The SSS+ Rank Hunter Who Farms

7. Log Out

I plowed the field.

Then, I chopped down nearby trees and planted the seeds that dropped from them.

But planting them wasn’t the end of it.

I had to water them, then craft a basic fence at the workbench to keep monsters from trampling the crops. Only after completing all that did the tutorial finally come to an end.

[Quest Complete!]

With that, the tutorial questline, which had progressed up to stage seven, was finished.

I looked at the small patch of cultivated land, now planted with seeds, and immediately called out:

"Log out!"

[Congratulations! You have completed the Tutorial Quests.]

[Log Out System Activated!]

[The owner of the Secret Farming Map can return to their original dimension using the Log Out system.]

[Log Out and Log In systems activated!]

[Log Out & Log In Current Level: 1]

[Each system has a recharge time of 168 hours (7 days) after use. Use them wisely.]

"...What?"

This was a system I had never seen before in my ten years of playing Farming World.

A seven-day cooldown for both logging in and logging out?

So that meant... I could only log out once every seven days?

If I logged out now, rested, and came back in eight hours, I wouldn’t be able to log out again for another seven days.

If I understood this correctly...

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

I couldn't just log out whenever I wanted? Instead, I had to play for seven straight days once I logged in?

"Am I supposed to die here?"

Sure, gaming technology had advanced to the point where staying online for days didn’t immediately cause health issues.

But even then, no one recommended it.

High-end capsules allowed safe play for up to 48 hours, with an absolute max of 72 hours. Any longer, and the built-in nutritional supplements ran out.

And I didn’t even own a high-end capsule.

"Hah."

What started as a casual plan to see if I could get my map back had spiraled into something completely ridiculous.

Even if I was a jobless bum with too much free time, there was no way I could stay in a capsule for seven days straight.

Of course, the system description hinted that the Log In/Log Out level could be upgraded, likely reducing the cooldown over time.

But that didn’t matter.

In Farming World, every single Farm Point was crucial.

Especially in the early game, where poor investments could leave you with a garbage build, forcing you to restart the entire map.

And they expected me to waste points just to log out?

"...Shit."

For a moment, I had been happy.

I had barely scratched the surface of an SSS+ rank ability, but it had been enough to make me crave more.

Which was exactly why I needed to log out.

"Log out."

I had no idea what the hell was going on, even after a whole day of being here.

---------------------

The Smell of an Old Machine

There’s a certain smell that old machines have.

Ten years ago—

Back then, I had bought this outdated VR capsule secondhand. It was labeled as a ‘used-new’ model, meaning it was slightly cheaper.

Over the years, I had patched up minor malfunctions and kept it running. Now, it looked like a pile of junk, but it still worked.

If dungeons and hunters hadn’t appeared in the world, virtual reality would still be thriving today.

That thought was triggered by something off about the log-out process.

The usual, familiar scent of my room was missing.

I opened my eyes.

"...Huh?"

It was my room.

A tiny space with nothing but an old VR capsule and a worn-out bed.

Aside from that, it was completely empty.

And I was standing in the middle of it.

"Why am I...?"

Had staying logged in for over two days fried my brain? Did I forget the moment I stepped out of the capsule?

I wasn’t stupid enough to dismiss this so easily.

Sure, I had tried to stick to the 48-hour limit over the past ten years.

But I wasn’t going to pretend I had never broken it.

When I was obsessed with the game, 48-hour sessions were the norm. I had even pushed it to 72 hours, sometimes 96, just to grind Farming World like my life depended on it.

I was only 26 years old.

Too young for dementia.

And besides, this log-out felt different.

Normally, logging out just made my consciousness flicker.

But this time, it felt like my entire body was being sucked somewhere.

Then, the system message in front of me shattered my confusion.

[You have logged out.]

[Remaining Log Out Cooldown: 168 hours (7 days)]

"...What?"

A system window.

Visible in real life.

And there was only one explanation for that.

"Did I become a Hunter?"

That was a possibility.

In this world, the defining trait of a Hunter was their ability to see system messages—something that only existed in games.

But my gut told me otherwise.

"...Could it be Farming World?"

I had no words to explain it, but the system messages I saw in the Secret Farming Map were appearing here.

I hesitated, then called out,

"Farming Window."

A new interface appeared.

[Farming Window]

- Name: Kim Su-hyeon

- Map: Secret Farming Map (SSS+)

- Time: Day 2

Stats: Strength (S), Stamina (S), Agility (S), Magic Power (D)

- Skills:

- Current Farm Points: 700

- Level: 1

- Current Farming Stat Points: 7

- Mana: 50

"Shit..."

There was no difference.

The stats, the abilities—everything from Farming World had carried over to reality.

If that was true...

Then I wasn’t just a Hunter.

I had brought the power of an SSS+ Secret Farming Map into the real world.

"…Why?"

The real question was why.

For years, scientists had studied what made someone a Hunter.

No answer was ever found.

The current consensus?

It just happens.

Like a natural phenomenon, dungeons appear, monsters spill out, and humans either evolve or get chosen to become Hunters.

That’s it. No further explanation.

It wasn’t something science could explain, but when it was happening worldwide, people had no choice but to accept it.

Sure, I understood why some Hunters wanted to know why them.

Was this power a blessing? A curse? Why were they chosen?

But I had never cared enough to question it.

Until now.

Now that it was happening to me, an uneasy feeling stirred in my gut.

I knew this was a good thing.

I wanted this.

I understood that better than anyone.

When I first discovered the Secret Farming Map and unlocked an SSS+ ability—

Honestly? I had considered giving up my ten-year-old farming world just to get more rewards like that.

Of course, that was probably just me trying to justify the fact that my map had been stolen against my will.

But if this power worked in reality.

Then my ten years of grinding, my mindless farming—things that had been utterly useless to the rest of the world—

Would now have real value.

There was no need to weigh the pros and cons.

This was a pure gain.

Even if the thought of why? continued to gnaw at me, even if I feared this power might disappear at any moment.

"This is insane."

Now that I had fully processed it, I realized something else.

My body felt different.

Recently, I had spent more time in Farming World than in reality.

Logging out usually left me feeling weak, like my real body couldn’t keep up with the one in the game.

But this time—

"…Wait a second."

My Farming World body had transferred entirely to reality.

Or, more accurately, my in-game stats had carried over.

Which meant…

Had my customized character also transferred over?

I rushed to the bathroom, flicked on the light, and stared into the mirror.

"...Whoa."

I was hot.

Back when I first started Farming World as a teenager, I had spent more time on character customization than on actual gameplay.

I had based my character on my real face.

But tweaked it.

Sharpened the jawline. Adjusted the proportions. Just enough to still be me, but way better.

At the time, I had no idea what actually made a guy attractive, but thanks to the game’s cosmetic assistance system, I had managed to create a face that even I could admit looked good.

And I had stuck with that design ever since.

"So then… my body?"

If my character had transferred over, what had happened to my real body?

I turned back to the old VR capsule.

Opened it.

And saw—

Nothing.

"...What the hell."

For a split second, my brain jumped to horror movie logic.

Was my real body moving around somewhere on its own?

But before my thoughts spiraled further, another system message popped up.

[Synchronization Complete]

[Your body has been synchronized between Earth and the Secret Farming Map.]

[Your synchronized body will be used when logging in and out.]

"...Oh."

Well.

That solved that.