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In a future where cutting-edge holographic technology blurs the line between games and reality, Mercenary World emerges as the most advanced and immersive MMO ever created—backed by global governments and boasting a 98% reality simulation rate. Players are thrust into a living, breathing world of myth, magic, and warfare, where completing god-level missions can earn real-world riches.

Dawei, a nearly 30-year-old veteran gamer down on his luck, quits World of Warcraft and watches helplessly as other players become millionaires overnight. Driven by desperation and a spark of ambition, he spends his last savings on a full VR setup and logs into Mercenary World, determined to turn his life around.

But fate plays a cruel joke—or perhaps a hidden blessing—when he’s randomly assigned a notoriously impossible S-class mission: Kill the Three-Headed Dragon. Without gear, skills, or allies, he’s dropped into a crumbling city under siege by a monster that no player has ever defeated.

Yet in this ultra-realistic world, Dawei stumbles upon an unexpected loophole: the mission doesn’t immediately fail if he flees. Realizing the game rewards creative problem-solving over brute strength, Dawei begins to uncover the true nature of god-tier missions—ones not designed for brute force, but for those bold enough to think beyond the system.

Armed with only his wits, gaming instincts, and a system-assigned name as unimpressive as “Burdock,” Dawei begins his journey—not just to beat the game, but to beat the odds stacked against every underdog.

The Mercenary World Of Online Games

Just as Dawei carefully received the Corruption Elixir, the system threw a curveball:

System Prompt:Player has accepted [Corruption Elixir]. Quest reward difficulty will now increase randomly.

He almost threw the potion at Dioise's smug face.

This mission was already hard enough to qualify for a PhD in pain—and now the system had the audacity to increase the difficulty just because he accepted an item?

He clutched his chest in mock anguish, glaring at the skybox like it owed him money. There were at least 10,000 curses brewing inside him, stretching from the Eastern Wastelands to the Western Blissful Realms. His soul had been trampled like a welcome mat at a goblin rave.

"Forget it. Already got on the boat, might as well buy the ticket."

He pocketed the elixir. Annoying system or not, it was still a powerful item—and might be his only hope of capturing Montico. In the long run, a hard mission with potential was better than no mission at all.

"Look," Dawei tried to play it cool, swirling his instant noodles thoughtfully. "If you can't give me weapons, maybe you can help me fulfill a small request?"

After a pause, the sage replied smoothly, "Your request is simple… but I do not have it."

This guy was the spokesperson of a goddess, an alchemist, and an S+ ranked magical existence. And he didn't have a simple tool? Had Dawei overestimated him?

Just as he was about to roll his eyes, Dioise lifted his hand.

"But… I can give you this."

System Prompt:The Great Sage Dioise offers you a gift. Accept?

[Magic Firestone]Highly concentrated fire element. When activated, releases an explosive flame within a 20x20 area. Uses: 1.

Dawei raised his eyebrows. Now that's more like it.

It wasn't a weapon per se, but it was definitely lethal if used creatively. Depending on how and when he deployed it, this item might serve as a trap, finisher, or crowd control nuke. Possibly all three.

Leaving Dioise's cottage with two high-tier items in his bag, Dawei returned once again to the werewolf hut and settled in for the waiting game.

With a logic-based strategy, Corruption Elixir, and now a burst trap, he finally felt like he had a fighting chance. All he needed now was for Montico to return… and walk into the snare.

Observe. Analyze. Wait.

"It's probably on the full moon," Dawei mused, lying on a damp bed in his player basement like a modern-day schemer. "Montico transforms under the moonlight, gains power, and flees the Count. When the power fades, he hides here."

He might have to wait a whole real-time month for Montico to return.

Dawei clutched his forehead. "If that's true, I'm gonna age before I complete this god-level mission."

If he failed the trap? He'd either have to wait another month—or worse—get killed again and sent back to Noviceville, doomed to regrind progress while crying in the virtual bathroom.

Time passed. The quest remained in limbo.

Dawei returned to daily life—cheap tasks, boring deliveries, low-level side missions with tiny EXP gains and even tinier rewards. He turned into a working-class adventurer, the kind who got paid in potatoes and forgotten praise.

The goddess aura still hovered above him like a badge of honor. But Fortuna, it seemed, was in ghosting mode. The buff remained, but no critical triggers, no bonuses, no lucky events.

"Fortune my ass," he muttered. "Goddess is probably on vacation in some divine hot spring."

Still, he stuck with the plan. Every night, he logged into Mercenary World, checked the hut from a distance, and logged out with the same result:

Dark. Empty. Lifeless.

Until—night six.

Just as he was about to turn off the client, something flickered.

System Prompt:The Werewolf's Hut has been lit.

Montico was back.

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