The Dark Master of the Abandoned Auto-Hunting Game

Chapter 5

The Nippleheim Empire.

This is the empire that serves as the main stage for Dungeon Replay.

Although there is a world beyond the castle walls, this is mostly just briefly mentioned and passed over in the game.

As such, the power of the Nippleheim Empire on the continent is absolute.

‘To think that such an empire is capturing necromancers.’

On the rooftop of a building accessed by a bone broom.

Rayzen was lost in thought.

Two stories he had heard through an old man.

One was about the collapse of the Gray Tower, the necromancer’s tower.

The other was the Nippleheim Empire’s manhunt for necromancers.

These two stories were clearly not present during Rayzen’s time playing.

‘It would be nice to know the reason behind it.’

From the old man’s reaction, it was evident that this was information unknown to the general public.

Normally, Rayzen would have just let it go.

But now, Rayzen’s class was Poison Necromancer.

His gray eyes were proof that he was a necromancer, no matter who looked.

“Hmm.”

Rayzen tapped his chin.

He decided he would go back.

If so, what must he do to return?

‘The most feasible attempt would be to clear the game.’

After all, this world was created based on the game.

It was only natural to think of that first.

So, what must be done to clear the game?

‘Dungeon Replay is fundamentally an open-world game.’

Open world.

A game where players can freely roam and explore a virtual world.

However, there is a clear storyline.

‘If you clear according to the given story, the ending credits will definitely roll.’

Although the game can continue to be played even after the ending credits, the fact remains that the credits will roll.

‘There are two main storylines that lead to the ending credits.’

First, the dungeon ending.

In the empire, there are four major dungeons with the highest difficulty.

Hell, Heaven.

The Abyss, and the Great Realm.

If a player clears all four dungeons scattered across the north, south, east, and west,

they will be recognized as a hero who has achieved the greatest feat in the empire.

After that, the ending credits will roll, and the game will be cleared.

‘The problem is that to see the dungeon ending, a party must be formed.’

Dungeon Replay requires a party as the dungeons get more advanced.

In a game, you can freely command NPCs.

But now, this is reality.

‘…Will people follow my orders well?’

To be honest, it wouldn’t be easy.

‘If I could gather those who would actively follow my words, it wouldn’t be impossible.’

But how easy is that?

Even in reality, it’s hard to meet such people.

Above all, Rayzen faced the biggest barrier in forming a party.

The empire’s rejection of necromancers.

In other words, finding someone willing to party with a necromancer was the first problem.

Rayzen exhaled deeply.

‘Don’t give up just yet.’

He just needed to find a way.

Instead, he would keep other possibilities open while searching for a method.

‘The second ending of Dungeon Replay.’

This ending is somewhat unique.

Second, the founding ending.

An ending where an independent nation is created.

It seems meaningless to establish a country when the empire already exists.

But it is indeed a real ending, so there’s no denying it.

What are the conditions for the founding ending?

It is to recruit major factions.

From key figures in the empire to renowned individuals, and large guild leaders.

After recruiting various people, one must declare the founding in a city-sized territory.

Then the ending credits will roll.

‘Originally, there was a quest window for the founding ending conditions.’

But now that it has become reality, such a condition window is not visible.

Thus, for now, it was a more ambiguous ending than the dungeon ending.

‘Moreover, in terms of difficulty, this one is much higher.’

A necromancer being hunted by the empire must recruit those who have made a name for themselves in the empire.

Naturally, this is also not an easy task.

‘Above all, there was also a personal reputation condition.’

To declare the founding.

How much reputation has the player built up?

This was also a necessary condition for the founding ending.

“Ugh.”

Rayzen let out a groan.

“I don’t know.”

And he cheerfully reached a conclusion.

No matter how much he wracked his brain, it wasn’t a conclusion that would come out right now.

‘First, let’s figure out my eye color.’

Wizards have eye colors that match their attributes.

As a necromancer, Rayzen’s eye color is gray.

If he could just change this eye color, he could blend in with people.

Just then, as Rayzen was pondering,

‘Wait a minute.’

Something suddenly came to his mind.

‘Until I possessed this character, it had been auto-hunting all this time.’

There must have been a way to hide the fact that he was a necromancer until now.

Rayzen opened his mini backpack.

In his hand, a mask appeared.

“Could it be…?”

Rayzen put the mask on his face, half in disbelief.

At that moment, the mask began to turn translucent.

Rayzen hurriedly turned his head.

Then, in the window that had been dark, his face was reflected.

His eye color shone brown.

Moreover, his face was subtly different.

The character Rayzen possessed had a rather handsome appearance.

Dungeon Replay allows for random customization.

Rayzen’s race was half dark elf.

Elves are known as the race of beauty.

So, Rayzen also had a good-looking exterior.

But now, it was different from his original appearance.

His nose was slightly flattened, and his eyes had become smaller.

His lips seemed a bit thicker than before.

In other words, he looked ruggedly unattractive.

He would fit perfectly as a villain in a movie.

“I see how much a person’s impression can change.”

Now he understood why people are obsessed with plastic surgery.

Rayzen clenched his fists.

Even if the sky were to fall, there’s always a way out.

Rayzen curled the corners of his mouth upward.

‘From now on, I am Rayzen.’

He could not live here under the name Ryu Han-hyuk.

He had to follow the designated name.

“Rayzen, it has a nice ring to it. Even if it’s auto-generated, it’s a good name.”

It felt like a name that would bring him luck.

Rayzen spun the bone broom.

And then he secretly descended to the ground.

Although his injuries had not fully healed and his body was a mess,

Rayzen headed straight for the Pioneer Guild.

‘First, let’s renew my Pioneer License.’

Pioneers.

This term broadly refers to those who clear dungeons.

The place that manages these pioneers is the Pioneer Guild.

Originally, the Pioneer License would automatically renew upon clearing a dungeon.

But now that it has become reality, the Pioneer License must be renewed manually.

Rayzen had another main reason for wanting to renew his Pioneer License.

‘I need to check the ascension experience I would have gained during auto-hunting.’

Ascension.

Ascension is the growth system in Dungeon Replay.

There are two benefits gained from ascension.

Character stat increase.

Skill socket unlocking.

Ascension is the most crucial aspect of character growth.

However, ascension comes with exam conditions.

When the exam conditions required by the Pioneer Guild are met,

ascension occurs.

So, if the ascension exam is not cleared,

even if the required experience points are filled, the character does not grow to the next level.

‘But, there’s no limit to ascension experience!’

This was precisely why Rayzen wanted to check his ascension experience.

It had been a full 10 years of auto-hunting.

Naturally, he must have accumulated a lot of ascension experience.

So, he was excited to see how much he could ascend.

‘Moreover.’

Auto-hunting also included the acquisition of resources.

‘Of course, I must have constantly gathered resources and equipment over the past 10 years!’

And all of that would be in the Pioneer Guild’s storage.

His mouth watered at the thought.

It was time to experience the true taste of auto-hunting.

‘Somehow, the path feels very different from my memory.’

As he diligently made his way,

Rayzen felt that the surrounding scenery had changed significantly.

Roofs of various colors and medieval-style buildings.

Outfits that looked like they belonged in a fantasy world.

Unlike reality, the cobblestone roads were made by fitting bricks together one by one.

‘Is it because I originally saw it in pixel graphics?’

Finding his way was quite tricky.

‘Even considering that, it feels like it has changed a lot.’

Still, it was a visual treat, so it was somewhat enjoyable.

The night streets were illuminated by scattered lights instead of street lamps.

People who had finished their work chatted cheerfully as they headed home.

It felt like traveling inside a game.

‘Not bad at all.’

A world inside a game that he had dreamed of at least once in his childhood.

Seeing it in person was certainly not a bad feeling.

No overseas trip could be more romantic than this.

‘Right, they say 10 years can change a river and a mountain.’

It had been 10 years since Rayzen had left Dungeon Replay.

It was only natural that the streets had changed.

Thud—

At that moment, Rayzen suddenly stopped.

The people around him passed by, looking at him with puzzled expressions.

But Rayzen stood still in that spot.

Slowly, Rayzen pressed his hand against his mouth.

“…Wait a minute.”

Rayzen muttered to himself in a daze.

And it was understandable.

He had just realized one chilling mistake.

‘…Reality’s 10 years.’

And the 10 years in the game.

‘Can I really consider them the same?’

An unconscious bias had formed.

Realizing this, Rayzen’s steps began to quicken.

Here and there.

The streets of the Nippleheim Empire he had seen in the game were vastly different.

Different.

Too different!

Even considering the 10 years, there had been too many changes!

“Gah, huff!”

Before he knew it, Rayzen was running.

And before long, he spotted the Pioneer Guild.

Rayzen stood tall in front of the Pioneer Guild.

“Haha! Today, I made a big score!”

“Hey, then, let’s celebrate a bit. Don’t just keep taking from us.”

Loud voices came from beyond the door.

Rayzen exhaled roughly.

Then he slowly pushed the door of the Pioneer Guild open.

Creeeak—

He felt the gazes of people inside.

As the door opened, their eyes instinctively turned toward him.

“Oh, you’re here. The local spider den native.”

“Your arrival time is different from usual, and you look rough.”

“Something must have happened.”

“Heh, but you’re still a dark elf, and you look ugly as ever. You really look rugged.”

“Your face is scary enough to get reported if seen at night! Hahaha!”

Rayzen caught snippets of their conversation.

They knew him.

But Rayzen had no time to pay them any mind.

“Welcome, Rayzen. You’re late this time.”

The clerk also recognized Rayzen and greeted him warmly.

“Moreover, that injury looks serious. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He felt anxious.

Rayzen tried to gather his thoughts and asked.

“I’d like to know what year and day it is right now.”

Rayzen needed to find out the current time immediately.

“Uh, yes, it’s September 11, 1531.”

Upon hearing the answer, Rayzen paused.

Then he slowly took out his Pioneer License.

Because the latest renewal record was written on it.

And the moment he saw the renewal record,

Rayzen began to tremble slowly.

— Most recent renewal: June 16, 1431

The year the clerk mentioned was 1531.

What was written on the Pioneer License was 1431.

Rayzen barely managed to hold himself up as his legs threatened to give way.

Ten years in reality.

A hundred years had passed in the game.

* * *

The establishment of the Provisional Government of Korea in 1919.

And now, the 21st century.

It has been just over 100 years since the founding of the Republic of Korea.

In those 100 years, how many events have transpired?

From independence to the IMF crisis, and so on.

Korea has faced numerous challenges and has come to the present.

And now,

Rayzen had possessed a character exactly 100 years from the point he remembered.

He had entered a world where a century had passed.

“Wow…”

Rayzen muttered in awe as if it were a habit.

His face became blank.

It was only natural.

Rayzen possessed knowledge of Dungeon Replay.

This included everything from in-game factions to

market trends, key farming equipment, Easter eggs, and more.

Knowing all of this meant he could easily progress through Dungeon Replay.

However, a hundred years had passed.

All of this knowledge had become useless.

The average human lifespan is about 80 years.

This is only possible due to modern hygiene and medicine.

The medieval-level world of the game had a much shorter lifespan.

This means the pace of change is much faster.

Regime changes, the deaths of leaders.

Market economic trends.

While development may be slow, changes happen even faster.

Rayzen touched his face with his hand.

The reason Rayzen had misjudged the concept of time

was that he himself had not changed at all.

Rayzen was a half dark elf.

Elves are a race that lives for a long time.

Even as a half, he was still an elf.

Naturally, Rayzen’s lifespan was also long.

‘If I were human.’

Rayzen had already died long ago.

‘…Thank goodness that’s not the case.’

Rayzen splashed his face with cold water.

He had almost become a corpse.

Information could be gathered again.

Just because he had done it once, did that mean he couldn’t do it twice?

Above all, not all knowledge had vanished.

There must be usable knowledge left.

‘I’ve avoided the worst, and I can personally dodge the second worst.’

The fact that he had entered a game was already an absurd situation.

There was no need to be overly concerned just because a hundred years had passed.

Even if he stood there in despair, nothing would change.

If he started from zero, all that was left was to rise.

‘Let’s reassess the situation.’

This place was a time a hundred years past the point Rayzen remembered.

And it was also an era where necromancers were persecuted by the empire.

‘So, does that mean I’ve been auto-hunting for a hundred years?’

That meant.

Experience points and resources had accumulated over a hundred years.

A smile began to slowly form on Rayzen’s lips.

It wasn’t always about suffering losses.

Here, another advantage had emerged.

How to utilize this advantage was entirely up to Rayzen.

Then suddenly.

Something flickered in Rayzen’s mind.

‘Wait, a hundred years?’

Rayzen’s eyes widened slightly.

It was because a post related to a hundred years came to mind.

Back when Rayzen was very interested in dungeon replay.

He often checked the bulletin board where knowledge about dungeon replay was shared.

There was one particular post.

Accelerating the time of dungeon replay by about a hundred years. [109]

A time acceleration experiment done by someone who could dissect game code out of boredom.

This post had garnered an unusually high number of comments.

What happened was that when the dungeon replay was accelerated by about a hundred years.

The Nippleheim Empire had perished.

According to the post’s author, while there was a time difference.

When an average of over a hundred years had passed.

The Nippleheim Empire always met its demise.

The problem was that only the fall of the Nippleheim Empire was mentioned.

The process was nowhere to be found.

‘…And a hundred years have passed.’

Rayzen turned his gaze.

The pioneers were peacefully drinking and chatting.

Clearly, the empire had not yet fallen.

But it might be in the process of falling even now.

‘I don’t know the reason for the empire’s fall.’

However, it was the fall of a nation.

No one knew what would happen to those belonging to that nation.

‘Let alone in a world where the game has become reality.’

A mad wizard could blow the empire away.

A god could burn the empire in anger.

Such events could happen at any time in this world.

Rayzen staggered.

Before clearing the game.

The main stage of the game, the empire, was about to fall first.

“Um, Rayzen?”

A pioneer staff member spoke to him again.

Rayzen snapped back to reality and lifted his head.

She was looking at Rayzen with concern.

He must have looked strange, suddenly laughing after being lost in thought.

There was no point in Rayzen’s unnecessary suspicions.

Rayzen took a breath.

‘Although I don’t know when it will fall, it hasn’t fallen yet.’

If that’s the case, there’s still a way out.

Rayzen added the ending of the empire’s fall to his mind.

That was also a bad ending.

‘Before the empire falls.’

He would clear the dungeon replay.

So, he would start with what he needed to do first.

“I’d like to renew my storage items and pioneer certificate.”

Upon hearing Rayzen’s words, she blinked.

“That’s unusual. It’s been a long time since Rayzen renewed his pioneer certificate.”

It was only natural since he hadn’t renewed it for a hundred years.

‘Even though I’m wearing a mask, my ears are half dark elf ears.’

It wouldn’t look strange even if he had been visiting the pioneer guild for a long time.

“Just a moment.”

The smiling staff member rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a key.

“First, I’ll guide you to the storage.”

She gestured for him to follow and began to walk.

Rayzen quickly followed.

He sensed what she was about to do.

The pioneer guild was operated by the imperial family.

As it was directly managed by the country.

The pioneer guild had various facilities well established.

Clank—

Just then, the staff member opened a door.

Clunk—

With the door opening, a corridor appeared.

The corridor seemed endless at a glance.

‘A corridor created by space magic.’

To ensure that pioneers could safely protect their assets.

It was a storage facility guaranteed directly by the empire.

In such a corridor, rooms numbered in sequence lined up.

Each room had a unique number, which could only be opened by the respective pioneer.

“Please follow me.”

Rayzen followed the staff member into the corridor.

After passing several rooms for a while.

She stopped in front of one room.

Then she pointed to the room and stepped back.

“This is Rayzen’s room. I’ll renew your pioneer certificate when you come out.”

“Thank you for the guidance.”

Rayzen bowed and stood in front of the room.

As soon as he grabbed the doorknob.

Clank—

With the sound of metal clicking, the door opened.

This was a space that only Rayzen could enter.

Rayzen stepped into the opened space.

Soon, his eyes began to widen slowly.

The size of the room was larger than he had expected.

Inside the room, there was more than Rayzen had imagined.

Mountains of gold teased Rayzen’s eyes.

The light spilling from the gold coins hurt Rayzen’s eyes.

“Insane…”

Rayzen muttered blankly as he gazed at the overflowing wealth.

Wealth accumulated from a hundred years of auto-hunting.

There was a mountain of money that would be hard to spend even in a lifetime.