System Notification: Congratulations on discovering the Hidden Map.

Soulshadow Tianyou crouched on the ground, staring at the notification. A wave of confusion washed over her, her heart knotted with deep conflict.

"Master, it’s a Hidden Map!" Loli Monkey cheered excitedly instead.

"I know," Soulshadow Tianyou murmured. She slowly stood up, gazing at the underground staircase beside her feet. Its destination was unknown, leaving her unsure what to do.

In the Mystic Box game, monsters could be farmed in three ways: open-world maps, instances, and Hidden Maps. The first two were straightforward. But Hidden Maps? They were complicated.

The only way to get the strongest, most unique gear was by farming bosses. Bosses came in three types: True Gods, False Gods, and Plague Deities.

True Gods were world-event server bosses. False Gods were either open-world bosses or event bosses—like the corrupted Monkey King during New Year’s events. Guilds usually monopolized open-world False Gods. For solo players, getting legendary gear meant buying it or grinding for a guild to earn it from their warehouse.

The last option was entering Hidden Maps. Completing secret quests and defeating hidden bosses there offered another path.

Hidden Maps were the developers’ hidden malice. They held exclusive legendary gear, unique class books, and rare skill books. Finding one relied purely on luck—zero correlation with player skill.

Entering a Hidden Map triggered stat normalization. No matter your level or gear, you and the monsters were reset to preset values. Higher levels only gave you extra skills.

Clearing a Hidden Map demanded real skill. Monsters felt terrifyingly real. You might kill one in two hits, but one hit from them could end you. A single mistake meant death. The difficulty was extreme.

Rewards, however, were life-changing. Ordinary players could leap to stardom from one Hidden Map. Despite the danger, players chased them relentlessly. Some even made careers out of hunting them.

Finding a Hidden Map was about as likely as winning the lottery.

That’s why Soulshadow Tianyou’s expression was so bewildered. She’d just randomly killed a world boss. Now a Hidden Map appeared. It felt all wrong.

"Loli Monkey, what do you think?" Soulshadow Tianyou asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Loli Monkey tilted her head.

"...Never mind." Soulshadow Tianyou’s face darkened.

"Then let’s go, Master! A Hidden Map!" Loli Monkey grabbed her arm, grinning.

"Hold on. I think I have skills to learn now."

Soulshadow Tianyou crouched by the staircase leading underground. She opened her skill menu, but her mind wandered.

This was too smooth. One stroke of luck was coincidence. Two might still be chance. But three? No way. It felt like unseen strings controlled her—a pawn on a board.

Ah well... whatever.

Soulshadow Tianyou leveled up. New skills awaited. In Mystic Box, besides class skills, skill books existed—categorized by weapon type. Vital items. But for Tianyou, a mere level 12 player, that didn’t matter yet. Time to check her class skills first.

Three new skills glowed in her menu, ready to learn.

"【Stealth】. 【Mushroom Slap on Sight】. 【Mushroom Headshot】..."

Seriously. Since playing normally, Soulshadow Tianyou hadn’t stopped facepalming.

First, 【Stealth】: an Assassin and Rogue core skill. Move quietly or walk slowly, and you’d fade from enemies’ sight—turning semi-transparent or fully invisible.

Stealth paired with two others: the Assassin’s holy trinity. 【Backstab】 and 【Throat Slit】.

【Backstab】: Attacking an enemy’s back had a 70% crit chance (double damage).

【Throat Slit】: Striking the neck dealt 5x damage.

An Assassin’s kill combo? Stealth behind, slash the throat. Crit? Ten times damage. One-shot squishies. Even tanks died to a back combo. Let an Assassin behind you? You’d already lost.

Seeing 【Stealth】 confirmed Soulshadow Tianyou’s class: a mushroom-wielding Evil God Assassin. But aside from Stealth, her other skills—and their names—were utterly bizarre.

【Mushroom Slap on Sight】: Mushroom-type frontal attacks had a 55% crit chance (double damage).

【Mushroom Headshot】: Mushroom-type headshots dealt 5x damage.