Hidden Dungeon?

As Hank looked for another group of monsters to farm some levels and equipment, Arthur calculated the time it would take to level up to the next level.

"It should take around three to four hours more."

"Even though I have Hank's scout skill, the players seemed to have killed many of the monsters, and they still haven't respawned yet."

After around 10 minutes of looking for their next target, Hank spotted another group of beetles, they were also level 2.

"Are beetles only level 2s in this area?" He muttered but quickly shrugged it off focusing on the fight ahead.

He finished the group of 3 beetles quickly with Hank's cooperation.

[You have slain a corroded Beetle]

[Stone Sword (Common) has been dropped]

[Backpack (Common) has been dropped]

[Armor (Common) has been dropped]

"Armor? That's a new drop" He muttered, as he picked it up and wore it.

After wearing the armour, he realised that he could either hide the armour making it invisible or show it.

"That's convenient."

After moving around in the armour, he realised that it slightly restricted his movement.

"Well, I am not a pro at dodging so it's still an amazing addition to my safety." He muttered as he kept it on.

He was going to sell the other items and keep this armour for himself to use.

Arthur let out a deep breath, watching the pixelated remains of the [Corroded Rabbit] dissolve into thin air as the familiar notification chimed in his ear.

[Ding!]

[You have slain a Corroded Rabbit.]

He smirked, waiting for what he hoped would finally be the moment he'd been grinding for hours.

[Ding!]

[You have levelled up to Level 3!]

[All attribute points will be increased by 1.]

[You have gained 1 free attribute point and 1 Skill Point.]

"Finally," Arthur muttered, feeling a rush of satisfaction as he checked his new stats.

It had been three hours, they had spent chasing down every creature in the area.

Every ten to fifteen minutes, he and Hank managed to find a new target, but it was becoming exhausting.

They'd barely encountered any variety in the monsters—mostly Corroded Rabbits and, of course, those eternally low-level [Beetles]

"I will make sure to stomp on every beetle I see on earth, I'm sick and tired of them."

As he turned to scan the forest, Hank let out a satisfied shriek and landed on Arthur's shoulder, his feathers ruffling.

Arthur reached up and gave the hawk a gentle scratch on the head.

"Good work, Hank. Thanks to you, we actually managed to find enough targets to hit Level 3."

Hank fluffed up, clearly pleased with himself.

Neko was as lazy as ever, but what surprised Arthur was that.

"The monsters don't attack her, I wonder why?" He thought.

She'd only lifted a paw if a monster happened to wander too close to her, and even then, she barely extended her claws before dismissing them as unworthy of her effort.

"Alright, lazybones," he said, rolling his eyes at Neko, "we're heading back to the village. Don't get lost."

He glanced at his inventory, filled with items he'd gathered over the past few hours.

Backpacks, a couple of Stone Swords, armour and some other items.

It had been decent loot, but he knew the value of these items wouldn't hold for long. With so many other players out farming, the market prices were bound to drop as more items flooded in.

'If I waste any more time, the cost of these items will depreciate faster than I can sell them,' he thought, his stomach knotting slightly. 'If that happens, I won't even know where to cry.'

With a sigh, he looked toward the path leading back to the village.

"Come on, Hank. Let's get back and cash in while we still can," he muttered, walking down the trail, his mind already racing with plans for his next level-up strategy.

As he walked, Neko lagged along a few steps behind, moving at her own unhurried pace, stretching with every other step as though she'd done all the hard work herself.

"Yeah, yeah, don't overexert yourself there, Neko," he muttered, a smirk forming as he adjusted the straps of his new armour

Arthur couldn't help but shake his head.

The difference in Hank's excitement in fighting monsters, and Neko's absolute disregard for anything made him feel nostalgic.

"It reminds me of when the teacher used to put the bully and the victim in the same group, thinking they would work well together," He sighed, glancing one final time at Neko.

As they made their way back to the village, Arthur glanced over his shoulder to check what the cat was doing. But as he turned he noticed that Neko was not following him.

The lazy cat had actually wandered off on her own, her nose twitching as if sniffing out some hidden secret.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Arthur called out, his voice suspicious.

Neko barely glanced in his direction, entirely focused on whatever had piqued her interest.

Arthur squinted watching the cat walk between trees, occasionally glancing back at him with an unreadable expression.

"This cat is actually looking for something?" Arthur muttered, genuinely intrigued now.

"Okay fine, you got my attention. Let's see what you are looking for," He muttered.

Neko had been indifferent and nonchalant even since he summoned her but now she was moving for a reason in her mind it seemed.

She wasn't lounging, sunbathing, or ignoring him outright like usual—she was leading the way.

'For once, she seems almost… motivated.' Arthur thought, glancing at the cat.

Arthur exchanged a quick look with Hank who shrieked, clearly bewildered by her actions.

Arthur made up his mind to follow her until she reached what she was looking for.

'Who knows, it might be a good thing. Hopefully... it is' He thought.

After all, he'd never seen her act like this before. It might be worth the detour.

Arthur and Hank followed her through bushes and in between trees.

Her small, white figure slipped between bushes and hopped over roots with ease meanwhile Arthur struggled to leave some bushes due to his size and their spiky, entangling nature.

"Damn it, is this cat doing this on purpose? Why is she purposefully going through the bushes!" He muttered silently but still followed her through another bush.

After a couple of minutes of walking, Arthur found himself ducking under a low-hanging branch and emerging into a small clearing.

His eyes widened as his eyes registered the sight before him.

"A cave?" He muttered.

It was half-hidden behind an overgrowth of vines and moss, nestled between two large, twisted trees.

It looked ordinary enough at first glance, but something about it exuded a sense of mystery, as though it were veiled in a faint, otherworldly aura.

Neko stood in front of the cave entrance, sitting on her haunches and studying it intently, her gaze fixed as if sizing it up.

She seemed entirely captivated by whatever lay within, her normally lazy eyes focused.

Arthur approached her cautiously, standing beside her as he observed the cave.

"So… what exactly are we looking at here, Neko?" he asked, half-expecting an answer he knew would never come.

Without any warning, Neko glanced up at him and then, in a single bound, leapt onto his shoulder, settling herself there like a queen on a throne.

She sat perfectly poised, her eyes still locked onto the cave, her tail flicking left and right.

Arthur waited, expecting her to leap down and lead him into the cave. But instead, she simply sat there, as if waiting for him to make the first move.

A feeling of exasperation bubbled up in Arthur.

'Damn it… Is she treating me as her servant or something? Why does it feel like I'm the summon and she's the master?'

The lazy, yet commanding, look she gave him only reinforced the feeling.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though reminding him that she had chosen to lead him here, and he should be grateful for it.

Arthur gritted his teeth, letting out a resigned sigh.

"Fine. I'll check it out," he muttered, casting one last look at her little face that had an unreadable expression.

"I can almost swear that she is feeling smug about this on the inside,"

With Hank perched on a nearby branch, keeping a vigilant eye out, Arthur took his first step into the mouth of the cave.

As he passed beneath the overhanging vines, a faint, cold breeze drifted from within, carrying with it a weird scent and something else—something metallic, like old, rusted iron.

His footsteps echoed softly as he ventured deeper, his senses growing with each step.

"I need to be vigilant here, I don't know what I could find in this weird place," Arthur thought, as he held his sword in front of him.

After a few moments, he came upon an open cavern, and his eyes caught a glimmer of light reflecting off a collection of… something.

"What's that?" He muttered, whilst squinting, his curiosity piqued.

On the ground before him lay a bunch of rusted weapons and armour, half-buried in the dirt, as though forgotten by time.

Most of the items were rusty and worn, but as he sifted through them, his hand brushed against something smooth and solid.

He pulled it free, revealing a dark, iron-hued dagger with a faint crimson sheen along its edge. The blade felt cool and sharp, and it seemed to hum softly in his hand, as though alive with a strange power.

[Iron dagger (Rare): A dagger of an old hero, lost through time. The dagger yearns to be used again and achieve its mission of spreading chaos]

Arthur's eyes widened, a grin spreading across his face.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about," he whispered, feeling the weight of the weapon in his grip.

The dagger had a strange aura to it, one that made his skin prickle with a sense of foreboding, but he couldn't deny its allure.

"A rare dagger? This is what I like to see," He chuckled, placing his sword back into his inventory.

"This thing is worth at least a couple hundred silvers at this stage of the game. It was the rank above Uncommon, and he was sure that only monsters of higher level could drop something like this."

"It's probably even stronger than items that are gotten from ordinary monsters, the description says a lot about it."

Neko's eyes gleamed as she watched him examine the dagger, and for a brief moment, Arthur thought he saw a flicker of disgust in her eyes. It was as if Arthur was holding something dirty.

"Is she feeling disgusted?" he muttered, glancing over at her.

She ignored him and kept looking forward as if he still hadn't reached what they had come for.

Arthur rolled his eyes at her indifference. "Fine, let's see what's inside."

With the dagger securely in hand, he glanced around and examined a few more of the items strewn about, but most of them were too degraded to be of any use.

He ventured inside the cave for a bit more.

And, suddenly he heard something.

[You have discovered the hidden realm: Forsaken Legacy!]

[You are the first to discover a hidden realm (Difficulty: Normal)]

[The rewards will be increased by 2x]