The morning sun over the training grounds of Patrian was a pale, judgmental eye. Arthur stood in the center of the dirt-packed arena, his breath a steady, rhythmic tide.
To the passing eye, he was just another beginner—Level 1, wearing the tattered tunics of a novice. But as he began to stretch, the air around him seemed to thicken.
He wasn't just loosening muscles; he was recalibrating a soul.
In his mind, the logic of Master Madra—the legendary Undefeated King—was a violent, beautiful architecture. Every muscle fiber in Arthur's current body felt like a rusted gear trying to replicate the movements of a god.
He rotated his shoulders, feeling the slight resistance of his low Strength stat. He rotated his ankles, testing the Agility that currently hovered at a baseline minimum.
"Too slow," he whispered to himself. "The vessel is a cup; the technique is an ocean. I must make the cup hold."
Nearby, a group of players paused. They were decked out in basic leather gear, laughing as they prepared to head to the fields.
"Look at this guy," one joked, pointing a thumb at Arthur. "Doing calisthenics in the starting zone like it's an Olympic final. Hey, newbie! The rabbits are that way! You don't need a yoga session to kill a level one mob!"
Arthur didn't blink. He didn't even hear them. He was focused on the flow.
He stepped toward a wooden training dummy, his hand closing around the hilt of a basic, chipped iron sword. It was a piece of junk—low durability, pathetic attack power. But in Arthur's grip, it ceased to be a tool and became an extension of his intent.
Swish.
The horizontal strike was a blur. It didn't just hit the dummy; it whispered across the wood with such precision that the vibration didn't even shake the post. Then, a vertical cleave. Perfect. No wasted energy. No overextension.
For ten minutes, Arthur danced. He transitioned from the sword to a spear, the long reach of the weapon becoming a flickering tongue of steel.
Stabs turned into sweeps; sweeps turned into blunt-force parries. Then came the bow. Three arrows, notched and released in a single fluid heartbeat.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
The head. The torso. The heart. The arrows were buried so deep in the straw that only the fletching remained visible.
The laughter from the players died in their throats. Even the NPC patrol guards, men who had seen thousands of cocky adventurers pass through these gates, stopped their march.
They exchanged glances of genuine unease. This wasn't "beginner" skill. This was the muscle memory of a veteran who had survived a hundred wars, trapped in the body of a boy.
"He's just... he's just a try-hard," one player muttered, though his voice lacked conviction. "Probably spent ten hours in the tutorial. Let's go. It's nonsense."
Arthur ignored the digital cameras being pointed at him. He ignored the whispers of "weirdo" and "glitch-user." He sat down in the dirt, right there in the middle of the training ground, and closed his eyes.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The world fell away. The sound of the wind, the jeers of the players, the clank of armor—all of it became white noise, then silence.
He replayed the movements he had just performed, comparing them to the "Perfect Logic" in his mind. He looked for the gaps where his current physical limitations caused a micro-second of lag.
Inside that silence, something clicked.
[You have achieved the state of meditation at the beginner level.]
The notification hissed in the back of his mind, but he didn't stop. He pushed deeper. He wasn't just resting; he was analyzing. He was seeking the core of his own existence within the system's constraints.
[Your concentration, composure, and insight have allowed you to perceive a new level of meditation.]
[The Passive Skill / Active Skill 'Meditation' have been acquired.]
[The special stat 'Composure' has been acquired.]
[The Composure stat already opened, as a compensation +20 to Composure has given.]
[The special stat 'Insight' has been acquired.]
[The Insight stat already opened, as a compensation +20 to Insight has given.]
[The Skill 'Meditation' has been mastered.]
The world exploded in a soft, golden light behind his eyelids. Arthur felt a sudden, cooling sensation wash over his brain. It was as if a fog had been lifted. His thoughts were sharper, his pulse slower.
Then, the big one.
[Hidden Quest: Path of Enlightenment.]
[Difficulty Level: A]
[You have been enlightened through training by using your insights. But you're still lacking. When a certain condition is met, your body will be enhanced and have a better sense.]
[Quest Clear Conditions: Understand what you're lacking before reaching level 10.]
[Clear Reward: All Skills +2 Rank, Stat Points 100.]
[Title: Enlightened One.]
[Passive Skills: Beginner Bow/Spear/Sword Mastery, Beginner Fist/Kick/Body Technique, Keen Sense, and special stat 'Sense' are unlocked.]
[Equipment: Prodigy Set.]
Arthur opened his eyes. He felt light. Every movement felt as though it were being assisted by the very air around him. The "Prodigy Set" manifested as a simple, high-quality linen garment that seemed to hum with potential.
"I'm still lacking," he mused, standing up and stretching. "The quest says it. I have the mind, I have the technique, but I don't have the foundation."
He looked toward the forest. It was time to build that foundation.
The forest outskirts of Patrian were a chaotic mess of players. Groups of three or four were chasing after single rabbits, shouting and swinging wildly. Arthur walked past them, his footsteps silent. To him, the players looked like toddlers playing with live grenades.
He didn't stop at the edge. He went deeper, into the shadows where the trees grew thick and the sunlight struggled to hit the mossy floor. This was the territory of the Black Rabbits—monsters that were faster and more aggressive than the common field variety.
He had barely stepped ten meters into the brush when his 'Sense' stat flared. It was a prickle on the back of his neck.
Five of them. Ten o'clock, two o'clock, and three behind the fallen log.
Without breaking stride, Arthur drew his sword.
Five black shapes blurred through the air, their horns glistening.
In the eyes of a normal Level 1 player, these rabbits were a death sentence. To Arthur, they moved like they were underwater.
He didn't retreat. He stepped into the path of the lead rabbit. With a flick of his wrist, the sword traced a perfect horizontal arc.
It wasn't a swing of strength; it was a swing of geometry. The blade passed through the soft throats of three rabbits simultaneously.
[You have defeated a black rabbit x3.]
[15 experience has been acquired.]
The remaining two landed, their back legs tensing for a second leap. Arthur didn't give them the chance.
Using a fluid footwork technique—part of his newly unlocked Body Technique—he pivoted on his heel. He didn't just move; he propelled himself like a coiled spring.
A kick shattered the skull of the fourth rabbit. As the fifth tried to retreat, Arthur's sword descended in a vertical stroke that cleaved it clean in two.
Total time: 4 seconds.
Total movements: 3.
"The experience is thin," Arthur muttered, glancing at his bar. "But the efficiency is rising. If I can't find quality, I'll find quantity."
He began to run. Not a frantic sprint, but a steady, tireless gait powered by his Mastered Meditation. He bypassed the small clearings and headed straight for the heart of the infestation: the Breeding Grounds.
For the next hour, the forest floor became a graveyard.
Arthur was a whirlwind of steel. He didn't just hunt; he harvested. He pulled mobs of twenty rabbits at a time, weaving through their lunges with the grace of a matador. Every strike was a critical hit. Every movement was a lesson in conservation.
By the time he stopped to catch his breath, he was Level 4. A hundred rabbits lay in his wake.
"Ok... that's the last of them," he sighed, wiping a drop of black blood from his cheek.
But the system wasn't done with him. The air in the clearing suddenly grew cold. The constant chirping of insects stopped. A heavy, oppressive pressure settled over the trees.
[100 rabbits have been killed. Field stage has been activated.]
[Murderous Rabbit has spawned x2.]
[Rabbit Queen has spawned.]
[If killed in under 10 minutes, the Rabbit King will spawn.]
[Hidden Quest: Hunting Season]
[Difficulty Level: C+]
[Clear Reward: +50 stat points, Affinity with Patrian residence +30, 20% discount at stores, Deluxe Set.]
[Title: Hunter, Little Hero of Patrian.]
Arthur's eyes widened. "A hidden stage already?"
Then came the secondary notification, the one that made his heart race.
[Additional Reward: Special stat 'Good Luck' is unlocked, Lucky Necklace.]
[Title: Fortuna's Grace.]
"Wow!" Arthur let out a rare, genuine laugh. "The system of satisfy is being generous today."
From the shadows of a massive burrow, two rabbits emerged. They were the size of large dogs, their fur matted with dried blood and their horns jagged and serrated.
Behind them, a massive, bloated creature with a crown of white fur—the Queen—began to screech.
The two Murderous Rabbits didn't hesitate. They moved with a speed that surpassed anything Arthur had seen so far. They charged from two different angles, a pincer movement designed to impale him.
Arthur's 'Insight' kicked into overdrive. He saw the trajectory of the first rabbit—a straight-line dash. He saw the second—a zig-zag pattern meant to confuse.
He reached for his spear, which was strapped to his back. As the first Murderous Rabbit leaped, its jaws wide, Arthur didn't dodge.
He thrust the spear forward with the weight of his entire body behind it. The chipped tip found the rabbit's eye socket with gruesome precision.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 1,327 damage.]
[You have defeated a murderous rabbit.]
The force of the impact sent the rabbit's corpse flying backward, but the second one was already upon him. It was inches away, its horn aimed directly at Arthur's ribs.
Arthur dropped the spear. In one fluid motion, his hand went to the hilt of his sword.
Clang!
He didn't block the attack head-on—his Strength stat was too low for that. Instead, he angled his blade, parrying the horn just enough to redirect the rabbit's momentum. The creature, unable to stop its charge, stumbled to the right, its flank exposed.
Arthur didn't waste the opening. He brought the sword down in a heavy vertical cleave. The blade bit deep into the rabbit's neck, severing the spine.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 1,104 damage.]
[You have defeated a murderous rabbit.]
Arthur stood amidst the cooling corpses, his eyes fixed on the Queen, who was now trembling. The timer was ticking.
Somewhere in the shadows, the King was waiting. And Arthur?
Arthur was just getting warmed up.
"Five minutes for the Queen," he whispered, his grip tightening on his sword. "I think I'll only need one."