Free Web NovelChapter 17: Ch 17: First Day As A Quest Assigner
When they emerged from the dungeon, it was already dusk.
They had spent twelve to fourteen hours inside, a fact Raidan didn’t even realize until now.
It was no wonder he was feeling this fatigued and sleepy after getting out. The multiple adrenaline rushes had pushed his body to its absolute limit.
So, he had to postpone his plan of finding another player for now.
They returned to the Shrine, deciding to sell the monster cores later.
The longsword, however, remained in his possession.
In the Shrine, he took a five-hour nap, not waking up even once.
Meanwhile, Nia went out to sell the monster cores they had gathered, and perhaps to attend to a more personal matter.
In his sleep, Raidan had a dream:
A quiet room.
A pounding heart.
A few shadows stretched across the walls.
His father’s face suddenly flashed before his eyes while little Raidan was hiding under the quilts.
"Uu, Dad, you scared me."
His father’s eyes were streaked with tears and sorrow.
"Dad, why are you crying? Where is mommy?" the seven-year-old Raidan asked.
His father immediately wiped his tears.
"She is fine Rai. We all will be fine."
"Are you two going somewhere, Dad?" Raidan asked, blinking his fearful eyes.
The bearded man nodded.
"Yes, Rai. We are going to a very, very far place. You’ll have to be a good boy, alright?"
He touched his son’s face with shaky hands that were stained with blood. Despite that, Raidan felt warm.
"You must remember one thing, Rai. When the sky breaks and stars rain down like meteorites, pick up the brightest one. And never, ever reveal your real identity. If you do, you’ll be dead."
"What does all that mean? Is the world going to end, Dad?" little Raidan asked, still looking terrified.
His father didn’t respond.
After that night, they simply vanished, never to be seen again.
"Haaaah..." Raidan shot awake with a jolt of electricity. He could still feel the haunting shadows creeping up his back, whispering about his parents’ deaths, or perhaps their disappearance into an unknown realm.
His forehead was covered with perspiration.
"Is this why I touched that golden crystal? Did Father know about Olympus long beforehand?"
He made a terrifying guess.
"Is their disappearance somehow connected to the realm of Olympus? If so, could it be that they are somewhere out here?"
The silence of the room was his only answer.
He didn’t know why this system had chosen him. He didn’t understand the Sun God’s Origin. He didn’t know the mysteries regarding the Faceless God and his so-called wife, Eris.
He knew nothing.
Only now did he realize how clueless he still was about the true nature of his reality. He was slowly getting tangled in a matrix.
If he wasn’t careful from here onward, he would surely fall into greater danger, just as his father had warned years ago.
He clenched his fists against the bedframe, watching the veins rise along his skin.
The road ahead was tough, but he refused to fail.
He would hide in the shadows and reap the rewards.
---
Just before noon, Raidan went to the market. This time he was a completely new person. His steps were firmer, and his eyes held a depth that no one could fathom.
His face was altered to the one he had stolen yesterday.
No one would be able to connect him to Raidan Gray.
He stopped by the roadside, looking around to spot some players.
Just then, he bumped into someone.
Bam!
It was a little boy.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, mister," the little boy said apologetically, bowing his head repeatedly.
Raidan was surprised to see a vertical green health bar atop the boy’s head, which undeniably marked him as a player.
Health bars were only observable on monsters and players. Players had vertical green bars, while monsters had vertical red ones, indicating their unanimous dangerous nature.
As for NPCs, they typically possessed none.
Leaving all that aside, he focused on the little boy, still surprised that a child had been dragged into this chaotic world.
"Mister NPC, are you a swordsman? Can you teach me how to wield a sword?" the little boy asked with a gaze of yearning in his eyes.
He might look naive and innocent, but Raidan understood the little boy was very cunning.
Moved, Raidan decided to test his Quest Originator class on the little boy.
Maintaining a strict face, he said,
"I am indeed a swordsman, little adventurer. But I don’t teach my unfathomable Sword Arts to children. Still, I have a task that I might require your help with. Would you like to listen?"
The little naturally saw Raidan as a NPC.
Hearing the familiar line of a quest assigner, the boy’s eyes practically shone like stars.
He nodded his like chicken pecking at rice.
"Yes, please! I will do anything, Mister!"
Raidan looked up in a dramatic melancholic gaze.
"Many winters ago, I clashed with a fearsome Frost Wyrm at the peak of the Shivering Mountains. I struck the beast down, but its icy venom stained my favorite sword, dulling its edge and cursing the metal. There is only one material that can cleanse this lingering frost: the cores of the Luminescent Slimes that gather at the edge of the Eastern Meadows.
My old battle wounds prevent me from making the journey myself. Will you be my proxy, young adventurer?"
Hidden from the boy’s view, Raidan tapped into his system interface, creating the quest.
Target Selected: Player ’Leo’ (Level 1)
Generating Quest...
The boy’s face soon lit up with excitement. All because the series of notification flashing before his visiom.
[ System Alert: You have triggered a Hidden Quest from a Wandering Swordsman! ]
[ Quest: The Cleansing of the Blade ]
[ Objective: Hunt down Luminescent Slimes in the Eastern Meadows and collect 10 Slime Cores. Deliver them to the Wandering Swordsman. ]
[ Time Limit: 4 hours ] ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
[ Punishment: Get Paralysed For 15 Minutes ]
[ Rewards: 300 Exp, 10 Silver Coins, 1x Trainee’s Wooden Sword (F) ]
[ Do you accept? (Y/N) ]
"Oh my god! I got a quest! And it has such a generous rewards. Am I dreaming?"
The boy thought internally as he read the floating text.
For a Level 1 player, 10 silver coins, 300 points of experience, and a free weapon were a fortune.
Most starting quests only gave a few bronze coins and a pat on the back.
Without a second thought, he slammed his small hand against the ’Y’ button.
[ Quest Accepted! ]
"I accept, Mister Swordsman! I will get those slime cores for you in no time! Just wait right here!" the boy declared.
Before Raidan could even offer a word of encouragement, the boy spun around and sprinted off toward the city gates.
Raidan watched the little boy disappear into the bustling crowd with an amused smile.
Now, he would just have to wait and see if this 100X multiplier really works or not.
