She had no specific reason for visiting Yor’s Cave.
It was simply a case of having some free time for the first time in a while.
Given her busy schedule managing Chaerin’s chatroom and editing, she didn’t have much personal time.
So, she just came out of boredom… Who would have thought she’d hear such big news?
She felt troubled.
While reporting it to the guild was certainly doable, she had very few excuses prepared.
If she went to report it, the receptionist would probably just nod and say, “Oh, I see,” but not actually believe her.
They would surely ask for details, and then she’d be left speechless.
Rumor had it that the culprits who stole the demon’s arm were as strong as an A-rank mercenary group.
And to get into that tier, you’d need to be at least level 110.
That meant it was a den of monsters.
So, if she claimed to have taken one down at her mere level 70, doubts would undoubtedly arise.
“What should I do? I have no way out, either.”
Of course, Yor had thought about the problem, too.
But he had no one to ask for help. Someone like him couldn’t afford to show himself carelessly, so he had very few options.
He understood it was awkward, but in the end, there were only two people he could rely on, including her.
“Or we could just say that Chaerin and I took it down together. Hmm… maybe that would be a stretch?”
At those words from Yor, Haneul briefly turned her head.
There was something about it that made her uneasy. Yor noticed her awkwardness and immediately asked.
“Hey, you didn’t tell Chaerin yet?”
What he was referring to was whether Haneul had told Chaerin that she and Yor had become friends.
Even after Yor asked, Haneul remained silent.
Yor quickly came to a conclusion.
“Right, you haven’t told her yet.”
He didn’t understand why she was hesitating, but he worried that it might cause trouble between them.
‘She’ll figure it out on her own.’
With that thought, Yor decided to move on.
Maybe it was the uncomfortable topic, but Haneul hesitated for a moment before turning the conversation back to Yor.
“So, how did you end up killing it?”
“It tried to contact me out of the blue, so I killed it.”
“You killed it right in front of you?”
“Yep.”
“What in the world…?”
Haneul looked dumbfounded.
But Yor understood the other person’s actions.
If that guy had tried to escape, he would have attempted to catch him. Someone like him, who had certain abilities, was sensitive about their identity.
Knowing that, the guy must have taken a gamble by contacting him directly.
Or maybe he was just really, really dumb.
After pondering that, Yor again asked her for a favor.
This time, he added a more earnest tone.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you. I’ll make it worth your while. And if you can, find out some extra info, too…”
Just as he was saying that, a quest window suddenly popped up before Haneul’s eyes.
+
[QUEST – Evidence Distortion]
Report the strange person Yor caught to the Guild!
Don’t forget to pass on the information you gathered to the Guild!
Success Reward – Goblin Shaman’s Gem, Increased Probability of Preventing Future Calamities
Failure Penalty – ???
+
“What?”
“What?”
Both Yor and Haneul tilted their heads simultaneously.
A quest at this timing?
It felt somewhat significant, but nonetheless, the meaning was clear.
‘It looks like I have no choice but to accept this request…’
Haneul realized that she was in a situation where she absolutely had to take on this mission.
+
After accepting the quest, Haneul left the cave soon after.
The sun was beginning to set.
No matter how much she could fly, night fell was often dangerous.
And she needed to conserve her magic, so she had to walk close to the surface layer as well.
‘I should have done this sooner.’
Last time she flew from the surface and ended up low on mana.
Changing her approach really did cut down on the magic consumption.
She could handle monsters at this level, especially given her focus on auxiliary magic.
Once out of the Forbidden Forest, she let out a light sigh.
While she was glad to have accepted the quest, a strange weight pressed down on her.
“Haah…”
Especially the phrase “Increased Probability of Preventing Future Calamities” from the reward stirred something in her. Future? That phrase was clear.
‘Does this mean it relates to the main storyline?’
It was information about the main storyline she had been waiting for so long.
As a mere player, finding something like this was both intriguing and overwhelming.
Haneul paused to think about Yor for a moment.
‘What exactly is he?’
Just the fact that he had Demon’s Blood holding that much significance.
As she kept pondering, Haneul decided to tackle the quest first.
Report the strange person to the Guild, and also casually share information about his identity.
Looking at the quest’s content, it seemed straightforward enough.
The issue was that it was hardly the kind of matter that a low-level player like her should report.
So, Haneul decided to take a more roundabout approach and find a proxy to relay the information.
“Welcome! How can I help you?”
“I’d like to make a request.”
Specifically, she was looking for a representative to convey her message on her behalf.
In other words, a representative’s representative.
The request structure of the Adventurers’ Guild was somewhat peculiar.
When an issue arose, an individual could request the guild to find an adventurer.
As long as it didn’t heavily violate any laws, almost any request could be submitted.
Whether it was finding a lost puppy or removing rats from a sewer, even such minor requests could be placed with the guild.
A request to be introduced to a capable adventurer could be submitted without needing to go into too much detail.
As long as you slipped the receptionist a few coins, they could usually get it sorted quickly.
That was how Haneul ended up meeting a seasoned A-rank party consisting of three members.
With no A-rank adventurers among the players yet, all of them were NPCs.
With this level of experience, they’d surely accept that she had taken down the strange person.
Haneul handed over the body of the weird guy to them, asking them to report it to the Guild on her behalf.
The reward for the request was 80% of the bounty on the guy’s head. Since she didn’t catch him herself, and all she needed was to complete the quest, she could offer that as a reward.
The adventurer party initially showed some skepticism but readily accepted since they wouldn’t be at a loss.
So the A-rank adventurer party reported back to the guild with the strange one’s corpse.
Claiming that they had captured the fugitive who tried to escape.
“My goodness, did you really catch him? Where did you do it?”
“Oh, absolutely! There was a suspicious guy on the way to the Empire. When I asked what kind of ruckus it was, he lunged at me, so I caught him.”
“Hmm… Did he say anything?”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, the adventurer party didn’t forget to relay their information to the receptionist.
About the cult named Lemegaton and the demon-worshiping sect.
That information would rise through the ranks and eventually reach the Empire’s ears.
Watching the adventurers collect their bounties, Haneul let out a small sigh of relief.
“Haah…”
That should wrap things up with the quest.
As she gazed at the darkened night sky, Haneul began to contemplate the events yet to unfold.
*
And three weeks passed by.
“Really, thanks a lot. You saved my life.”
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
I gave Haneul the Goblin Shaman’s Gem as a reward for the quest.
It was something that felt awkward for me to use, but as a mage, she could embed it nicely in her wand and make good use of it.
After all, just because it’s a goblin doesn’t mean you should underestimate it. Goblin shamans are quite high-level monsters.
Thanks to her excellent completion of the quest, no pursuers came after her in this forest.
Since the body had already been discovered, there was no need to continue the investigation.
However, outside the forest, chaos had erupted.
They say that countries were scrambling to find this cult called Lemegaton.
Because a sect worshiping a demon couldn’t just be ignored.
Some of the cultists were said to have skills exceeding those of A-rank adventurers, so caution was incredibly necessary.
Listening to that piece of information, I felt a peculiar emotion arise.
The request I made had caused an uproar across the entire world.
Of course, the root of that uproar lay ultimately with the strange person and the Lemegaton group…
But in the end, I was the one who triggered the quest.
I had already heard from Yoo Chaerin what it means when a quest is issued.
When a quest’s significance is crucial to the world or when the issuer is a key figure influential to the world.
‘What am I?’
Thanks to that, I found myself pondering a philosophical question after a long time.
Who am I, and what is this world?
For otherworlders, they might see it as a game, but for me, this world had become real.
I had never thought my life was a lie.
Yet suddenly, with the arrival of otherworlders, strange events have been causing a ruckus here and there. I could hardly avoid deep contemplation.
‘…I don’t know.’
After thinking like that for a brief moment, I shook my head and decided to focus on my own tasks.
Specifically, survival.
Questions about identity were always heavy.
And I was someone who distanced himself from heavy matters. To be precise, I didn’t have the luxury to ponder such themes.
So I’d rather stick to what I need to do.
With that mindset, I set out to find food.
One thing was sure, the world remained as chaotic as ever.
