Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part One]

CHAPTER 129: The World Stirs - The Hunt for the Hidden

PelvicThrust: This annoying narcissist may be on to something.

Anonymous_Tipper: Haxks' last known location is the Nashua Forest northeast of Wonderelle in the Arcanium Kingdom.

TickleMeElmo: If it's @Anonymous_Tipper, then the information must be legit. Gonna report this to the guild ASAP!

NinjaNoodles: Wayy ahead of you! 😤]

As Daisuke's feats sent shockwaves through the virtual world, they hadn't gone unnoticed by a certain guild. In a spacious office around a sprawling elm desk sat Drake Ashborne, master of the Dragonsbane guild. His expression was a blend of chagrin and intrigue as he sifted through trending posts on Sehreneti Online's community boards.

Just a few months back, the player Haxks had not only discovered but cleared the first level-one Hidden Dungeon in the game. Back then, Drake had dismissed the feat as dumb luck. But now it was obvious—Haxks' accomplishment was no accident. If he had slayed a single Exiled Hilitroll Chief sometime later, Drake might still have chalked it up to sheer luck, but this was evidently something more... much more.

"I should've looked into him the moment he cleared that dungeon," he muttered, fists clenched tight in frustration. "Now the whole world's caught wind of him."

"You're being too hard on yourself," consoled the Vice-Guildmaster, tilting her curved witch hat to hold the man's dejected gaze. "There's no way you could've known."

Drake frowned, refusing to be consoled. "That's not good enough. Our members rely on me to lead them to greatness; I can't afford to slip up—and this particular mistake's going to cost us big time."

In Sehreneti Online, second to top-tier skills, powerful equipment was what defined a player—and individuals who had both advantages were the absolute titans and pioneers of the game. These elite players could not only tackle and conquer uncharted territories but also claim lucrative dungeons and drive the game's main storyline forward. Such achievements elevated them to powerhouse status, making them nearly impossible to unseat from their lofty ranks in the long run.

As a result, the top guilds operated like ravenous vultures, always on the hunt for ways to consolidate power and outmaneuver their rivals. Haxks emerged as the perfect catalyst for their ambitions. If it was truly possible for him to locate the elusive Hidden Dungeons and Field Bosses, their wealth and influence could multiply exponentially, attracting a flood of prospective members to their ranks—all within an astonishingly brief timeframe.

Drake clasped his fingers beneath his chin, a pensive look crossing his face. If I'd trusted my instincts, I would've had someone investigate this guy before the whole server was out to get him. Now, it's a race against time.

"Your orders?" the mage asked, recognizing the familiar, calculating look in her Guildmaster's eyes.

Ignoring the question for now, the man summoned a holographic screen with a flick of his fingers, navigating to the guild menu. His gaze fell to the list of members where the name "SøulEatƐr" glowed, signaling the player was currently online. Without hesitation, he tapped the name and began typing out a private message.

***

Moonlight cast an eerie glow as an assassin stepped forward, his expression carved in stone, eyes dark and void of mercy. His grip tightened on a massive scythe as he took one fluid step and vanished.

A bandit screamed as the blade slashed through his spine in an instant, his body collapsing to the ground in two halves. The others barely had time to turn before the assassin swept the scythe low, the edge slicing through tendons, flesh, and bone. Limbs thudded to the ground, blood painting the earth in wet, crimson strokes.

The reaper moved again, the scythe gleaming in the moonlight as it carved through the air. Its curved blade caught another bandit by the throat, hoisting him like a rag doll before tearing back with a single, savage motion. Blood sprayed, splattering across the assassin's face, yet his cold gaze remained unchanged.

One bandit, paralyzed in terror, tried to flee, but the assassin glided forward, his footfalls silent as death itself. With a flick of his wrist, he swung the scythe in a deadly arc, the edge burying itself deep in the man's chest. A twist of the handle, and his target's heart ruptured with a sickening crunch.

Hieeek! The final bandit stumbled back, collapsing in terror, the crotch of his pants darkening in color as he peed himself.

But the harbinger of death wasn't swayed by sympathy. Without a word, his dark eyes exuded a cold madness as he raised his large and imposing weapon. The bandit's panic-stricken face was captured perfectly in its gleaming edge.

As silence settled over the carnage, only the assassin remained standing. His gaze was distant, unfazed, until a soft chime drew his attention to a notification icon. Yanking the scythe from the bandit's empty eye socket, he casually drove it into the ground, then seated himself on the chest of the corpse. Indifferent to the blood-soaked scene around him, he opened the message waiting in his inbox.

[Drake: I have a high-priority recruitment assignment for you. It's time-sensitive. Are you available right now?]

***

[SøulEatƐr: Sorry, boss—caught up in an S-class quest that'll take several more weeks.]

Drake exhaled slowly. The fruits of his blunder were already baring their fangs, but he wasn't just about to throw in the towel. SøulEatƐr was the perfect candidate for this particular kind of job, but he was currently preoccupied. And if he went as far as to refuse an urgent request from the Guildmaster, then the stakes for his ongoing quest must be pretty extraordinary.

Closing the chat window, Drake noticed an unread message from his younger brother, Osten, buried among the sea of mail from other players. Normally, he'd ignore it, but his instincts said otherwise, and this time he listened.

Sifting through the usual mountain of annoying complaints and requests, his eyes eventually landed on a screenshot with a headline that instantly seized his focus: "Haxks Starfrost—Scammer & Pker!"

So... this is what he looks like.

Drake's eyes widened briefly as he scrutinized the image. At a glance, he was able to discern that the player's low-level attire didn't correlate with the extraordinary feats he had been achieving on his own. Clearly, he was wearing unassuming equipment to mask his true level and capabilities to maintain a low profile.

The Leaderboard had recorded him at level one when he cleared that Hidden Dungeon. Assuming he'd been playing solo since then, his level couldn't realistically be above 25. Since it was poor etiquette for rankers to target and bully lower-level players, Drake decided to send one of his newer, lower-ranked captains to approach Haxks for recruitment.

"I need you to reach out to Jace and bring him up to speed," Drake instructed, a sly grin forming on his lips. "To account for unknown variables, it'd be wise to have reinforcements in place. But rather than risk drawing attention by sending our own guild members, let's contract a group of mercenaries.

Jace's mission is simple: get this player to join the guild, whatever it takes. If he resists, turn up the pressure—threaten him with harassment and blackmail. And if that doesn't work, we'll keep spawn-killing him until he either surrenders or quits the game. If we can't lock him down as one of our own, then we'll make sure no one else gets the chance to."

The mage's expression morphed into a sinister grin, the façade of her earlier innocence vanishing entirely. "I'll reach out to Jace right away," she promised, her voice dripping with determination as she turned to leave.