RTGR 53

Chapter 53 …

Do-hyun looked at the karma mirror, touched his chin, and grinned.

“Nice color.”

It wasn’t just casual praise.

Previously, he’d worn a vaguely red top and blue pants, with black and green scattered here and there—a look that screamed “hiker” or “beginner fashion.”

Now?

“It’s two-tone, but it actually has more style. Don’t you think?”

Hmm… doesn’t look bad, Master.

He reluctantly nodded, but even Jihad thought it looked pretty good.

The leather quality was excellent, and the blue stains on the red gave it a more threatening, painted-on look.

It was as if a primitive tribe had deliberately painted themselves to appear fierce.

The training sword he held instead of a greatsword perfectly complemented his sleek appearance.

‘The rest is just fate.’

Besides these, some miscellaneous items had dropped, and there were rewards from defeating warriors, but those were all items meant for storage in the inventory or to be sold at the auction house.

Do-hyun actually put them up for auction.

[Registered for auction with default settings.]
[Minimum bid set according to average market price.]
[Item successfully listed.]
…
[Auction ends in 12 hours.]

The items he listed were the warrior sets obtained from defeating the warriors.

‘I don’t need these at all.’

For some, these were near-graduation items from Raven, but for Do-hyun, these equipment items were less useful than junk items.

They overlapped exactly with the Great Warrior set.

Previously acquired weapons and such were kept just in case they might be needed later, but the warrior set wasn’t, so he sold them coolly at the auction house.

‘Each set goes for 2–3 million won, right?’

Since it was just top, bottom, and belt pieces, it wasn’t super expensive, but Do-hyun had listed six sets. That was more than enough.

Roughly 15 million won in total.

‘So this is the first money I’ve earned in God of Se.’

Not 1.5 million, but 15 million.

The money he had earned in Demrok required reaching rank 1, but now he was making it in the first city of the main continent.

It felt strange, but the emotion stirring in his chest was definitely pride.

Filled with pride, longing, anticipation, and an indescribable thrill, Do-hyun exhaled deeply.

‘Let’s just keep going like this.’

Rank 1? He could reach that again.

Right now, what mattered was the fact that he could properly earn money from the game again. It felt exhilarating.

“Kuh…”

He rubbed his hands together, trying to shake off the rising emotion.

This feeling could even wait until he actually received the money. That would be the real moment.

‘This comes first.’

When is the happiest moment for players acquiring a new skill or equipment item?

Most would answer the same: it’s right before testing its performance, full of anticipation and excitement.

Like waiting for your car to be delivered, and then finally driving it for the first time—the thrill is in that moment.

“It’s time to go.”

Where to this time, Master? Aren’t we moving around too much?

“We have to stay busy. Now’s not the time to slack off.”

Without hesitation, Do-hyun changed his direction.

“There’s a suitable target.”

Someone who even wiped out the Great Warrior? Suitable target… ah?

Jihad, following behind, suddenly realized and gawked.

Though he hadn’t seen it firsthand, he’d heard rumors that after he disappeared, a new ruler had appeared in the forest.

Do-hyun turned his gaze to the empty air.

Specifically, to the quest window hovering there.

[To enter the next city, you must pass the Continent’s Trial.]
[Field Boss Hunt]

Rank: First Trial
Description: Those aiming to graduate from the first city of the main continent, Raven, must pass the Continent’s Trial.
Achievement points update according to field boss hunting performance, determining reward rank, and the official ruler of Raven, ‘Spider Queen Eliza,’ must be defeated to clear.
Clear Conditions: Reach Level 24, defeat Spider Queen Eliza (0/1)
Clear Rewards: Rank-based rewards (D~S rank)
Time Limit: None

The field boss of the western forest and the key to the graduation quest: Spider Queen Eliza.

It was finally time to take her down.

Spider Queen Eliza

At first glance, she seemed like a named boss, but she wasn’t.

Unlike named bosses, whose data is permanently deleted upon death, Eliza continually respawned in the forest.

Then why the name Eliza?

Eliza, Eliza, Eliza, Eliza…
“Ugh, I hate hearing that.”
“Shove a fireball in that spider’s mouth to shut it up!”
“She’s stubborn; even her screams are ‘Eliza.’ Persistent little thing.”
“Persistent, persistent!”

She would only utter the word “Eliza.”

A giant spider, massive enough to look terrifying, speaking human words? And only repeating “Eliza”?

It was spine-chilling, and most players found enduring that harder than defeating her.

But God of Se had a billion players. Some speculated why.

“Why does it say Eliza?”
“Is there an NPC named Eliza? Maybe it’s a hidden piece, like a secret quest?”
“Could be.”

It was rare for a non-named boss to repeatedly say “Eliza.”

Quick-witted players suspected there was something hidden.

However…

“Nothing hidden, lol.”
“Damn, wasted money. Just the cost of explorers sent out…”
“We searched everywhere from Raven to Fratel and found nothing?”
“Even the Adventure King gave up after surveying the continent. Guess it just doesn’t exist.”
“If the Adventure King says that… it’s over.”

No hidden piece related to Eliza could be found.

“Oh? I saw an Eliza.”
“? Don’t troll.”
“I’m serious. In the fourth city, there’s a trader called Eliza…”
“Pretty?”
“Yeah, very pure-looking.”

Even desperately checking the trader revealed she knew nothing about the Spider Queen.

Players concluded that the developers just liked giving bosses unique quirks to torment players.

Still, there was one good point:

“She’s at least beatable.”
“Luckily they didn’t add weird traits like the mutant goblin warriors.”
“If they did, players would quit. Dealing with mutant traits and noise pollution? Ugh, chills.”
“Agreed.”

Compared to previous bosses, her traits were relatively mild, and her respawn rate was fast.

Because it was a graduation quest, respawning quickly was convenient for all players searching for her.

“No, you said fast respawn?”

Fast compared to other field bosses, but not every few minutes.

She didn’t respawn in the exact same spot either.

Roughly once an hour, she respawned in one of four webs positioned to the north, south, east, and west. Whoever discovered her first claimed her.

Not that she queued politely.

“The webs are annoying, seriously.”
“After one party, the webs block the way. What kind of field boss is this?”
“Relax, after 90 minutes, webs weaken.”
“If you don’t kill her within 1.5 hours, that’s your own problem. Essentially, just wait.”

When the prey was found, Eliza blocked the entrance with her webs.

She did it to prevent the prey from escaping, but that also blocked outsiders.

You could lure her out first, but…

“Why bother?”
“Better to let her come safely; no need to suffer for nothing.”
“Anti-steal is perfect!”

Usually, yes. But Raven’s field boss was different.

Graduation quest rewards depended on the hunting performance. Unless multiple parties cooperated, there was no reason to risk others stealing the kill.

So whoever discovered her first claimed her—that’s why Do-hyun was wandering the forest.

“By the way, you don’t know her location, do you?”

No. I’ve been buried for 150 years, Master. She’s your next-gen ruler, so…
“You said you knew everything in the forest.”
Ahem.

Jihad looked awkward, avoiding eye contact.

Do-hyun shook his head. But it wasn’t Jihad’s fault—he had done enough already.

He even helped obtain hero-grade equipment and two intermediate skill tickets!

‘Yeah, asking more would be too much.’

This time, it was on Do-hyun alone.

[Field Boss Respawn in 00:04:49]
[The field boss will respawn shortly.]

‘About 5 minutes.’

All players in the western forest received the system notice.

Perhaps that’s why people were gathering everywhere.

Especially near Do-hyun, because standing in the center allowed him to see all four webs.

“Respawn already.”
“I’ll go grab aggro first; I’m fast.”
“Don’t forget to spread people around. We must claim her.”

Some tried to claim exclusively, others cooperated to save time.

Regardless, competition would be fierce.

The moment the boss respawned, everyone would dash forward like a starting gun in a race.

“If we’re late, just spam skills from afar.”
“They can’t help it if we pull her from the web. We’ll just kill her together.”
“Won’t we get flagged?”
“We attacked first. By preemptive strike rules, we started first.”

Many even tried to use loopholes to claim her.

‘Same as Demrok.’

Back then, players couldn’t resist fighting over bosses.

Do-hyun, having achieved rank 1 amidst chaos, wouldn’t let that happen.

The moment the boss appeared, he planned to use his catch-up skill to claim her.

Reflexes were his strong suit.

Compared to those waiting at the webs, his chances were low… but he had no choice.

‘I can’t rely on luck for spawn location.’

Do-hyun had never correctly predicted spawn locations before.

Better to rely on his catch-up skill.

‘Wish the Eye of Truth could help here.’

That was when a conscientious thought passed through his mind.