Forget about the MAX DMG, but there were no precedents of a player or an NPC dealing damage in the hundreds of millions on the damage counter.

There was no way that Tae-Sung, who had staked his life on this game, would not know about it if it ever happened in the game.

However, the old man in front of him had done just that with a single swing of his fist.

In fact, he even made it look too easy since his fist did not even touch the Genesis Guild members.

‘Did the damage counters overlap each other? I think I recall seeing once on the forums that a Level 44 was thought to be a Level 444 because of the text overlapping each other,’ Tae-Sung thought.

He suspected that what he had just witnessed was most likely a bug. After all, it was logically hard to believe that a mere Wandering Old Man was Level 999.

‘What the hell is Bee Hive[1] doing?’ Tae-Sung grumbled inwardly.

Bee Hive was the term Korean gamers used to refer to the developer and distributor of this game, Brave New World.

‘Let’s take a screenshot at least,’ he thought.

Tae-Sung remained true to his instinct as a gamer because he tried to keep a record of the old man despite the chaos that happened around him just now.

However…

[Warning: It is impossible to take a screenshot of a Hidden NPC.]

[Warning: It is impossible to film while in the same field as a Hidden NPC.]

[Warning: It is impossible to livestream while in the same field as a Hidden NPC.]

The system didn’t allow him to keep any records of the old man.

‘Don’t tell me it’s a hacking user posing as an NPC…? Maybe it’s a Moderator?’ Tae-Sung thought.

He could not make heads or tails of the old man’s identity.

However, he was sure of one thing despite the confusion. The man was not an ordinary being.

“Wait for a moment,” the old man said.

“Huh?” Tae-Sung muttered in response as the old man’s words snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Let’s talk after I get rid of the trash,” the old man said while pointing at the Genesis Guild members.

It did not take that long for the old man to get rid of the ‘trash’.

“R-Run for now!”

“Damn it!”

“Run faster you bastards!”

The remaining Genesis Guild members scampered away like a bunch of cockroaches when a green aura rose up from the old man’s body.

“Hohoho…” The old man let out a leisurely laugh as the green aura around him grew stronger.

The green aura that rose up from the old man’s body was a disaster equivalent to the detonation of a nuclear bomb, and the result was the same as a while ago.

[999,999,999,999 Damage!]

[999,999,999,999 Damage!]

[999,999,999,999 Damage!]

[999,999,999,999 Damage!]

[999,999,999,999 Damage!]

The old man once again proved his strength by raising the damage counters to MAX DMG as the Genesis Guild members disintegrated one by one when the green aura made contact with them.

It was an understatement to call it a massacre since they perfectly disappeared without a single trace.

***

“You…” the old man said as he pointed at Tae-Sung before he continued, “I have been watching you for a long time.”

“Huh…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion at the old man’s words before asking, “Are you talking about me?”

“Of course I am,” the old man replied.

The old man was telling the truth. He had been roaming around the continent in search of someone worthy to become his disciple, and he stumbled upon Tae-Sung warding off the Genesis Guild by coincidence.

He decided to observe Tae-Sung, and he observed him for a long time before he finally made his decision.

‘I think I should accept that punk as the disciple of this great me,’ the old man thought.

Of course, this was something Tae-Sung had never imagined even in his wildest dreams.

“But why…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“That’s because…” the old man said before he continued, “You are an unsalvageable piece of trash.”

“Huh…?” Tae-Sung muttered in response.

“Are you deaf? Didn’t I just tell you that I had been watching you because you were a piece of trash?” the old man said.

Tae-Sung grimaced in response to the old man’s words.

The truth was bound to be harsh, but calling someone trash even though they were technically a piece of trash was going to end up offending the piece of trash even though it was true.

“And what do you mean by that?” Tae-Sung respectfully asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

“You lack four things. Ah, you lack manners too, but that’s not one of them,” the old man replied.

“Huh?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“You don’t have luck,” the old man said.

“…” Tae-Sung could not retort at the harsh truth the old man said.

“You don’t have talent, you don’t have money, and you don’t even have timing on your side. The only thing you know how to do is to toil away like an ox,” the old man said.

Every single word the old man said stabbed Tae-Sung’s chest like a dagger.

“You have a grand dream, but you are nothing but sewer trash in reality,” the old man added.

Then, the old man raised his voice and continued, “You are ambitious but incapable of achieving anything.”

“…” Tae-Sung remained speechless.

“A buffoon who keeps trying even though you’re obviously going to lose, no, a buffoon is too much of a praise for you,” the old man continued with his onslaught.

“…” Tae-Sung was still silent.

“The only thing you have that is a cut above the rest is your competitiveness. You are probably the best in the world when it comes to that,” the old man said.

Tae-Sung could not retort to any of the things the old man said since they were all facts even he was aware of.

“That is why…” the old man said.

He dropped a bombshell.

“I have taken a liking to you,” the old man added.

“Huh…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“I won’t explain any further. Bow down to me nine times,” the old man said.

When the old man finished his words, a message popped up before Tae-Sung’s eyes.

Ding!

[Alert: Epic Quest – ‘Master Disciple Relationship’ has appeared!]

[Alert: Do you wish to accept this quest?]

It was the rare appearance of an epic quest.

***

An epic quest appeared out of nowhere.

‘Let’s give it a shot for now,’ Tae-Sung thought as he decided to accept the quest.

An epic quest was a very rare mission that most people could never come across, and Tae-Sung, who had to grab onto any hope he could find, had no reason not to accept it.

[YES.]

[Alert: You have accepted the Epic Quest – ‘Master-Disciple Relationship’!]

Then, the quest details popped up in front of his eyes.

[Master Disciple Relationship]

[Type: Epic Quest]

[Details: Bow down nine times to the Wandering Old Man.]

[Progress: 0% (0/9)]

[Reward: ?]

[Caution: You will have to sincerely bow to the Wandering Old Man. The Wandering Old Man might beat you to death if he notices you bowing insincerely.]

The quest was pretty simple, but it came with a chilling word of caution.

‘I will die if he as much as grazes me… Let’s do this as sincerely as I possibly can,’ Tae-Sung thought.

He thought of the power the old man had shown against the Genesis Guild members just now.

‘Bow as sincerely as possible…’ he reminded himself once again.

Tae-Sung started to bow toward the Wandering Old Man as sincerely as he possibly could, and he made sure that every single movement of his body was oozing with sincerity and respect.

One time…

Two times…

Then, five times…

“That’s right, you are doing well. You are doing quite well,” the old man said as he nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed he was quite pleased with Tae-Sung bowing down to him.

It was at that moment that Tae-Sung bowed for the ninth time that a message appeared before his eyes.

Ding!

[Alert: You have completed the Epic Quest – ‘Master-Disciple Relationship’!]

A bright light surrounded Tae-Sung’s body as soon as the message popped up.

‘What’s going on?’ Tae-Sung thought in confusion as he was taken aback by the sudden light.

[Alert: Congratulations! You have become the disciple of ‘Deus’!]

[Alert: You have successfully changed classes! Your class has been changed from ‘Elemental Mage’ to ‘Disciple’!]

It was a message that did not make sense to him.

‘What the hell is going on…?’ Tae-Sung wondered.

He bowed down nine times to a Level 999 Hidden NPC, and he not only became the Hidden NPC’s disciple, but his class also changed into ‘Disciple’.

“You are now…” the Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, said as he looked at Tae-Sung, “You are now the disciple of this great me.”

“Your… disciple…?” Tae-Sung muttered in response.

“That’s right,” Deus replied while nodding, and then he said, “I shall open…”

“…?” Tae-Sung wondered what the Hidden NPC would say next.

“Your path to becoming invincible!” Deus exclaimed in a grandeur manner.

And that was how the Master-Disciple Relationship between Tae-Sung and Deus started.

***

Meanwhile…

There was a department in Hive Company, which was located in Oakridge, Tennessee, the United States of America, where even the board of directors could not intervene with their operations.

This department was called the ‘Hexagon’.

Hexagon was the most important department in the company, Hive Games Entertainment, and this was the department in charge of managing the epic story within Brave New World. In other words, Hexagon was the department managing the Grand Epic of Brave New World, which was the main story of the entire game.

The operator of Hexagon said in a trembling voice, “A-As of this time… The Epic Code 007 has… been activated.”

The operator’s announcement sent shockwaves throughout the entire department.

“007? Oh my god!”

“Finally?”

“Has Deus finally found his disciple?”

“Who is it? Who got chosen as his disciple? Is it that pro gamer from last time?”

“Oh my god! To think that 007 will be activated!”

The members of Hexagon noisily murmured among themselves.

The leader of the entire Hexagon department, Oppenheimer, finally opened his mouth and asked, “Who is it? Who is the player who activated the Epic Code 007?”

In addition to being Hexagon’s leader, he was also the Vice Chairman of Hive.

He was staring at the screen while seated in the back seat of Hexagon’s control tower.

“Is it that pro gamer Deus was eyeing?” Oppenheimer asked.

“No, it’s not,” the operator replied.

“Then, is it someone new?” Oppenheimer asked.

“Yes,” the operator replied.

“Who is it?” Oppenheimer asked with his eyes filled with curiosity.

“T-That’s…” the operator muttered as he hesitated for a moment before continuing, “It is a gamer from South Korea.”

“So that’s how it turned out,” Oppenheimer muttered and nodded.

He was well aware that the South Koreans were innately talented when it came to video games and that they were one of the best in the world.

In fact, there was even a saying that the racial trait ‘gaming’ would appear if the South Koreans were turned into video game characters.

“What is 007’s level, no, I mean, ranking?” Oppenheimer asked.

He was certain that the gamer Deus had picked as his disciple was a ranker since the gamer was bound to be talented if the Hidden NPC, Deus, had picked him. Moreover, the gamer was from South Korea, a country renowned for producing talented pro gamers.

Oppenheimer was confident in his deduction because this was the only logical outcome if he narrowed it down to these two points.

However, the operator’s response was the complete opposite of what Oppenheimer was expecting to hear.

“The gamer is Level 91,” the operator replied.

“Level 91? Has the gamer only started playing recently?” Oppenheimer asked.

“No,” the operator replied.

“No?” Oppenheimer muttered in disbelief.

“The gamer, 007, registered two years ago and is classified as a heavy user who plays more than ten hours a day,” the operator reported.

“Are you asking me to believe what you said just now…?” Oppenheimer asked in response with a look of disbelief before muttering in stupefaction, “A mere Level 91 is a heavy user…?”

“It might be difficult to believe, but it is true… I mean—that is his current level, but the highest level this player reached is Level 201,” the operator clarified.

“That is a relief… but the gamer is still way below what I had expected…” Oppenheimer said with an awkward look.

It was understandable since Epic Code 007 was a key component that would affect the main story of Brave New World, and it was an event that would have severe repercussions for the entire game.

The gamer who activated Epic Code 007 and was chosen by the Hidden NPC, Deus, would become one of the main characters of Brave New World’s main story plot. In fact, there was a possibility that this gamer would end up becoming the protagonist of the Grand Epic of Brave New World.

“Establish a special monitoring team to monitor this player within twenty-four hours,” Oppenheimer said before he added, “But that is if he can even last more than a day…”

These words seemed to foreshadow something.