"We found a water buffalo boss over there—a leader-level one. Wanna team up to take it down?" The girl looked up at Mysterious and extended the invitation.

"Huh?" At her words, Mysterious was momentarily stunned.

Though he didn’t play many games, he understood enough. Inviting someone like him—who she’d only seen once and never spoken to—felt way too abrupt.

"Well? Wanna give it a try?" Seeing his hesitation, the girl pressed on. "Our team can’t beat it alone. But with you joining and us supporting you, we might have a shot."

"Why me?" Mysterious asked. "I’ve watched your tactics. You don’t need a melee fighter like me." He waved his Novice Sword to emphasize his class.

"You’re a solo player, right?" The girl smiled confidently. "If you had a team, you wouldn’t be watching us fight alone—or moving solo."

"Correct," Mysterious nodded.

"I haven’t seen you fight," she continued, "but solo players here must handle monsters alone. Level disparity is brutal in this game. To solo efficiently, you’d need ways to overcome it. Since we haven’t unlocked those yet, I bet you’re already level 6."

"Go on?" Mysterious nodded again.

Her deductions weren’t complex, but piecing them together from a glance wasn’t easy.

"Reaching level 6 this fast means you’re probably the world’s highest-level player—a real expert. If you’re our core and we support you, we might topple that boss." She spread her hands. "Succeed, and we’ll be the first to kill a leader-level monster in EndlessHorizon. We’ll go down in history."

"What if we fail?" Mysterious asked. "Winning’s ideal, but what then?"

"Losing’s no big deal. Below level 10, death has no penalty in-game." As she spoke, a dazzling light shone in her clear, bright black eyes. "Billions play EndlessHorizon. Meeting the strongest player here is incredibly lucky. Not seizing this chance would be a waste, right?"

"..." Mysterious stayed silent, staring at her for a long moment—then nodded.

True, BeginnerVillage players lost nothing on death. But Mysterious was different—his character bore Reaper’s Mercy, a powerful ability that vanished if he died. Anyone else would refuse such a suicidal invite.

But Mysterious wasn’t "anyone else." He was a Superbeing who’d slain level 6 monsters with a level 1 character whose stats were all 1. He’d even faced a level 12 leader alone. A mere level 6 boss? He barely cared. With time, he could solo it.

He accepted mainly because her aura moved him. As a Superbeing, he faced no threats—yet lacked goals or drive. He often observed ordinary people on streets, thinking he understood humans. But in this girl, he saw something new—ambition? Drive? A radiant energy missing in those trapped in routines of school, work, and home. He didn’t know her real self. Perhaps only in-game did she shine like this. Yet here and now, her light touched him. Just a hint of it was enough.

"Hehe..." Seeing his nod, the girl grinned.

[Player "Melodic Moon" invites you to join the party.]

After accepting, Mysterious appeared in her party.

"Holy crap, level 7?!" Party members could see levels. Others had doubted him, but his real level shocked them all. The other five were uniformly level 5.

"..." Mysterious showed no reaction. It wasn’t a big deal to him.

"Your name’s Nameless One... Level 7. I guessed wrong," Melodic Moon admitted, slightly surprised.

"Actually, you were wrong about one more thing," Mysterious said.

She’d claimed their help might let him beat the boss. Truth was, he could solo it. But after getting the intel from her, refusing and stealing the kill felt wrong. Her team couldn’t win, but they’d shared info. Bringing them along was fine—partly why he’d agreed.

"Huh? What else?" Melodic Moon asked.

"Let’s go." He wouldn’t explain.

"Alright... Boss is this way." She dropped it and led on.

"Oh, loot split. We planned 50-50, but since you’re level 7, take 60%? You six, us four?" Melodic Moon asked as they moved.

"No need. Keep it 50-50." Mysterious didn’t care—if he did, he’d solo the boss.

"Wow, splitting loot before the fight?" Misty Cloud, another melee, joked.

"With a pro like this, we’ll clear it easy," Silent Sword#14452, the archer, said confidently.

EndlessHorizon allowed duplicate names. Only the first player kept a name clean; others got random suffixes like #14452—not a count of duplicates.

"Careful. One boss hit will one-shot us," Dreaming Alice, the sole male mage, warned.

"Why still using a starter weapon?" Undying Song, another girl, asked seriously, eyeing Mysterious’s Novice Sword.

"...Don’t know." Uncomfortable, Mysterious kept it brief.

"Huh? How?" Melodic Moon leaned closer, showing her iron sword. "This comes from a quest. Did you skip it?"

"I did it. It wasn’t given." He recalled Blacksmith Hu’s "unforeseen factors."

"The blacksmith’s level 3 quest gives it. Missed it?" Silent Sword asked.

"No. Just wasn’t given." Mysterious stayed terse.

"Hmm... Bug?" Undying Song tilted her head. "Report it. Devs reward bug finds."

"...Not a bug." He couldn’t be bothered explaining.

"There it is!" Melodic Moon cut off the chatter, pointing.

A red-eyed water buffalo grazed ahead—far larger than others. Its muscular frame looked fierce, with a broken tip on its left horn.

"Melodic, shall I pull it?" Silent Sword nocked an arrow.

System assistance let even bow-newbies use them after practice. Without it, months of training would be needed to aim properly.

Normally, Misty Cloud or Melodic Moon pulled mobs, kiting aggressive buffaloes while ranged DPS attacked. But this leader was unknown territory. Ideally, level 7 Mysterious should pull—he’d survive surprises, assuming his stats weren’t crippled. Yet he wasn’t part of their party, just a temp. Sending him felt like pressure. Silent Sword volunteered to avoid that.

"No need. I’ll do it." Mysterious blocked him and charged with his Novice Sword.

As a leader, the buffalo had a wide aggro range. From ten meters away, it turned and charged.

The moment it moved, Mysterious judged—it was stronger than regular buffaloes, but still within his capability.