"A girl?! You’ve got plans with a girlfriend?"
"Are you two seeing each other seriously?"
Seong’s mother, Lee Na-gyeong, practically buzzed with excitement, while his father, Yoo Gwang-jin, tried to appear indifferent but couldn’t hide his interest.
Seong glared at Yu Mina, already resigned to the chaos she’d caused, but she feigned innocence with a playful smirk.
What a troublemaker.
Seong sighed and attempted to calm his parents.
"No, it’s just a college friend."
"But it’s a girl, right?!"
"...Yes, technically. But it’s not just her; it’s a group of college friends meeting up."
"Oh, I thought you had a girlfriend..." Na-gyeong’s disappointment was so evident that Seong was momentarily taken aback.
Was she really that let down?
As Seong stared at her in confusion, Gwang-jin spoke up.
"Now, now, don’t be so openly disappointed. You’ll make him feel pressured. It’s not like Seong lacks popularity, so stop worrying unnecessarily."
"Still..."
Na-gyeong let out a long sigh but said no more.
Seong silently thanked his father for the save.
His mother always got overly excited when the topic of a female friend came up. She often complained that Seong had never brought a girlfriend home, saying it hurt her feelings.
Seong shot a sharp glance at Mina, who remained unapologetic, grinning as if to say, What did I do?
She’s unbelievable...
Seong bit back his retort, deciding not to escalate things at the dinner table.
He tried to focus on his meal, but the intense stares from both parents made him feel like he might choke.
When he finally looked up to see why they were staring, Na-gyeong nudged Gwang-jin.
"So, are you leaving late tomorrow, then?"
"Ah... no. I think I’ll head out around noon. The plan is to meet around lunchtime."
Double-checking his schedule, Seong confirmed it was accurate. He had planned everything ahead of time.
"I have a quest to finish in the morning, then a raid, and after that, I’ll head to the meeting."
"A... raid?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
Seong’s casual mention of a raid left everyone at the table looking stunned. Even Mina, who also played Eternal World, seemed baffled.
It was unexpected, and Seong couldn’t understand why.
Na-gyeong broke the silence first, hesitantly asking, "Don’t you usually spend the morning preparing for a lunch meeting...?"
"Guys don’t need much time to get ready," Seong replied matter-of-factly.
"Huh?"
His nonchalant answer left Na-gyeong thoroughly confused.
Gwang-jin scratched his head as if unsure whether to agree or question his son’s priorities. While not a gamer himself, even he felt something about this seemed off.
Mina, on the other hand, looked utterly exasperated.
"Didn’t you already raid today?"
"Yeah."
"You cleared Fortress of the Past this morning, right?"
"Right."
"And you’re raiding again tomorrow?"
"Yep."
"...Unbelievable."
Mina shook her head, staring at Seong as if he were crazy.
She had introduced him to the game herself, but his obsession seemed extreme even by her standards.
Normally, Na-gyeong would reprimand Mina for her coarse language, but this time, she didn’t. It seemed she secretly agreed.
Seong, meanwhile, tilted his head in confusion.
What’s so strange about fitting in a raid before a meeting?
As he pondered their reactions, his family silently came to their own conclusions.
He really has no interest in dating, does he?
Will he even get married at this rate?
Forget the game and live in the real world, Seong.
Even Mina felt the last thought applied to herself, but since Seong seemed worse off, she said nothing.
1.
Ji Hye-jeong, Team Leader of the User Management Division, rubbed her temples as she stared at the monitor, overwhelmed and uncertain where to begin.
She was currently collaborating with the NPC Management Division, giving her access to specific data—namely, the screen displaying Overpalace.
"Ugh..."
Overpalace, a faction whose NPCs were bound by countless restrictions.
Among them was their leader, Black Star, burdened with the most severe constraints.
Normally, only a faction’s leader would face such heavy limitations, but in Overpalace, even the subordinates—right down to mid-level officers—were tightly restricted.
This meant that even Overpalace’s mid-tier officers were more powerful than the leaders of other factions.
And now, they were considering partially lifting some of these restrictions.
Is this really the right call?
Lee Won-sang had proposed the idea, and Deputy Manager Lee Jae-kyung had enthusiastically supported it, even laughing while calling for immediate action.
If they lifted the restrictions temporarily and reinstated them later, it shouldn’t cause major issues.
For now, the goal was to stop Hero Luke from targeting Seong.
However, dealing with Luke wasn’t simple.
He hadn’t reached his full potential yet, making it difficult to impose restrictions on him.
Using Overpalace as a countermeasure seemed like an excellent idea—but the risks made Hye-jeong hesitate.
Still, with Lee Jae-kyung taking full responsibility, Hye-jeong resigned herself to the task and began tweaking the restrictions.
Of course, she avoided touching the leader or top officers, as doing so could lead to catastrophic consequences for the entire continent.
Instead, she focused on mid-level officers.
There was no need to inform Overpalace about Luke’s activities; they likely already knew.
All she had to do was lift a few specific restrictions temporarily.
After carefully reviewing the details to ensure Luke wouldn’t be killed, Hye-jeong completed the process and leaned back in her chair, hoping for the best.
Please, let nothing go wrong.
What Hye-jeong didn’t know—and what only Seong could have understood—was the presence of a ghostly, pixelated figure standing behind Hero Luke on the monitor.
It was the ghost of Hero Hindel, watching silently from the shadows.
2.
Early in the morning, Seong stepped out of the bathroom, steam trailing behind him as it escaped the now-open door.
Whoosh.
He had showered thoroughly and was now drying his hair.
Normally, he would apply lotion and decide what to wear, but instead, he headed straight to his room after drying his hair, standing before his capsule.
He intended to log in immediately.
Before that, however, he checked his phone to see if there was anything he needed to address.
Several KakaoTalk messages had piled up while he was asleep.
[Lee Sujeong: Everyone, don’t be late tomorrow.]
[Lee Cheol-min: Got it.]
[Jung Ha-rin: Haha, of course not.]
[Song Jae-min: Hey, but is it true Seong’s coming too?]
[Seo Yoo-jin: Su-jeong said so. He’s already in this group chat, remember?]
[Lee Cheol-min: Wow, how long has it been since I’ve seen Seong? I heard he was discharged not long ago.]
[Jung Ha-rin: Right, haha.]
[Lee Sujeong: Anyway, don’t forget—be there by 1 PM at Sangsu Station.]
The conversation continued for quite a while after that.
It felt wrong not to reply, so Seong quickly sent a response.
[Yu Seong-hyun: I’ll be there on time.]
Satisfied, Seong headed straight to the capsule.
He had set an alarm, so he would leave exactly as planned.
As he logged into Eternal World, the familiar floating sensation accompanied the welcoming message.
[Welcome to Eternal World, a world both eternal and otherworldly.]
[May fortune favor you, Player 『Seong-hyun』.]
When Seong appeared in the last place he logged out—the inn’s front—he stepped inside.
The innkeeper, with a warm and familiar demeanor, greeted him.
"Oh! Welcome back! Are you the one Philip mentioned?"
"Yes, I heard he left a key here for me."
"Ah, yes. Here it is. Philip already paid the storage fee, so you don’t need to worry about that."
"Ah! Thank you. I’ll be back again. The potato stew was so good, I’ll probably stop by often."
"Puhehehe! Our potato stew is the best, isn’t it? Come back anytime!"
After chatting briefly with the good-natured innkeeper, Seong took the key and stepped outside. Along with the key, Philip had left a note.
[While I have full confidence in the heir’s abilities,
Beware of the guardian Kahku himself abandoned in his greed.
A word of caution: the key is for a door, not a cave entrance.]
The note contained a clue, but it didn’t hold much significance for Seong.
With Kahku’s memories, he already knew everything it explained.
The quest was solely about acquiring the key.
Mounting Anemore, Seong soared into the sky, quickly climbing over 100 meters.
As the familiar winds greeted him, he retrieved Kahku’s treasure map.
[The Hidden Quest is completed. The location of 『Treasure Goblin Kahku’s Treasure Map』 is revealed.]
A red dot appeared on the nearby map, marking the treasure’s location.
“It’s farther than I thought.”
He had expected it to be near Serodin, but it wasn’t.
Even riding Anemore, it would take about an hour. Walking would’ve taken at least half a day.
Good thing I got Kaishak recently.
With no further delay, Seong flew toward the marked point.
Whooosh!
The landscape blurred as strong winds buffeted him.
But Seong remained steady, gripping Anemore’s feathers as they soared.
The rush of air tousled his hair, but the exhilaration made it all worthwhile.
Even with the journey lasting an hour, Seong enjoyed the flight, savoring the experience until they finally arrived.
“So this is it.”
As Philip’s note suggested, the key wasn’t for a cave.
The red dot marked a sheer cliff face, perfectly smooth with no visible openings.
But Seong already knew where the entrance was.
Approaching the middle of the cliff, he reached out a hand.
The cliff shimmered like a mirage, revealing the hidden entryway.
“Where did Kahku even find something like this?”
Thanks to Kahku’s memories, Seong knew exactly how it was constructed and couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship.
Though Kahku hadn’t built the site himself, he had concealed the entrance with illusion magic to ensure it remained undiscovered.
As Seong moved to enter, Anemore made a discontented noise—the entrance was too narrow.
"Looks like you’ll have to wait in the Netherworld."
After dismissing Anemore, Seong ventured inside alone.
If needed, he could always summon it again. Besides, his combat abilities were formidable enough on their own.
Step. Step. Step.
His footsteps echoed eerily in the narrow passage, but Seong was unfazed.
Eventually, he reached the iron door described in Kahku’s memories.
Unlike the illusion-covered entrance, the iron door belonged to the original ruins.
The key was designed specifically for this door, based on detailed analysis.
The door stood over 3 meters tall and 1 meter wide per panel.
“Without the key, I wouldn’t have been able to get in.”
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
Magic energy emanated faintly from the door, suggesting it was heavily warded.
Inserting the key, Seong turned it.
Creaaak!
Thud... Thud...
The hinges groaned, and the ground trembled as the door slowly opened.
Inside, the ruins sparkled with crystals, reflecting dazzling light.
The brightness was almost blinding, and Seong squinted, trying to shield his eyes.
The light subsided after a moment, leaving the ruins glowing faintly, like a dreamscape or a palace from a fairy tale.
“Wow.”
He had never seen anything like it.
Glad he had recorded the moment, Seong thought this scene deserved to be shared.
As Seong explored the glittering ruins, a ghost peeked out from between the crystal pillars. It briefly revealed its face, quickly pulled back, and then peeked out again.
"...What are you doing?" Seong asked, his tone neutral.
"Ah! C-can you see me?!"
The ghost, its face turning a deep shade of red, recoiled in shock at Seong’s words.