'This is on the big side, too.'
I was able to set up a safe zone 5 meters large in diameter, fairly large for a safe zone. When inside, I wouldn't be attacked by monsters.
'It's still the beginner period, after all.'
Among the monsters in the beginner period, there weren't any crazy ones that could destroy a safe zone parameter and barge inside.
'And if there is…'
Safe zone or not, I would die anyway. I hoped there wasn't a monster like that, but if there was, it was game over for me. Otherwise, this safe zone was extremely useful.
"Player Kim Hyukjin. What have you discovered while investigating this place?"
I could tell. This wasn't her own question; she was just the mouthpiece.
'A Guardian's question.'
The process of exploration itself wasn't that fun or exciting. Right now, I had to collect clues and clear the quest. I couldn't make the entire process interesting. Sometime along the way, there would be Guardians who would stop watching me.
'I should explain the most essential things.'
I understood this System well, and I was determined to use that knowledge to the utmost.
"First of all, this is a forest field."
That was all too obvious.
"While surveying today, I saw about three different sets of claw marks. They were gouged on tree trunks."
I was faithful to the basics that the Great Explorer Jackson wrote in his basic strategy guide. My focus was on figuring out what kind of monsters existed in the dungeon, what their habits were, what the terrain was, that kind of basic information.
"Looking at the height at which the claw marks were gouged and their size, there's a high chance that they belong to a cat-like beast monster."
"…"
Senia listened to me in silence. With the upgraded Eye of Perception, I could read Senia's emotions a little. Even though she didn't express it on her face, she was currently impressed. The Guardians were probably in the same boat, because by their standards, I was a beginner who hadn't even had his advancement yet.
"There's a high chance the beasts have individual territories. Considering that I didn't see any traces of fighting, they avoid fighting amongst each other. That means there's no fighting between them at all."
"What use is that to Player Kim Hyukjin?"
"If I move along the borders of their territories, where one monster's territory meets another, I can minimize the chance of getting attacked by them."
"…"
"Also, nocturnal birds of prey are flying around at night."
They moved at night. They weren't so strong they could punch through my safe zone, but they were still pretty dangerous monsters.
'Like the Red-Eyed Owl.'
The Red-Eyed Owl was only level 29, but it was a 'bird' type monster. It also had better eyesight at night than me, so it would be much more difficult to face than regular level 29 monsters.
"Which has to mean there are creatures out there for those monsters to hunt."
If there was a predator, there was prey. That was normally the case. Dungeons were places ruled by the law of the jungle.
"Strangely enough, I don't see traces of prey. So what does that mean?"
I didn't know, either. But something was definitely strange.
"…"
Senia didn't respond.
[The 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' feels great interest in your exploration.]
[The 'Whispering Devil' finds your Playing fun.]
[The 'Courageous Lion King' is bored.]
[The 'Lady of the Scales' expresses her admiration at your composure.]
[The 'Nameless Observer' observes you without pause.]
Another day passed. I wasn't able to discover anything more.
'Let's not be impatient.'
It was only the third day. Dangerous dungeons often took several months to clear.
'I'm strangely calm.'
Actually, if you were in an unfamiliar, potentially dangerous place for three days all alone, it was probably normal to be scared. And yet…
'Weirdly enough, I'm not.'
I had no choice but to honestly acknowledge my feelings.
'No.'
It wasn't just that I wasn't scared. To be perfectly honest—
'I'm having fun.'
Right now, I was having a great deal of fun Playing. Feeling that Playing was fun was certainly influenced by one's talent. That was how many people had put it.
'I just have to hope I'm not an early bloomer.'
Whether I was an early blooming Player or not would be determined by whether I could break through level 40. Normally, early bloomers stalled at around level 30-40.
On my fourth day of exploration, I stumbled upon a burnt-down village.
[Entering the 'Razed Village of Forest Dwellers'.]
[Entering a 'Safe Zone'.]
In this 'Razed Village of Forest Dwellers' within the special hidden field, the 'Forest of Unknowns', there were only scorched frames left of most of the houses. It was a designated safe zone.
'Will there be a clue here?'
I didn't know. I would only know by digging around. If there was something I could 'click', then I would be able to obtain a clue.
'This house is pretty intact.'
One of the houses was still standing. Even though it was a roughly made wooden house, it still looked like a 'house'. I went inside.
'Huh?'
I instantly turned, taking out a sword from my Inventory.
'What was that just now?'
It was undoubtedly a safe zone, but I felt something strange. It was very minute, but there was definitely something there.
'Eye of Perception… is telling me.'
I could feel a gaze on me.
'Something's out there.'
But I couldn't figure out what that thing was. Something was watching me. I was barely able to capture its presence with my upgraded Eye of Perception. If I hadn't gotten the upgrade, I wouldn't have been able to feel it at all.
'Even though this is a safe zone.'
It seemed I had to keep my guard up. I had a bad feeling, somehow.
'That's clickable.'
I saw a scorched set of drawers that was clickable. When I clicked it with my gaze, the drawer automatically opened, revealing a letter within.
['Letter of the Forest Dwellers' Chief' acquired.]
I examined the letter.
Dear Old Man Lepry,
This is a letter sent from the westernmost village Dott to the easternmost village Dante. Old Man Lepry. It's already over for us. The Master of the Forest is enraged. They have unleashed their fury on us. There is no way for us to avoid their wrath. I hope that you…
I couldn't read the rest because the letter was partly burnt.
'So the setting is that the Master of the Forest is enraged, and because of that, this place was burnt down?'
That was definitely a plausible setting. I had to use this letter as a launchpad to find more clues and meet that Master of the Forest.
'The letter says this is the westernmost village, Dott.'
Which meant that if I moved eastward, I would find a village to the far east.
"What do you intend on doing? Will you go eastward?"
"No."
The letter said this was the westernmost village. There was a high chance that I was almost at the western end of this 'Forest of Unknowns'. It could be helpful to know what was at the end of this field.
"I'll explore the west side a little more before moving east. That could very well be the more efficient strategy."
"Understood."
I wasn't able to get any additional information from the 'Razed Village of Forest Dwellers'. I headed west some more.
At some point, I was blocked by a transparent wall.
[You cannot go any further.]
The field, a dense forest, continued before my eyes. But I couldn't go past this wall.
'There's a chance this is the end of the field.'
Or—
'It could also be set to become traversable only after satisfying a special condition.'
I thought that the latter was more likely, because I could physically see more of the field.
'Not much came of that.'
Now that I had checked, I had to turn to the east. A dungeon clear carried out without knowing the strategy was a little boring. Like I first expected, the beast monsters had some sort of agreement and didn't leave their territories, and as a result, I was able to explore without getting attacked.
'There might be something if I go to the east.'
It might be a little boring, but it couldn't be helped. For the Guardians, this might just be a game or amusement, but for me, this was a matter of life and death. Even when challenging the unknown, it was best to do it as safely as possible.
'That faint gaze I felt in the village…'
Very occasionally, I felt that gaze again. Something I couldn't identify in the least was watching me. It didn't look like they were going to attack me right away, but it weighed heavily on me and was part of why I couldn't be careless here.
But just then, I heard a new notice.
[The 'Herdsman of Las Vegas' offers you a proposal.]
This notice ushered the scenario into a new phase.
____