The map was vast—far larger than he'd expected—and eerily empty. No other players in sight, no mobs to grind, and certainly no special encounters. Dawei had initially thought he could sneak in some leveling while exploring, but that plan went up in smoke.
What frustrated him even more was that the map only contained one visible NPC—and that guy wasn't even interactive beyond the default dialogue loop.
"No side quests. No lore triggers. Just a stiff doll repeating himself like a broken record."
Dawei rolled his eyes. "Guess this one's all about aesthetics, huh?"
[System Prompt: Player has discovered a large team dungeon – Dark Castle!]
That message hit him like a shot of adrenaline. His eyes lit up.
The Earl's Nest… it's been converted into a dungeon!
Dungeons were the lifeblood of any RPG—loaded with monsters, loot, skill books, and, if you were lucky, artifacts. The thought of farming god-tier items from the very place where he'd slain the vampire count surged through his mind.
Then came the brick wall.
[System Prompt: Player does not meet the entry requirements for this dungeon. Required Level: 20+]
"..."
Dawei stared blankly at the message. Reality hit like a crit to the face.
"I'm… still level 1."
The enthusiasm drained from him in an instant. He'd killed a god-tier boss, saved the forest from corruption, received blessings from the Goddess herself… and still couldn't get into a dungeon meant for rookies with level 20 gear.
He sighed, muttering, "So this is the price of skipping levels and getting too strong too early."
Unlike story missions, dungeons had fixed requirements: gear, stats, level, and sometimes even party synergy. No clever strategies or dragon-slaying tricks could bypass those.
Even if he had the achievements to boast about, the system didn't care. To the dungeon, he was a level 1 weakling—not a god-slaying lone wolf.
Resigned, Dawei wandered down the riverbank.
"No mobs, no loot, can't enter a dungeon, and there's no one to fight. What am I supposed to do—go full noob mode and beat up rabbits in the wild just to get to level 2?"
His sarcastic tone couldn't hide the sting. He'd already tasted the top, stood among legends—and now he was getting hard-locked by system settings designed to gatekeep early-game progression.
The Lone Ranger, once unstoppable, was now shackled by numbers.
Grinding mobs like a peasant? Forget it. I've walked the high-end path, and I'm not turning back.
He kept exploring for hours, combing every inch of the map. But it was fruitless. The area was clearly designed as a transition zone post-quest—a scenic detour, not a grinding spot.
Eventually, the system's countdown hit zero.
[System Prompt: You are being transported to the main city…]
A flash of white light enveloped him, and he reappeared at the teleportation gate of the capital.
Dawei took a deep breath, gazing up at the sky above.
Floating above him was a shimmering golden icon—the Blessing of the Goddess buff still hovered over his head like a divine crown.
"So much power… and nowhere to use it. What a joke."
He laughed bitterly. His stats were still capped, his level unchanged, and worst of all—he had no content to conquer until he unlocked higher zones or found special triggers.
[System Prompt: Player Candice invites you to join her party. Accept? Yes / No?]
Dawei blinked.
"…Candice?"
He frowned, scratching his head. "Who's that?"
He didn't remember meeting anyone named Candice. Was she an NPC? A player? A hidden contact from one of his quests? Or maybe…
He opened the interface to see her profile.
Level 27Class: Arcane EngineerFaction: Mercenary UnionTitle: Bounty QueenStatus: Party LeaderLocation: Grand Exchange District
Huh… definitely a player. And a pretty high-level one at that. "Bounty Queen"? That sounds familiar…
He squinted at her name again.
Wait… wasn't Candice one of the top-ranked players on the forums? The one famous for soloing elite mercenary contracts with mechanical pets?
His curiosity was piqued.
"Why would someone like her be inviting me?"
Was it because of the Goddess Buff? His Godslayer title? Or maybe she was somehow linked to the Time Badge or the Bounty Guild the sage had mentioned earlier?
Either way, this wasn't something to ignore.
Dawei hovered his finger over the "Yes" button.
"…Let's see what the queen wants."
Click.