Daisuke swiftly moved behind a thicket of shrubs and crouched down. He reached for a handful of dried leaves, crumpled them, and nodded when he verified that the dire of the wind wouldn’t have given away his st, promising his location.

  In a clearing to the left of his hiding spot, a small mound of Celestia Flowers beed. The ?Monster Guide? had hem as a longtime favorite of Horned Rabbits.

  The flowers were also listed as a gathering quest on the bulletin board, an assig for which he had already prepared a batch t back to town.

  His patience bore fruit when a pair of Horned Rabbits emerged, lured by the tempting st of their preferred meal. Their small pink noses fred as they she suspicious heap, their whiskers twitg as they pted what to do.

  They were not used to their hard-earned food beily prepared in a ve bundle, but it wasn’t long before hunger gave way to their better judgment. As they began to feast, the grouh them gave way, causing the balls of fluff to tumble into a deep pit.

  Before the creatures could pte boung off the walls to escape their tomb, Daisuke on them like a starved barbarian, dropping a heavy boulder to swiftly end the life of one.

  Ign the creature’s fleeting shriek, he reached for a crudely made bow on his baotched an arrow from his quiver, and ehe life of the other.

  Daisuke looked on without a shred of remorse as blood pooled at the bottom of the hole. It was his very first victainst a monster siering the game, but instead of feeling a sense of triumph and celebration, he yearo further the sughter.

  SWOOSH-SWOOSH.

  Daisuke’s head snapped around, his visage dark and expressionless. From a rustling bush, he could see a pair of menag red eyes, and he didn’t hesitate to put an arrow between them.

  K!

  But instead of the pained shriek of a dying creature, the sound of the stoipped arrow colliding with a hard surface echoed through the forest. Daisuke quickly notched another arrow, pulled it until it was taut, and held his breath. His pulse hammered in his ears as he waited for any sign of movement.

  RUSTLE-RUSTLE.

  The bushes shifted once more, and then a beast sprang out with the velocity of a bullet. Daisuke released his arrow, but it was effortlessly deflected by a dagger made of boime seemed to slow as the crude bde carved a long red line across Daisuke’s cheek, the creature passing over his shoulder in a burst of speed.

  Ign the wound, Daisuke turned on his heels to capture the creature in his gaze.

  A Bullet Hare, he muttered, his frown deepening.

  No sooner had the thought formed in his mind than the monster, roughly twice the size of a Horned Rabbit, vanished into the trees once more. Daisuke broke into a sweat as it darted from the opy of oree to the .

  Bullet Hares were notorious for their swiftness. Wielding ons made of bohey used tree trunks as ptforms to bounce around at incredible speeds, carving into their enemies until there was nothi.

  Daisuke grunted as the cold caress of the bde touched his arm, f the sed wound. Then came the third, fourth, fifth, sixth—all within a few seds. As the beast slingshot from oree to the , its silver form traced a zigzag trajectory that whispered of death.

  The wounds were shallow, suggestiher the on wasn’t particurly sharp or the monster was merely toying with him. Regardless, Daisuke reized that he couldn’t prevail in a battle of speed or strength.

  With this realization weighing heavily on him, he quickly surveyed his surroundings before dashing towards the sound of gushing water.

  Perched high iree’s opy, the Bullet Hare observed the se below with satisfa, its veins pulsating with anticipation and its predatory instincts stirred to life. Its crimson eyes shimmered with primal greed as it leaped into a, propelled by an insatiable desire to hunt and sughter its prey.

  Daisuke’s breath grew ragged as he sprinted along a familiar path. Running had been a stant in his life, a y for survival. One misstep could mean the end, so he o be carefully observant—and a background in puter programmi that skill was honed like a bde.

  In Dusthaven, uanding the behavioral patterns of shopkeepers was crucial for exeg the perfect escape. Simirly, the monsters in the wilderness weren’t vastly different—sure, they were endowed with artificial intelligend were far more autonomous and adaptable pared to the predictable mobs in your average RPG.

  But, even within that intricate web of automation, there existed a pattern within its plexity, a repetitive sequence ripe for observation and exploitation.

  Enviroal factors and Daisuke’s own behavior could tip the scales, windows of opportunity. With focus, keen observation, aimed responses, victory remained within reach.

  At that undeniable truth, a sliver of light beamed at the end of the forested tunnel. But at the same time, the Bullet Hare, hopelessly drunk ooxig wine of the hunt, closed in, its bde poised dangerously close to Daisuke’s neck.

  Amidst the intricate ws of the human mind and the lethal fangs of the wild, which force will emerge victorious?

  SHINGG!

  By a few inches, Daisuke narrowly evaded the bde’s icy touch by dropping and sliding into an open gde. Meanwhile, the Bullet Hare, blinded by the sudden burst of light as it emerged from the undergrowth, was unsuspegly ensnared in a web of strings Daisuke had id beforehand.

  The sudden halt caused the creature to lose its grip on its on, sending it hurtling into the ke ahead.

  As the creature struggled to break free, it was met with the intimidating roar of the human, causing its eyes to bulge with fear. In a sudden reversal of roles, it found itself transformed from huo prey. With a pained shriek, the creature felt the sharp sting of an arrow as its stoip plunged into its neck.

  ***

  After bundling together a generous cluster of Dewdrop Willows using a sturdy vine, Daisuke tied it off a tree trunk and cast it into a ke before retreating from the water’s edge.

  He mented missing the ce to secure the Bullet Hare’s on but wisely refrained from venturing into the ke to retrieve it. As he observed the water, the wisdom of his decision quickly became evident.

  Before long, a pair of humanoid frog monsters, known as Malevocroak, surfaced from the water. They were shoddy leather armor and brandished crude clubs, their faces twisted in anger as they approached the shore.

  These amphibious creatures took the presence of the Dewdrop Willows as a personal insult. The willows emitted a pu essence akin to vinegar, which the Malevocroak found incredibly repulsive. And it didn’t take much for them to designate Daisuke as the source of their turmoil upon spotting him in the distance.

  Daisuke’s breaths came in ragged bursts as he fled from the enraged monsters, their wild swings and guttural battle cries eg in his ears. Yet, as soon as they began their cries, they swiftly transformed into high-pitched yelps that dissolved into an abrupt, eerie silence.

  Slowing to a stop, Daisuke retraced his steps, gazing down upon the gruesome se: the once-ferocious beasts had unwittingly plummeted into a cealed pitfall, their forms impaled upon spikes made of bamboo.

  ***

  Daisuke proceeded to y down traps desigo ensnare Imps and feral boars alike. Once caught, he would then ehese creatures with a sharpened bamboo spear, dispatg them without an ounce of remorse.

  Iweeing snares and pitfalls, he would use the same spears to dispatch Slimes, the easiest of the three species he had trapped and sin thus far.

  And, of course, with each successful kill, he would salvage what he could from the vanquished monsters. His approach to hunting, although crude and ruthless, was a necessary sacrifice if he wao survive.

  ***

  For the first time since his killing spree began, Daisuke’s expression softened. He was standing before what was once a glistening Crystal Field, memories of Zephyr flickering through his mind. But only for a moment.

  In the instant, the blissful memories vanished, repced by the seething ahat had bee his stant panion. His thoughts shifted to the loss of his friend, the echoes of Zephyr’s st moments ringing in his ears.

  All the progress he had fought so hard to achieve had been wrenched away from him. This thought became an inferno of fury, stoking his rage until he couldn’t tain it.

  He snatched up a stone, his muscles tensing as he hurled it with all the force of his frustration. The stone collided with a cave se of the outcrop before him, the once-imposing surface crumbled to reveal the dark maw of a hidden cave.

  Daisuke gasped in astonishment, his eyes widening. “T-This is…” That’s right—Crystal Fields only appear close to the entrances of a Dungeon. The fact that the Mana Crystals were of a higher purity, does that mean this is a… Hidden Dungeon?

  There are two known types of dungeons in the world: normal dungeons and Hidden or ?Irregur Dungeons?. A normal Dungeon is stationary and have any number of floors. Pyers form parties and explore them.

  Hidden Dungeons, however, are vastly different. They feature anywhere between two to five floors and only be cleared solo. If a party ehe Dungeon, they will automatically be separated and anized into ?Instant Dungeons? to challe individually.

  The monsters in these dungeons are unbelievably overpowered and only those challengers who are very exceptional in skill succeed. The ?Boss Monster? is no different—it’s a unique species of mohat boasts incredible power and intelligence.

  There are multiple Hidden Dungeons in each region that reflect the level of the general monster popution. Once a Hidden Dungeon is cleared or failed, it vanishes and randomly respawns elsewhere, and everything about it ges. Even if one was lucky enough to enter the same monsters, their temperament and battle characteristics would be different.

  Finding a Hidden Dungeon was the ultimate desire of every pyer and adventurer, for if one was able to challenge and clear it, great treasure and other rewards awaited.

  Despite his eagero explore and quer, Daisuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Fully aware that he cked the prear for venturing into the unknowhs, he held back his curiosity and decided to postpone exploration. Instead, he set to work obsg the cave entrah a clever arra of pnts and undergrowth.

  However, fate had other pns.

  Without warning, the earth gave way beh his feet, leaving him with no ce to react. Daisuke screamed as he plummeted into the abyss below, his surroundings swallowed by darkness as he fell into the unknowhs of the cave. The back of his head collided with falling rock before he romptly swallowed by a n of light.