𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 26
“Um, if you don’t mind, would you like to do a quest with us?”
‘As expected, my prediction was right.’
“What kind of quest is it?”
“It’s an F-rank quest. But it’s a quest with 30 Fame, and we’re one person short.”
“……”
Well, there are only F-rank quests available right now.
It wasn’t bad. It was a quest I had to do anyway, and I didn’t think an F-rank quest would be difficult.
“This one is different from other quests. If we succeed, we can even raise our Favorability with the Archmage.”
“The Archmage?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t raising Favorability with the Archmage be helpful later on?”
‘……What should I do?’
No, it’s ridiculous to even think about it. What’s there to worry about with a mere F-rank quest? I could clear it alone, and with a party, it would be even easier.
Thinking that far, I nodded nonchalantly.
“Sure, why not.”
“Yes!”
As I readily agreed, the player, as if waiting for it, sent a party invitation.
[Player ‘Earth’ has requested to party with you. Will you accept?]
“Accept.”
[You have joined the party.]
[Current party members: 6. (Rudin, Earth, Reet……)]
[Guild Quest ‘Find the Hidden Research Records’ has been shared.]
‘Are they all men?’
Something I realized after joining. All six of us, including me, were men. Well, honestly, it was a game with a high proportion of male players. Maybe this is normal.
“Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s start the quest.”
***
To summarize the quest details:
A few days ago, the Harpe Empire’s Magic Tower defeated a notorious black magician. And while they were collecting and analyzing all of the black magician’s research records, they belatedly realized that exactly one volume was missing.
They probably hid the last volume of research records somewhere.
Having come to that conclusion, the Magic Tower requested the Quest Guild to find it, and having accepted that quest, we, following the Magic Tower’s request, had to find the hidden research records, which was the content of this quest.
“This must be the black magician’s residence.”
“Let’s find it quickly and go back.”
And the place we were transported to as soon as we started the quest was a spacious hall. A gloomy atmosphere and empty bookshelves. Faded magic circles drawn here and there. Grayed-out monster corpses. It wasn’t a pleasant place, to say the least.
‘We have to find a book here?’
I looked around briefly, but there wasn’t anything that looked like a book. Is that to be expected? If it were that easy to find, it wouldn’t have been a quest. It seems we’ll have to play a treasure hunt game, unintentionally.
“Shall we split up and look around?”
“We should.”
“Let’s find it quickly!”
They’re full of enthusiasm. Anyway, everyone started looking for the book with that overflowing enthusiasm, and I also started looking around to find the book.
However……
“Damn it! Where the hell is it?!”
Has it been about 10 minutes? We still haven’t found the book. If I had known it was this kind of quest, I would have refused it earlier. I’d rather fight Dorgen again like yesterday; this kind of treasure hunt doesn’t suit me.
‘Where could it really be?’
Looking around, it was utter chaos. Some were throwing perfectly good bookshelves, while others were kicking monster corpses.
As if the missing book would pop out if they did that?
‘Hmm?’
Then, suddenly, someone’s actions caught my eye. Was his ID Earth? He kept muttering something and walking around, and for some reason, he seemed like a crazy person.
What the hell is that guy doing?
Unable to take my eyes off his incomprehensible behavior, Earth suddenly stopped walking and pressed against a wall. At the same time, the wall he pressed rose upwards, and a book appeared from there.
Creak-
‘Huh? How did he find it?’
He didn’t find it by feeling the wall. He just muttered something and pressed the wall to find it. However, the others, unaware of this fact, were startled by the sound of the wall rising and turned their heads towards Earth.
“Did you find it?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I looked, so I thought maybe it was hidden with some kind of secret mechanism.”
“Wow~ That’s amazing.”
“It’s nothing.”
“……”
No matter how I look at it, it’s suspicious. Still, the important thing was that we could complete the quest. Also, even if he used some unknown method, I couldn’t ask him about it, could I?
[Warning! A trap has been activated.]
[Quest details updated! Please escape from this place with the book.]
“Wh, what?!”
“Escape? What escape all of a sudden?”
At the sudden message, everyone, including me, even Earth holding the book, stood there with expressions of bewilderment.
No, I don’t think we should just stand here, should we?
Whoosh!-
As soon as that thought ended, the faded magic circles around us started emitting an ominous black light, and soon, monsters, about 2 meters tall, began appearing one by one. The number of magic circles placed in this spacious hall was a total of seven. Therefore, the number of monsters that appeared was also seven.
“Growl……”
‘They look scary.’
Surprisingly, they had four arms each. The monsters, whose entire bodies were covered in black, glared at us with their only other light, their red eyes, and I naturally read the text written above the monster.
[Ferocious Synthetic Monster]
“Roooar!”
“Damn it, run!”
“There’s a way out over there!”
‘Tsk.’
At that urgent shout, everyone came to their senses and ran towards the passage leading out of this place. Fortunately, there was only one way out, so we were able to run there without confusion, and everyone, including me, had a certain level of Agility, so no one was left behind.
“An escape mission at the end?!”
“Earth-nim! Don’t die!”
“I know!”
After a short reply, Earth suddenly cursed.
“Damn it! But the book won’t go into my Item Storage.”
“What’s the problem with that?”
“I use dual swords.”
“……Just fight with one.”
It seems he’s even found some composure now. Since all we have to do is run to complete the quest, it’s understandable that he’d find some composure.
“Come to think of it, there’s no reason to run away.”
“What do you mean?!”
“Can’t we just catch them all?”
“……”
No one could easily answer that question. Are they all confident in their own abilities? But the message telling us to escape was unsettling. If my prediction is correct, the monsters chasing us are either incredibly powerful, or they’ll keep appearing without a limit on their numbers.
‘I don’t intend to tell them, though.’
It was just my prediction after all……
“Roooar!”
“……!?”
“Damn it! They’re even placed in the passageway!”
Ahead of the passage we were running down, the monster we saw from the magic circle was blocking our way. With its 2-meter tall body blocking our way, it felt like it was blocking more than half of the passageway, and if it swung those four arms, it seemed like at least 3 or 4 of us would be knocked out.
‘Should I try breaking through with Giant’s Sprint?’
If the monster’s Strength is lower than mine, I could knock it back with Giant’s Sprint. While I was thinking that, the voice of the player who said we should catch them all could be heard again.
“Everyone, get out of the way!”
The player shouted and ran out, clenching both fists. Did he learn a Fighting skill? As I thought that, several skills were cast from his mouth.
“Sprint! Rage! Strong Strike!”
“Oh?!”
His body started to glow as he cast several skills. A faint red light appeared on his shoulders, and a faint green light on both his legs. Finally, a blue light appeared on his right fist, and everyone in the party was amazed by his colorful appearance.
“Here I go!”
As if living up to the expectations of the admiring party members, he rushed towards the monster. And then he landed a magnificent blow with his glowing right hand.
Boom!-
The fist landed squarely on the monster’s chest.
“How’s that…… Huh?”
Did something go wrong? His triumphant expression instantly stiffened.
“Roar!”
“N, no way!”
Unfortunately, that was his last cry. The monster grabbed the arm of the bewildered player and swung its remaining three arms wildly, and in less than 3 seconds, he turned gray.
[Party member ‘Reet’ has died.]
[Transforming into Soul State.]
“……”
“……”
“What should we do?”
I asked the silent party members. The advantage of having four arms. The time it took to kill one person was 3 seconds. Just from this, we could tell that the monster’s strength was extraordinary.
Furthermore, we were being chased from behind.
There was no time to hesitate.
“……We have to break through. Let’s go!”
Perhaps realizing that we would be at a disadvantage if we wasted time, Earth said that and ran forward. Since Earth, the one who accepted the quest, was running like that, what could we do? The rest of us had no choice but to chase after him.
“Roooar!”
“Glare!”
Flinch!
‘What kind of skill is that?’
I don’t know what it is, but I could see the monster flinch, even if only for a moment. It seemed like a skill that restricts the opponent’s movement.
“Now’s our chance! Strong Thrust!”
Bang!-
A clean attack. I didn’t miss the monster’s slight stagger from the thrust of the spear and quickly passed by it. If I had the book in my hand, it would have been a perfect move to just keep running.
‘But I have to save Earth, who accepted the quest.’
“Strong Strike!”
I turned around and struck the monster’s back. If my current Attack Power and Strength are combined, Strong Strike should be able to do some damage……
[Skill Damage! 9.]
‘Crazy!’
The damage dealt was so low that I couldn’t help but curse. With this kind of defense, I can’t even expect much from Giant’s Sprint.
“Roar!”
‘If I get caught, I’m dead.’
If I get caught, I won’t be able to run away, and I’ll likely follow the same fate as the party member who just died. Realizing that, I stepped back to get out of the monster’s attack range, and the party members used the gap created to pass by the monster.
Grab!-
“Aah! I’m caught!”
Of course, not everyone made it through.
What should I do?
“Just run!”
Earth gave me a very simple answer as I hesitated. Since I wasn’t the one caught by the monster, it wouldn’t matter if I ran away.
“You bastards! If a party member is caught, you should help…… Aaagh!”
Bang! Bang!-
As if it wasn’t even worth listening to, the monster attacked the captured party member, and seeing that, I turned around and ran without hesitation.
‘Phew, two people already dead.’
Did I underestimate it too much because it was an F-rank quest? Certainly, this quest was just about finding the book and escaping. Unlike a battle where you have to fight enemies, someone with high Agility could easily clear it.
The monster’s movements weren’t that fast either.
But the fact that two people died was not only my fault but also due to everyone’s carelessness. It was probably carelessness stemming from confidence in their own abilities.
Thud!-
“Damn it! Why is the entrance so far?!”
Several minutes had passed since we started escaping, but the entrance was still not in sight, and complaints could be heard. Since there’s a limit to stamina, I couldn’t blame them for complaining.
“Ah, the entrance is over there!”
“……”
As soon as he shouted, a light that seemed to be the entrance came into view. However, there was also a monster standing guard in front of the entrance. If we could just get past this monster, it seemed like we could finish this quest.
“Everyone, take care of yourselves!”
Saying that, Earth ran forward without hesitation, as if he was confident in handling it himself. But if he dies, the quest reward will be reduced, won’t it?
“Desperate Sprint!”
Whoosh!-
“Huh?! A D-rank skill?!”
‘D-rank?’
Is Desperate Sprint a D-rank skill? Anyway, Earth’s body shot forward at an incredible speed and passed by the monster. The monster, whose Agility seemed lower than expected, couldn’t even react to Earth’s movement.
‘Did he run based on his trust in his D-rank skill?’
One way or another, Earth was able to escape through the entrance. Now, only the rest of us remained……
[Quest completed.]
[Current completed F-rank quests: 3.]
[Congratulations. You have met the requirements to accept E-rank quests.]
[Would you like to return to your previous location?]
“Huh?!”
“What’s this?”
In the meantime, an unexpected message popped up. Come to think of it, Earth was the one holding the book, right? As soon as Earth escaped through the entrance, the quest seems to have been completed.
And since the quest was completed, there was no reason to escape through the entrance.
“Return.”
[Returning to your previous location.]
Whoosh!-
The place we were transported to was in front of the Quest Guild. Earth, who had arrived before me, was visible as soon as I arrived, and the party members who had returned with me appeared one by one, breathing sighs of relief that it was over.
“Things worked out better than expected.”
“Indeed.”
The atmosphere was unexpectedly amicable. It was probably because we were able to clear it easily in the end. Of course, I wasn’t in a bad mood either.
Because with the success of this quest, I could now challenge E-rank quests.
“Then I’ll go and report.”
Leaving those words behind, Earth entered the Quest Guild. As I waited patiently, I was able to see the message window I had been waiting for.
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