Traveling through the game world, starting out as a third-rate villain

Bang!

As Fred's body fell to the ground, I stood alone in the forest, my gun in my hand.

"......"

Da da da

The raindrops fell to the ground, making a slight sound, and before him was the dead body of the half-demon.

I still held the cold gun in my hand.

I just stood there, watching everything that was done silently, without making any sound.

My clothes were soaked, but at the moment, I didn't care.

"Is this what it feels like to hunt someone down...?"

A strange feeling came over me, that I had finally achieved something by coming here.

The anger in my heart still exists, because the figure in front of me reminds me of the scene when her chest was pierced by the devil's claw.

"It's all because of you..."

This made the emotions inside me boil over even more. When I confronted Fred, I forced myself to calm down, think rationally, and suppress my emotions.

But now, there is no need to do that anymore.

"It's all because of dogs like you..."

My voice became even colder, and I raised my dagger, locking my eyes on the poor creature in front of me.

Stab, stab.

Every thrust of the blade carried with it the pent-up anger and sadness in my heart. The world seemed to blur as I continued to thrust the dagger into his lifeless body.

"It's all because of you, you damn bastard!"

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab.

This frenetic behavior marked the release of my emotions, but it left me with a feeling of emptiness.

I continued to stab the bastard, letting out all the emotion that slowly became meaningless as time went on.

Just as everything started so suddenly, it also came to an abrupt end.

Da da da

The rain has thoroughly soaked my clothes, and the coldness penetrates deep into my bones.

"Ha ha……"

My panting filled the silence, no longer masked by the rhythmic stabbing.

I looked at the dagger, rain and blood were sliding down the blade, and I staggered back a step.

My eyes, once filled with rage, now held a deep emptiness as I gazed upon the shattered body of my enemy.

The forest, the rain, and the body before me bore witness to this complex mix of emotions that culminated in a deep sense of emptiness.

'That's not enough.'

In this surreal scene, I finally began to realize that the turmoil I once felt had been replaced by a void that required me to confront and reflect.

'This is not the end.'

The rain continued to pour down relentlessly as I stood there, my mixed emotions replaced by an uneasy emptiness, searching for some meaning in the aftermath of revenge.

'I'm not done yet... no, I haven't even really started yet...'

Looking at the corpse, I slowly put down my hand and began to search for it, my hand wandering over the corpse.

The first thing I noticed was his bracelet, which was larger than the average space bracelet.

In addition, he also has a small watch.

A watch that is slightly different from the others.

'This is a modified smartwatch that can only be used by those who have made a contract with the devil.'

It is an untraceable item that demons use to contact their followers.

'But I guess he's still in the early stages.'

I opened my watch and started looking through its contents.

————

【Message (6)】【Phone (1)】【Email (23)】

The initial interface is the same as the normal style, but there is a small pin on the side of the watch.

'I guess he was too confident he wouldn't get caught.'

I slowly pushed the needle away, and then the interface changed. The color became darker and darker, and a bunch of labels popped up.

That’s the label in the villain community, called “Hell’s Contract.”

————

【......】【......】【......】【mission】【currency】

The first three tabs are not accessible. However, I know what they do.

'Announcements, Rewards and Contacts'

They only appear when someone passes a certain trust threshold and is recruited under a high-level villain, and they also need to have enough currency.

Just like any other society, there is a hierarchy of villains, though their goals are different.

After looking at my watch for a moment longer, I saw the balance in his account.

'Fifty thousand, eh? That will more than cover my losses.'

This is the money in his normal bank account as hunter Fred Nelson. However, he also has another currency, which is 'Deval' points.

When it comes to villain organizations, the first thing that comes to mind is the concept of anti-social behavior, which can be felt from the name.

The villain who founded this community is a disgusting existence in himself, but it doesn't matter.

There is still a lot to explore, but right now, I don’t have much time.

'I need to find the hidden level before they kill the boss.'

Since Fred was dead and there was nothing else for me to do, the only thing left was to get out of this place and find where the hidden level was.

'But I can't leave any evidence.'

At this point, my mind was much clearer than before, and I could finally think like a normal person.

I stored Fred's body and other things in the space storage and left the place.

'Rain and dungeon mechanics will automatically repair this place.'

I didn't stay here for long, and I didn't deliberately erase any traces of the battle. The characteristic of the dungeon is that any external influence will be eliminated.

This is why some dungeon environments are widely used for training or working, or even for killing people.

'At least it's convenient.'

With this thought in mind, I left and started heading towards the location of the hidden level.

......

Hidden Levels

As the name implies, hidden levels only appear in staged dungeons, and even then, they are a rare occurrence.

'Right now, most of the hidden levels haven't even been discovered yet.'

There are many dungeons with hidden levels, but few people find them. Even if they are discovered, most of them are hidden by those who discover them. These levels cannot be identified with the technology of the existing world.

This is the nature of most humans. If you discover something, you usually don't share it right away, but check it out for yourself first to see if it's useful to you.

This is a very logical behavior, and I am doing it now.

After walking for a while, I arrived at the scene I had seen in the game and stopped in front of the rock.

roar!

Occasionally I could hear the screams of monsters in the distance. It seemed that because of Fred's skills, even the monsters in the distance began to become violent.

Once I reached the rock, I checked what I had prepared.

“Everything is ready.”

After confirming that my preparations were complete, I extracted my mana from my characteristics.

I closed my eyes, and the moon mana shone brightly in my dark world. The mana flowing through my body is hard to describe. It feels like an extra organ moving, but not like that.

It really is a surreal feeling.

Just as I drew on the mana and began to release it, suddenly, a strong sense of oppression came over me.

A pressure descended upon me, as if to suck me in. Unlike the portals I had used before, this felt more like a black hole.

whoosh!

I relaxed myself, not resisting, and let the pressure suck me in. Soon, I felt a visceral sensation enveloping me.

Bang!

Then there was a simple thump, signaling I had reached my destination.

I opened my eyes and entered a realm of utter disorientation, a place that defied the laws of time and space.

'The Forest of Time.'

If I were playing the game right now, these words would appear on the screen, a mysterious portal to a future vision.

This is a place that defies common sense, where the laws of time, space and physics are transformed.

It's all thanks to the mana phenomena happening around us.

Spread out before me was the Forest of Time, a second dimension hidden within a rainforest dungeon that stretched into an inaccessible realm.

The speed of time passing here is extremely fast, 30 times that of the outside world. I stood on the border between the ordinary forest and this surreal realm, feeling a tingling sensation on my skin, slowly adapting to this distorted flow of time.

This woodland is a magical realm of complex climate and landscape that is constantly changing over time.

The sun was high in the sky, shining its scorching rays on the earth, but was suddenly replaced by dark clouds and heavy rain.

It is a place that is constantly changing, a training ground like no other. It is raining now, but will soon be replaced by scorching sunshine, or freezing cold.

But what really makes the Forest of Time special is its mana density and mana wavelength.

Here, the mana is both thick and dense, resonating more strongly and generating more energy at the same time, challenging my ability to harness it every time I try.

I closed my eyes again and tried to sense the mana around me, even tapping on it became a challenge.

"Sure enough, this is the best place for training."

A surreal and incomprehensible place.

"Um?"

However, at this moment, something extraordinary happened. My moon mana began to surge with unprecedented intensity, flickering like the center of this chaotic mana field.

"What is this?" I whispered, feeling a shock beyond belief from the sudden surge of power. This wasn't the first time my [Moon] trait had reacted on its own, but this time it was stronger than ever.

Then, as if in response to my bewildered reaction, the moon mana coursing through me began to manifest itself.

It surrounded my body like a ghostly curtain, gleaming with the light of the stars.

It was a phenomenon I had never experienced before, an uncontrollable display of moonlight energy.

"ah!"

As the mana surged around me, a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly assaulted my senses.

My vision became blurry and I suddenly felt the scene around me change. Everything became vivid and dreamy, but I could feel my body and everything as if this was not a dream.

In this dreamlike state, I saw a familiar figure fighting fiercely.

I couldn't quite make out his features, but his fighting skills were undeniable.

He wields an unpredictable array of weapons—bows, strange phantom guns, flamethrowers, crimson daggers, and more—all with extreme swiftness.

'It's him.'

At that moment, I knew who that person was. It was the mysterious figure that had appeared in my dream.

This mysterious figure is fighting hordes of enemies, constantly switching weapons, and each opponent is quickly dealt with by him.

This time, his movements were smoother and I could understand and sense them better.

It was as if the person in front of me was not teaching me, but fighting for his own life.

'Is this real? Is this a scene from the past?'

I asked myself. This scene still reminded me of the Forest of Time where I was, but at the same time, the details were different.

The forest was burning and chaos reigned.

As I gazed upon this mesmerizing tableau, I attempted to discern the identity of the mysterious figure, but he never revealed his true face and remained shrouded in mystery.

Nevertheless, the image of him fighting was imprinted in my mind, leaving me in awe of his extraordinary abilities. Although his face was obscured, one thing I could see clearly was that his magic changed color.

Just like me.

Before I could think deeply and analyze the scene, I was forcibly pulled back to reality and my vision returned to normal.

'What on earth is this?'

More questions emerged and troubled me.