Episode 4: My Dark History Is Too Strong

Episode 4: Attribute Rune Dungeon (1)

Post-Great Cataclysm International Order

South Korea’s global standing has drastically changed.

The Land of Adventurers.

That’s another name for present-day South Korea.

[World Tree’s Heart and Forest of Growth Appear! Will South Korea Become the Hub of Adventurer Society?]

[South Korea: The Only Nation with the Tower of Alchemy, Tower of Command, and Tower of Craftsmanship!]

[IMF Forecasts 6% Economic Growth for South Korea This Year!]

In Legend Seven, the number of key facilities varied by country.

Having two facilities was considered quite fortunate.

Yet, Korea was blessed with all the game’s facilities.

As a result, it became the top destination for adventurers worldwide. But where there’s light, shadows follow.

[South Korea: Overwhelmingly #1 in Adventurer Crime Rate Among OECD Nations!]

[Chronic Shortage of Adventurer Forces: Is South Korea Okay Like This?]

With adventurers from around the world flocking in, public safety plummeted.

Despite its unmatched infrastructure, South Korea’s adventurer forces were severely lacking.

In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, information was the key to nurturing adventurers, but South Korea had notably little of it, slowing growth.

There was a reason for this…

[What’s Legend Seven, you nerd?]

This game was an absolute flop.

Especially in South Korea.

Overseas, small communities like Xdit shared information, but in South Korea, there wasn’t even a minor gallery for it!

For a gaming nation, this was unprecedented, and the blame fell on higher-ups’ blunders.

The game heavily utilized AI, which led to regulatory issues and a refusal by authorities to grant a rating, citing concerns over potentially sexual or violent AI-generated dialogue.

As a result, the game could only be accessed in South Korea via VPN, and since it wasn’t well-known globally either, domestic players were nearly nonexistent.

Consequently, no South Koreans are in the top 100 adventurer rankings.

You’d have to look as far as the top 500 to find a few.

The silver lining? Despite the weak adventurer forces, no nation openly exploited or antagonized South Korea.

Powerful nations kept each other in check, wary of anyone monopolizing the facilities.

Thus, South Korea maintained a fragile peace on thin ice.

“Sigh…”

Some people work tirelessly to preserve this delicate peace.

For example, Team Leader Lee Jung-yul, who diligently scours records at the <Tower of Records> to discover new talent.

“Tae-gyun, have you finished organizing today’s low-tier dungeon records?”

She was busy sorting through records as usual.

“Yes, I’m done. But is it really possible to find new talent by updating these every day?”

“Of course it is.”

“We haven’t had results in the past two years, though…”

At team member Park Tae-gyun’s words, she gave a wry smile.

She knew it too.

South Korea’s prospects weren’t great.

Seasoned veterans had long left for overseas, and the rare rookies who emerged only hoped to catch the eye of powerful foreign guilds.

That’s why this job was crucial.

If she could find budding talents before foreign guilds noticed them, she had a chance to compete.

Finding individuals who could bolster South Korea’s adventurer forces—that was the mission of the South Korea Adventurer Management Headquarters.

“We haven’t found anyone in two years, so today might just be the day. Low-tier dungeons are done. What about the tutorial?”

“I was just about to check. But do we really need to check the tutorial? Isn’t that a bit excessive…?”

“We need to be excessive in this country. We can’t forget that day.”

“…Understood.”

Grumbling but complying with Lee Jung-yul’s orders, Park Tae-gyun checked the records.

As he scrolled through, he paused and backtracked, as if he’d found something.

‘Huh? An error…?’

Tutorial dungeon clear times average around 10 minutes.

South Korea’s current #1, Seo Ju-hyun, barely managed 9 minutes 58 seconds for an S-grade clear.

The global #1, Spain’s Alberto, holds the only SS-grade record at around 5 minutes.

But the record before him…

‘0 minutes… 34 seconds? That’s impossible!’

Park Tae-gyun urgently called Lee Jung-yul.

“Team Leader! You need to see this.”

“What is it?”

“This. The tutorial clear record. Could it be an error?”

The record Park Tae-gyun pointed to made Lee Jung-yul doubt her eyes.

“Clear time… 0 minutes, 34 seconds…?”

“An error, right?”

An error?

No, it couldn’t be.

The Tower of Records’ data is absolute.

It can’t be tampered with by human hands.

“What about the adventurer’s info?”

“It’s set to private.”

“Of course, it would be.”

That made sense.

Entering the tutorial dungeon means they’re a newly awakened adventurer.

They likely haven’t even registered yet, so there’d be no public info.

“What about the location? Where did they enter the dungeon from?”

The Tower of Records could track the country of dungeon entry.

“Uh… what?”

Park Tae-gyun looked flustered.

“Where is it?”

“KR server… It’s South Korea.”

Lee Jung-yul’s hands trembled.

Excitement surged.

Could South Korea finally have a ranker?

‘No, calm down, Lee Jung-yul.’

Suppressing her excitement, she regained her composure.

It wasn’t certain they were a South Korean citizen.

South Korea is a hub for adventurers worldwide—perhaps a foreign visitor entered the tutorial.

‘But the chance they’re Korean isn’t low either.’

Regulating her breathing, Lee Jung-yul organized her thoughts.

“Tae-gyun, start collecting the list of newly registered adventurers from now on.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them.”

“Uh, until when…?”

Park Tae-gyun didn’t seem to grasp her intent.

Sighing, Lee Jung-yul explained patiently.

“They just cleared the tutorial, so statistically, they’re likely to enter a beginner dungeon soon.”

“Huh?”

“Someone who set a record like this is likely to break records in the next dungeon too, right?”

“Oh, yes, that’s true.”

“So, if we narrow down the list of adventurers who register between the ‘tutorial record’ and the ‘beginner dungeon record’…”

“We can identify this rookie!”

“Exactly.”

Unlike the tutorial, main objectives like the <Tower> or facilities like the <Forest of Growth> have fixed entry points.

They can’t be accessed from just anywhere.

If another record is broken there, she planned to head to the site herself.

‘This is a big catch. I have to reel it in.’

Lee Jung-yul instinctively felt it.

The person who just awakened was no ordinary adventurer.

‘I have to make contact before other countries catch on.’

Fortunately, the <Tower of Records> is exclusive to South Korea.

If this rookie continues their groundbreaking feats, they’ll eventually be noticed, but if she and Tae-gyun keep quiet, they can buy some time.

‘Please be Korean. Please! Preferably someone with a bit of patriotism!’

***

“Good work, Her. You may rest for now.”

“We’ve only just reunited, and already we must part?”

“I’ll call for you again soon. Return and await my summons.”

“…If that is your will, Master. Though reluctant, I shall eagerly await your call.”

Hertia, unable to hide her disappointment, vanished into a swirl of dark clouds.

Finally alone, I felt the tension drain from my body and slowly sank to the floor.

“Phew…”

Hertia was undeniably powerful.

Powerful enough to force me to overhaul my meticulously planned ‘Adventurer Oh Hyun-woo’s A-to-Z Growth Strategy.’

But things are about to get interesting.

With the tutorial cleared, I can start operating as a full-fledged adventurer.

South Korea has everything.

All the facilities from Legend Seven exist here: Attribute Rune Dungeons and the Forest of Growth for leveling, and the Tower that spews monsters if not periodically cleared.

It’s practically a Legend Seven theme park.

But before diving in, there’s one task to tackle.

《Please register at the Adventurer Headquarters.》

I need to officially register as an adventurer at the Headquarters.

I’ve got a lot on my mind about this.

My situation is far from that of a typical adventurer.

‘If Hertia were a standard Legendary or Mythical summon, I’d be shouting, “Here’s the talent the world needs!”’

The problem is that my summon is a ‘villain.’

Just a high-performance summon, you say?

Not quite. A summon’s danger level is as critical as its performance.

Due to their skills or temperament, some summons are deemed hazardous by nations, leading to confiscation or even extermination.

Imagine a summon with ‘mind control’ abilities.

Releasing that into society could cause unimaginable damage.

If it became known that I control villains with insane skills and terrible personalities?

‘At best, confiscation. At worst, death.’

Or worse, top guilds might try to steal my summons before the government steps in.

Another difference between reality and the game: adventurers can steal each other’s summons.

Through coercion to transfer ownership or, failing that, killing the adventurer and offering a contract to the masterless summon.

Revealing my identity while I’m still weak is like begging to be killed.

‘Give up on the villains?’

Sorry, not a chance.

This is my shot at turning my life around. If I were satisfied with this much, I wouldn’t have started.

‘So, I’ll hide my identity for now. Until I’m strong enough that no one can touch me.’

My plan moving forward: be the ‘Unknown Adventurer X.’

Popping up occasionally to break records, yet impossible to identify.

I’ll register since I need to complete the tutorial, but I’ll need ways to avoid public attention afterward.

I’ve got a few ideas for that…

‘But first, there’s something to check!’

The marketplace!

You don’t visit Geumgang Mountain on an empty stomach, right?

I’ve got two rewards: a Hero Summon Ticket and a Hero Summon Selection Ticket.

Money’s tight right now—overdue hospital bills, my sibling’s tuition, and slightly late rent.

Fires to put out everywhere.

I activated my status window and entered the marketplace.

‘Wonder what the going rates are.’

First, I checked the Hero Summon Ticket.

【Hero Summon Ticket】

Rare Rank: 85.3%

Hero Rank: 14.2%

Legendary Rank: 0.5%

Even a Hero-rank summon has solid performance.

No wonder the prices are insane.

‘Common: 20,000 KRW. Advanced: 100,000 KRW. Rare: 500,000 KRW. Hero: …2,000,000 KRW!’

Just 34 seconds as an adventurer, and I’ve already earned close to my monthly salary!

What’s that in hourly wages? My heart’s racing too much to calculate.

What about the Hero Summon Selection Ticket?

I browsed the marketplace, but there were hardly any listings.

‘Makes sense. Selection tickets aren’t common rewards.’

Still, I checked past transaction records to gauge the market.

A recent sale popped up, and the price…

‘100 million… KRW?’

I was floored by the figure.

Who’d have thought it’d be this expensive?

I was thrilled about 2 million KRW, but now 100 million?

‘No, it makes sense when you think about it.’

Among Hero-rank summons, some rival Mythical ones, but there are also plenty of duds.

Being able to cherry-pick a winner from hundreds or thousands of Hero summons makes the price reasonable.

So, should I use it or sell it?

‘What’s there to think about? Sell it.’

High-rank summons aren’t critical for my optimal growth plan right now.

I listed the Hero Summon Selection Ticket for 100 million KRW on the marketplace.

It’s late, so I’ll visit the Adventurer Headquarters tomorrow.

But first…

“…Can I clean this up by tonight?”

I had to secure a place to sleep in my trashed studio.

***

“Selection ticket!”

The next morning, I woke with a spirited shout and checked the marketplace.

Not sold yet.

Well, a 100-million-KRW item might not sell overnight.

No time to dawdle, though—I’ve got a busy day ahead.

After getting ready, I headed to the South Korea Adventurer Central Management Headquarters in Yeouido.

Registering as an adventurer is done there.

Finding it was easy—just look for the tallest building near Yeouido Park.

Despite the early hour, the Headquarters was already packed with adventurers.

“Recruiting guild members!”

“Join our family-like guild and grow together!”

In front of the Headquarters, small-scale guilds were recruiting members.

‘Guilds… I miss those.’

In Legend Seven, guilds were essential.

Despite the low player base, there was plenty of guild-exclusive content—PvP in the Guild Arena, raids, and lucrative rewards from places like the <Forgotten Sanctuary>.

‘I’ll need a guild eventually, won’t I?’

For rapid growth and my own safety, building my own faction would be necessary.

But not right now.

Guild content unlocks at adventurer level 30 anyway.

Shaking off the nostalgia, I entered the Headquarters to register as an adventurer.

“Please fill out the highlighted sections by hand, and once you’re done, we’ll proceed with awakened verification.”

“Got it.”

“You can find your adventurer code in the settings tab on the right side of your status window.”

“Oh… right.”

“Just write it here.”

I followed the staff’s instructions and showed them the code.

They nodded and handed me a form.

“Confirmed, you’re an unregistered adventurer. Congratulations on your awakening.”

“Thanks. Is that it?”

Thud!

“Here are the remaining forms to fill out.”

“…”

My spirit was already breaking.

How many forms are there?

They said to fill out only the highlighted parts, but the entire document is glowing neon.

As I slogged through half the stack, a commotion erupted nearby.

Curious, I listened in.

“I’m telling you, your strategy is wrong!”

“Sir, the beginner guide we provide is based on strategies established by global rankers.”

“This is driving me crazy! There’s a beginner guide from someone even more reliable!”

“Who?”

“The Unknown Adventurer!”

…No way, right?

The mention of the “Unknown Adventurer” made me glance over involuntarily.

“Who did you say?”

“The Unknown Adventurer! Korea’s ultimate veteran! They posted strategies in local communities early in the Cataclysm, then vanished. Looking back, everything they said was spot-on. Even their beginner guide says to train somewhere other than the Forest of Growth…”

“Sir, please calm down.”

…Yup. They were talking about me.

A silent applause to my past self for using an anonymous browser.

The staff’s expression looked sour—clearly, this wasn’t their first rodeo with this guy.

“This is so frustrating! Those so-called world rankers who made your strategies—none of them cleared the final chapter, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“But that person probably did!”

“There’s no proof…”

“Come on! You can check the Tower of Records!”

“Pre-Cataclysm records no longer exist. I’m afraid we can’t help you. Next!”

“Wait, I’m not done talking!”

The noisy guy was dragged out by security.

“You’re making a mistake! If the Unknown Adventurer saw the state of Korea, they’d sigh and leave for overseas!”

I had to respect his spirit, shouting until the end.

A kid in his early 20s with that kind of guts? Impressive.

But if he’s been spreading my name like this, more people might know about me than I thought.

I should look into it.

I handed over the completed forms and asked the staff.

“Uh, who was that guy?”

“Oh, he’s the youngest grandson of the Taepyeong Group.”

“You mean the Taepyeong, the top conglomerate in Korea?”

“Yes. He comes by every quarter and makes a scene like this.”

No wonder he’s fearless.

How much of a nuisance must he be for security to drag out a chaebol heir like that?

As I finished the forms, I probed further.

“He mentioned something about an ‘Unknown Adventurer.’ What’s that about?”

“Oh, he claims there was an info broker active early in the Cataclysm. Back then, with so many baseless rumors, no one paid attention, but now some of their strategies have proven true. Of course, almost no one’s seen them, so it’s like an urban legend.”

That’s because I lost motivation when no one cared, and the atmosphere got too hostile, so I took down my posts.

“But since there’s talk of an ‘Unknown Adventurer Strategy Archive’ being sold at private auctions for high prices among rankers, it might not be entirely baseless.”

“What? Private auctions? High prices?”

“Oh, your registration is complete. Here’s your adventurer ID. We look forward to your active participation. Next!”

“Wait, how much are they selling for…”

“Next!”

Kicked out by the staff’s polite dismissal, I left the building in a daze.

The battle with the paperwork, the chaebol heir’s antics, and the news that my old posts were being sold for a fortune—it was a bit overwhelming, but not my immediate concern.

Hertia’s growth.

My growth.

That’s all I need to focus on.

Having awakened later than others, I need to close the gap quickly.

The chaebol heir’s outburst gave me confidence in my plan.

‘Even their beginner guide says to train somewhere other than the Forest of Growth…’

So, the standard beginner growth path starts at the Forest of Growth.

It’s not a bad approach.

The Forest of Growth, added late in Legend Seven’s service as a catch-up dungeon, offers decent rewards for its easy difficulty.

‘But if I break records there, I’ll be identified instantly.’

By now, the South Korean Adventurer Management Headquarters is probably scouring beginner dungeon records at the Tower of Records with hawk-like focus.

‘Am I crazy enough to walk into that trap?’

The Forest of Growth has a ranking system based on clear times.

If I break records there right after the tutorial, the net around me will tighten fast.

‘But I don’t want to intentionally clear with a low grade and sacrifice reward quality either.’

So, how do I secure good rewards while staying hidden?

Simple.

‘Clear a dungeon that doesn’t record progress.’

Like the Attribute Rune Dungeon, a resource-farming dungeon.

That was my plan from the start.

Its rewards are far better than the Forest of Growth’s.

There’s just one small problem…

‘No freshly awakened adventurer could clear it, even if their life depended on it.’

Rune Dungeons are for specializing summons.

They’re meant for seasoned adventurers who’ve hit a growth plateau and need to tweak their builds, so the difficulty is high.

Challenging it with a level 1 summon is practically suicide, but…

‘With Hertia, I have a strategy worth trying.’

High risk, high reward.

The fastest growth path, devised by the unofficial #1 ranker, Lucifer.

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