I spent the next hour cleaning my wounds and organizing the loot from the Gargoyle fight. The 2,000 Gold Coins were burning a hole in my virtual pocket, but I knew I had to be smart. In this new world, information was just as valuable as power.
Suddenly, a rhythmic tapping came from my window. Not the door—the window. On the fifth floor.
I gripped my dagger and moved silently toward the glass. Outside, hovering in mid-air with a pair of translucent blue wings, was a girl who looked no older than eighteen. She was wearing a high-tech scouting suit and a pair of silver goggles.
"You're hard to find, Mr. Zero Master," she said, her voice muffled by the glass.
I opened the window just an inch. "Who are you? And how do you know that name?"
"Name's Rin," she said, gracefully hopping into my cramped room. "And I know that name because your mana signature just hit the city's radar like a nuclear blast. You didn't think you could kill a Rank E boss and stay hidden, did you?"
I looked at the 'Ring of the Silent Zero' on my finger. It was supposed to hide me.
"The ring works against Government scanners, sure," Rin said, noticing my gaze. "But I'm not with the Government. I'm a Freelancer. And I'm here to give you a warning."
She pointed toward the purple vortex in the sky. "That Gate you just 'closed'? It wasn't the main event. It was a scout. The real Dungeon is going to manifest in forty-eight hours, and it's going to be at least a Rank C. If you try to take that on alone with your current level, you'll be dead in seconds."
[New Quest Unlocked: The Freelancer's Proposal]
[Description: Listen to Rin's information and decide your next move.]
[Reward: Hidden Map of the Rank C Dungeon.]