Do-Jin was wondering how long he had been walking for when, in the dead silence of the forest, he suddenly heard movement. As soon as he caught the sound of rustling leaves, he didn’t hesitate. He activated his Magic Circuits and fired off a spell without a second thought. There was no time for assumptions. The idea that the source of the noise might not be hostile didn’t even cross his mind.

The enemy moved faster, however, gliding smoothly through the trees and slamming a sword into the ground. Do-Jin’s spell missed, detonating behind them and unleashing shockwaves that tore through the forest.

“Shi—” Do-Jin threw himself aside and dodged the incoming strike, then quickly lifted his head.

[Forest Skeleton Soldier: Lv. 97]

Staring him down was an armored skeleton, its head tilted at an unnatural angle. Its movements were jerky and warped, not typical of an undead. Thick tree roots had snaked through the gaps in its bones and armor, dragging it forward like a grotesque puppet. When the skeleton soldier raised its sword, the vines acting as its muscles made a harsh, grinding noise with every motion.

Looks like something straight out of a nightmare...

Just as he was sizing it up, the skeleton suddenly lunged. The tree roots yanked its body forward like a slingshot, sending it crashing toward him. Do-Jin quickly retreated, summoned a physical barrier, and launched a counterattack.

[Earth Spear]

This time, the skeleton couldn’t dodge completely. The spear tore through its shoulder with a sickening crunch, but it still didn’t die. Considering Do-Jin’s stats and the guaranteed critical hit from his Rune Gauntlet, that spear should’ve ended the skeleton in one blow. Instead, it powered through the pain and twisted its shattered limb as if it felt no pain at all, then charged at him again.

This is supposed to be a regular mob? Do-Jin thought in disbelief as he got grazed by the skeleton’s blade during a slight spellcasting delay.

Although it was just a graze, his HP dropped like a rock. This thing was fast, tanky, and now it hit like a truck. Its stats were way above what he had planned for.

There’s barely any monsters around, but for some reason, every single one of them’s built like a raid boss.

This felt like an elite monster, at the very least. Do-Jin had hardly let his guard down earlier, but now he was on full alert.

Do-Jin blasted off Fireballs in rapid succession, but they hit the ground beneath the skeleton’s feet, blanketing the area and locking down the skeleton’s movements just long enough.

[Flame Pillar]

Next, a column of fire shot up beneath the skeleton. The vines acting as its muscles crackled and shriveled in the heat. The skeleton recoiled in response, its body curling inward as the heat constricted its limbs. With clattering jaws, it charged forward again, sword raised high. This time, however, it was down an arm. The fire had incinerated its right limb, so all it could swing was an empty shoulder joint.

[Flash Lance]

Of course, any warrior who gave a mage several seconds to prepare was asking to die. A thin streak of light tore through the air, condensed in one spot, and exploded. The skeleton, already worn down by multiple continuous spells, finally hit zero HP. Its skull shattered into two clean halves.

“Haaah...”

It had only lasted a few moments, but the close-quarters clash with a melee-type monster had left Do-Jin breathing heavier than usual. He frowned as he looked down at the pile of bones now resting quietly on the forest floor like a set of ancient remains.

“No wonder nobody comes here.”

The EXP shown on the system window was pathetic, and it didn’t even drop a single item. He had walked thirty minutes just to run into this one monster. The balance between difficulty, reward, and loot was abysmal.

“This place is fucking garbage,” Do-Jin complained.

He had known it wouldn’t be great going in, but experiencing it firsthand felt frustrating. As he was preoccupied muttering complaints under his breath, Do-Jin didn’t notice a pair of eyes quietly watching him from the shadows, locked onto his every movement.

***

Over the past three days, Do-Jin had averaged ten monsters a day: nine on the first, nine on the second, and eleven so far today. With seven hours left in the day, he might even top that, a fact that brought him absolutely no joy.

“This is fucking ridiculous.”

Even if he broke his own record and hit thirty, it wouldn’t mean a thing. As a matter of fact, he could walk a few laps around the outskirts of any random village in an area with a decent level range and get dozens of times more value than this.

Frustrated, Do-Jin opened the quest window and skimmed through it, then took out the egg from his inventory on a whim. Nothing happened. There was neither a mysterious glow nor a pulse of energy that would indicate any signs of activity. Just like when he first picked it up, there was only the faintest trace of mana flowing within.

Suddenly, something dropped from above, and the noise made Do-Jin flinch. He instantly jumped back and started channeling a spell. However, the moment the figure in front of him swung their sword, the flow of mana shattered like it had been sliced through cleanly.

The mana surged back into his circuits, and before he could even stabilize it, the figure blurred and reappeared right in front of him. Do-Jin found himself with a blade already pressed against his neck.

“Don’t move a finger, and don’t even think about opening your mouth. Try anything stupid and I’ll take your head off. You answer my questions by nodding or shaking your head and nothing else.”

The tip of the sword tapped against his throat, right on his Adam’s apple. It was almost like it was asking, “Do you understand?”

Do-Jin let out a bitter smile and nodded. Oh my fucking god. I still haven’t seen the boss, but I run into the damn Watcher instead.

Unlike the other monsters in the area, the Forest Watcher didn’t move using vines as muscles. Though not alive, they still had human flesh that somehow wasn’t rotting. A deep wound gaped at their neck, with the bone exposed. Their skin was pale and dried out, almost mummified like a corpse just before decomposition. They were clearly undead. A mask made from tree bark covered their face, but from the voice and frame, Do-Jin guessed it had once been a young girl.

“If you’re from the Kingdom, nod.”

Do-Jin wanted to ask, “The Kingdom?” but decided to keep his mouth shut after the tip of her sword pressed harder against his throat.

Do-Jin had thought that being caught by the Watcher meant getting knocked out and kicked back to the entrance. This clearly wasn’t a normal encounter, so there was a good chance it was tied to a quest.

While he was piecing that together, the Watcher spoke again. “If you answer honestly, I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt. I don’t want blood spilled in this forest, either. I’ll ask one more time. Did you come from the Kingdom?”

Do-Jin shook his head. There were only two kingdoms on the Central Continent worth considering, but he was from the Empire.

“You’re not someone sent by the Kingdom?” the Watcher muttered to herself, sounding slightly rattled. “Then what is that? Was it not something brought here to help clean up this mess after the deed?”

She was staring at the egg Do-Jin was holding as she spoke. Do-Jin glanced at her with a troubled expression. The look in his eyes made it clear he couldn’t answer a question like that with just a nod or a shake of the head.

The Watcher also seemed to realize that and changed her approach. “Keep it short. Explain only what’s necessary. If you start rambling, I’ll assume you’re an enemy, got it?”

Do-Jin nodded and carefully opened his mouth. “First of all, I’ve got nothing to do with the Kingdom. I don’t even know which kingdom you’re talking about—”

“The Kingdom I’m referring to is the Kingdom of Hoxeth,” she interrupted.

Do-Jin’s brows furrowed. He was aware that the Kingdom of Hoxeth had fallen over five hundred years ago. It was ancient history.

“Hoxeth? That kingdom was wiped out centuries ago.”

“What... what did you just say?”

The Watcher shoved Do-Jin violently, clearly shaken. He was pushed into a tree with a thud and groaned in pain.

“I don’t know what kind of situation you’re in, but I’m just telling you what I know. The kingdom you mentioned doesn’t exist anymore. It’s been gone for a very long time.”

The Watcher’s eyes widened in shock, then started darting about crazily. It was unnerving to see a corpse’s eyes move like that, but right now, there was a bigger problem for Do-Jin.

“F-fuck me. At this rate, you might just crush me to death—” Before he could finish his sentence, the Watcher eased up.

“Explain everything.” She pressed a foot firmly against his chest as he lay sprawled on the ground.

Do-Jin felt this was completely unfair. How the hell am I supposed to explain anything when I don’t even know what she wants to hear?

It was exactly that. This unhinged corpse clearly had some backstory, but she hadn’t said a word about it. There was no way he could explain anything when he didn’t even know what the hell she wanted.

“Everything! I said explain everything!” the Watcher repeated.

Whatever the reason, she was too agitated to think logically. It didn’t seem like rational conversation was in the cards right now. Feeling the pressure on his chest, Do-Jin sighed.

Well, judging by the way things are going, she’s probably not going to kill me right away. And she clearly has a lot of baggage, so this might be tied to a quest. I should try to work through this step by step.

It was most likely not a coincidence that she showed up the moment he took out the egg.

With that thought in mind, Do-Jin looked up at the unstable Watcher and said, “You’ve got something you want to ask me, right?”

She didn’t respond. However, the pressure on his chest eased just a little, which he took as a yes.

“The thing is, I’ve got no clue what that something is. So how about this? Why don’t we exchange information? If you take your time and explain your side of things first, I’ll know what to tell you in return. Doesn’t that make more sense?”

At least, that was how Do-Jin saw it. The Watcher didn’t argue with his calm reasoning because every single word he said made perfect sense. However, for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was an incredibly annoying bastard.