"So this… is The Oneness?" Nawa murmured to himself.
He realized that he was no longer inside the dome of the One Association. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a dense forest.
Although some of the vegetation looked unfamiliar, everything else felt strikingly similar to the human world—the sensation of the wind, the color of the sky, even the sun itself looked almost the same.
Beneath Nawa's feet was a circular metal platform, roughly ten meters in radius. Its surface was engraved with intricate patterns resembling ancient runes. Nawa crouched down and reached out to touch the markings.
"So these are magical runes…"
Magical runes were yet another priceless treasure humanity had obtained from The Oneness. They could be used in countless ways, much like magic in fantasy novels.
One of the main reasons modern technology had advanced so explosively was the incorporation of these magical runes. The metal platform Nawa was standing on had been created by combining magical runes with modern technology.
It was something the One Association used in conjunction with teleport gates and Player devices. Its primary function was to serve as a teleport coordinate lock and to help connect Player devices within The Oneness—much like cellular signal towers in the human world.
But that was merely the explanation the One Association gave to the outside world.The truth might involve far more than that.
Everything related to The Oneness was still shrouded in mystery. Countless questions surrounded it, but the one people wanted answered the most was this:
What exactly is The Oneness?
Some claimed it was a planet in another galaxy. Others believed it was an alternate dimension. There were even those who insisted it was a virtual world created by the One Association using advanced VR technology.
Yet none of these theories could be proven.
As for Nawa, he had no definitive answer either. But he was fairly confident that The Oneness was the same world he had once wandered into five years ago.
Unfortunately, publicly available information about The Oneness was extremely limited. Data from The Oneness was incredibly valuable, so few people shared it for free.
Not to mention that vast areas of The Oneness remained unexplored. Until Nawa could see those places with his own eyes, he couldn't be certain.
Still, deep down, he hoped it was true.
Because in the Himmapan Forest, there was someone he had promised to return to.
"Wait for me… Ren."
Nawa whispered as he looked up at the sky. His eyes seemed to drift back into memories of the time he had spent with her.
She was the granddaughter of the wizard Alfor and the only merfolk in the Himmapan Forest. Alfor had taken her in when she was still a child. Without her, Nawa might never have returned to his family alive.
As Nawa was lost in thought, a gray wolf suddenly charged straight toward him, its fangs bared and saliva dripping. It was more than twice the size of any wolf on Earth.
"Damn it… I let my guard down." Nawa cursed, panic flashing across his face.
He had forgotten that he was no longer in the human world—but in The Oneness, a land filled with dangers that could take his life at any moment.
At such close range, the wolf would reach him before he could even form a fireball. All Nawa could do was raise the arm protected by his bracer and brace himself.
Bang!
A deafening impact echoed.
The wolf, which had leapt forward, slammed into something invisible—as if it had collided with a transparent wall—and was sent flying backward.
Black smoke rose from its body, as though it had been struck by a powerful electric current. Even so, it wasn't dead. It struggled to its feet and fled back into the forest at full speed.
"A defensive barrier…"
Nawa muttered as he watched cracks spread across the transparent wall before slowly repairing themselves.
A defensive barrier was an area covered by an energy wall. It concealed those inside and prevented anything from the outside from entering.
Nawa recognized it because he himself possessed an item capable of creating something similar.
Thread of Faith, one of the items he had brought back from the Himmapan Forest, looked like a thin white thread.
When stretched in a circle around an area, it generated a defensive barrier much like the one before him—except far more powerful.
Even a charging adult elephant wouldn't leave a scratch on it, and its camouflage effect was incomparably superior.
Nawa decided to wait inside the barrier for a while, to see whether the wolf would return—or if something even more dangerous lurked nearby.
He also hoped someone else might teleport in like he had. If he was lucky, he could find companions, or at least ask for directions. Right now, he had no idea where he was or which way to go.
But after waiting for a long time, no other Players appeared.
Thinking about it logically, that wasn't surprising. Even though thousands of Players teleported every day, most logged in at the exact location they had logged out from.
Those who would teleport to a safe point were either newcomers randomly sent there like Nawa—or high-rank Players who deliberately chose that location. And those were extremely rare.
So Nawa decided not to wait any longer.
While it wasn't guaranteed, there was a high chance that this safe point wasn't far from a human settlement. Most safe points were installed near cities or secure communities.
Before hunting monsters, Nawa wanted to gather information and understand the surrounding area. The difference between hunting with information and without it was like heaven and earth.
The moment Nawa stepped off the circular platform, he froze.
A voice echoed in his head, and a system window popped up before his eyes.
( Welcome to The Oneness. As this is your first visit, the One Association will now introduce support functions designed to maximize your safety and hunting efficiency. )
"Right… the Player device has support functions too."
Nawa muttered, staring at the system window with interest.
After reading through the messages for a while, he was genuinely astonished. He already knew the Player device had convenience features—but he hadn't imagined it could do this much.
The Player device could evaluate items and artifacts, provide information on monsters encountered, and even enable long-distance communication between Players. While it didn't allow real-time voice chat like in the human world, Players could still exchange messages.
There were also party systems, map systems, and many other features. Together, these systems greatly improved safety and efficiency while hunting monsters.
There was only one problem.None of it was free.
When Nawa saw the prices listed by the system, he grabbed his forehead. Even with the discount granted by his title, the cost was still absurdly high.
"So this is what they mean when they say you can't become a strong Player without money…"
He muttered bitterly.
It was an undeniable truth. Not only did you need money to access system support, but eating quality monster meat to increase strength also cost money. Skills, combat techniques, weapons, and artifacts—all of it required money.
Without capital, no matter how talented someone was, it was difficult to grow stronger. That was why Players from ordinary or poor families often gave up on self-improvement and became laborers within The Oneness instead.
After a long moment of deliberation, Nawa decided to spend the last of his money to activate one system function.
( Lowest-tier map function fee: 15 copper coins )
( Activate? )
( Confirm ) ( No )
With just a thought, space itself seemed to open. Several copper power crystals emerged from Nawa's dimensional storage and vanished into the Player device.
A map interface appeared—similar to navigation apps in the human world—except it only showed a 30-meter radius around Nawa. Details increased as he moved.
In truth, Players could expand the map, mark destinations such as cities, villages, or dungeons, and even receive information about monster populations, minerals, and herbs in the area.
But of course, those features weren't free.
Even the lowest-tier map was already incredibly useful. Nawa no longer had to fear getting lost like he had five years ago when he first entered the Himmapan Forest.
As he pushed through the forest edge, he saw many strange creatures—giant horned rabbits, winged squirrels with blade-like teeth. They didn't seem aggressive like the wolf. They simply glanced at him and fled.
After nearly an hour, Nawa finally emerged from the forest and found a road—though road was generous. It was merely a path worn by countless wagon wheels.
In the distance, he saw clusters of buildings that resembled a city. He immediately headed toward them.
As he drew closer, he saw that the city was surrounded by stone walls, with vast grasslands stretching outward. Far beyond the city rose a massive mountain, towering so high that it pierced the clouds. Nawa had never seen anything like it on Earth—he couldn't even tell how far away it was.
The scenery reminded him of medieval European cities he'd seen in old games.
Ding.
The system's voice rang in his head automatically, and a message window appeared.
( This city is Matterhorn, located on the edge of the Kingdom of Yothandia. Would you like additional information? )
( Basic city information – Cost: 15 copper coins )
( Goods and services – Cost: 25 copper coins )
( History and important NPC locations – Cost: 5 silver coins )
( No ) ( Confirm )
Nawa rejected it instantly without hesitation.
At this point, he had less than ten copper coins left.
He walked along the city wall until he reached a massive gate. A large crowd gathered at the entrance.
What caught his attention were glowing white letters floating above some people's heads.
( RANK D – Warrior Class – Recruiting new Players, all classes welcome )
( RANK C – Escort services – 10 silver coins per day )
Because Nawa had already studied the system's features, he recognized these as the status display function. It allowed Players to display their rank, class, and titles—information that couldn't be falsified.
Its purpose was to help others evaluate whether to recruit someone into a party or hire them for missions. While displaying basic info was free, adding custom text cost money per character.
From what Nawa observed, most Players here were Rank D or Rank E. Only one or two Rank C Players were displaying their status. Still, that didn't mean there were no high-rank Players present—some simply chose not to display their information.
Nawa activated his own status display and began searching for a party.
Though he believed he was strong enough to hunt alone, it was still too risky. He had no information about the monsters in this area. Party hunting was safer, even if it meant splitting loot. He might also gain useful information from teammates.
After searching for over an hour, not a single party accepted him.
The main reason was obvious: his clothing—and the glowing letters above his head that read Rank E. Most people rejected him before he could even speak.
The contrast was stark compared to a group of Players wearing high-tier artifacts who had just exited the city gate. People rushed to join them—even without knowing their rank.
Nawa stared at that group, his eyes widening.
He recognized them.
Those Players were…