"So it turned out to be a quest..."
Soo Hyuk had hoped that it wouldn't be a linked quest, but the reality was cruel. On the spot the red dot indicated on the map, was a blue book. It was also a book he had read before. Soo Hyuk checked the title again.
"Karu the 1st"
The title of the book was Karu the 1st.
'A linked quest...'
He had wished for a normal quest but it turned out to be a linked quest. Although linked quests usually gave better rewards, their difficulty was usually significantly higher.
Soo Hyuk pulled 'Karu the 1st' out from the bookshelf, then walked to another bookshelf. After he picked out five more books, he went to a reading desk and opened 'Karu the 1st.'
.
.
.
Who can take my treasure?
.
.
.
'As expected, the contents of this book didn't change either.'
Soo Hyuk had read the book before but he wondered if the contents might've changed. But it looked like the contents of books would stay the same no matter what. Soo Hyuk then closed the book.
[Special Quest – Karu's Treasure Trove has been created.]
['Karu's Treasure Map' has been consumed.]
[You have obtained 'Karu's Treasure Map 2'.]
The blue light disappeared from the book and a message window appeared.
"...?"
He thought that only one message would appear, but he received three messages after reading the book. With a puzzled expression, Soo Hyuk opened his quest window and checked his new quest.
[Special Quest – Karu's Treasure Trove]
Follow the map and find Karu's treasure trove!
[Quest Reward: ??? ]
'...As expected.'
Was it because it was a linked quest? Unlike 'Karu's Heirloom', the description for 'Karu's Treasure Trove' was vague.
'No, the map could be really detailed.'
There was also the fact that this quest had a map to guide him unlike most other special quests. Even if the description was vague, the map could be detailed. Didn't the previous treasure map give an extremely detailed directions, clearly depicting the Matab Library?
Soo Hyuk closed his quest window and opened his inventory. He then brought out the new map and looked at the title.
'...Devil's Nest?'
Soo Hyuk's expression hardened when he opened the map. Devil's Nest. The words Devil's Nest were written on top of the map. It was the first time he had heard of it. Since he didn't know where this Devil's Nest was, how could he complete the quest?
'Hmm?'
He suddenly had a thought.
'Maybe Yeon Jung knows?'
Maybe Yeon Jung, who had stepped into the world of rankers long ago, knew where the Devil's Nest was? Soo Hyuk opened his friend window and checked Yeon Jung's status.
'...hmm, do not disturb'
Yeon Jung was currently blocking all notifications. Disheartened, Soo Hyuk closed his friend window and reopened his inventory.
'Let's take it slow.'
If the quest location wasn't near Matab, it would be difficult for him. No, he wouldn't even bother trying at all. That is, until he read all the books in Matab Library, he wasn't going to leave the city. Soo Hyuk stopped thinking about the quest and dived into the stack of books on his left.
* * *
"Will you go to the Tower of Wind now?"
"I will. Deputy Park, thank you for your time.
"No, it was my pleasure."
Adilo replied in response to Kim Hyuk's words.
'He actually managed to obtain a special job in the end...'
Kim Hyuk had been harping on about special occupations since the start, and he had obtained one in the end.
'A Rank 4 Magician.'
Adilo, who started as a Rank 6 Magician, could only become a Rank 4 Magician after hitting level 200. But Kim Hyuk managed to start as a Rank 4 Magician.
'There's nothing money can't solve...'
Adilo experienced first hand the full might of money while guiding Kim Hyuk.
"I'll see you tomorrow then."
Kim Hyuk said.
"Have a nice day, sir."
Adilo said while dripping with politeness. Then when Kim Hyuk logged out, Adilo let out a sigh in relief.
"Hah..."
Adilo slowly smiled after ridding himself of his polite attitude.
'I'm finally free.'
Following Kim Hyuk and coaching him was quite the chore for Adilo. But now, he was free to do whatever he wanted.
Adilo shivered with joy at his freedom. Then he had a thought.
'Is he still at the library?'
He had tried to kill him, but he himself was killed instead. 5 days had passed since then would he still be at the library?
'Let's check first.'
He was free to do whatever he wanted anyway, so Adilo decided to check if the player called Soo Hyuk was still reading at the library. Was it his newfound freedom? Or was it the anticipation? Whatever the reason, Adilo found himself almost skipping towards the library.
'But what exactly happened then?'
The poison that had killed him when he tried to kill Soo Hyuk.
'It definitely wasn't him.'
Soo Hyuk definitely wasn't the one that had cast the poison skill. After all, he was clearly a beginner.
'Did a passing ranker decide to help?'
Was it a passing ranker that decided to help?
'No, the Tower of Poison doesn't have any good players.'
Adilo scratched his head. It wasn't that no one used poison magic, there were simply no rankers or exceptional players that used poison magic.
No matter how low a Magician's health was, Adilo was still level 200. If someone managed to kill a level 200 like him with poison so easily, then they would definitely be famous already.
'This is dogshit even if I think about it.'
His anger soared as he thought about how he had suffered during the last few days. When he died, his level had dropped to level 199. He wouldn't have been so angry if he had been killed in a fierce battle, but he had died in such a nonsensical way.
'Even if I don't know who did it, I'll kill that piece of shit who killed me if I meet him...'
Adilo, who was vowing his revenge, suddenly froze. He then smiled menacingly at a young man coming his way.
'He's actually still here!'
Adilo thought with pleasant surprise. Over 5 days had passed, so he only had faint hopes of seeing him. But in front of him was the man he was here for: Soo Hyuk.
'Poison tower robe!'
Adilo noticed the difference in his gear straight away. Before, he was wearing gear made of rabbit pelts, but now he was wearing a poison tower robe.
'I knew it! The sneaky piece of shit is related to this bastard!'
Adilo was certain. Although he didn't know who killed him, they probably had some connection with Soo Hyuk.
Adilo looked around to check for any suspicious characters that might protect Soo Hyuk. He didn't want to get ambushed again.
'They're not here.'
He couldn't see any players around, just NPCs.
'I'll finish him in one shot this time!'
He decided as he stared at Soo Hyuk who was coming in his direction. He was going to be serious this time. Previously, he had waited after attacking, because he thought Soo Hyuk was already dead. That was what lead to his downfall. However this time, he wasn't going to wait. He would go all out and pour attack after attack on him.
But then...
'Hmm?'
Soo Hyuk suddenly stopped walking, and called out in a wary voice. Seeing his guarded body language and voice, Adilo could tell that Soo Hyuk had recognised him.
'Well, I made all that ruckus in the library after all.'
It would be weird if Soo Hyuk couldn't recognise his face after he threatened him.
'It doesn't matter.'
"Electro Ball."
Adile began casting Electro Ball straight away.
"Magic Missile!"
Soo Hyuk didn't stay still either.
'Magic Missile?'
Magic Missile? Was this guy a troll or what?
'Well, he might not have learnt any poison magic yet.
From what he could see, Soo Hyuk's level was too low to learn any poison spells. He could understand Soo Hyuk's situation right now. Of course, he didn't stop himself from laughing even when he understood.
'I don't even need to dodge.'
The Magic Missile was flying towards him, but it was a beginner skill. He didn't need to dodge this low-level skill from a low-level player. It would be more efficient to fire another spell instead.
"Lightning Spear!"
Adilo cast Lightning Spear as he stared at the incoming Magic Missile. At that moment, Soo Hyuk's voice sounded again.
"Firebolt!"
"...?"
Adilo faltered for a moment at Soo Hyuk's shout. Did he hear wrong? Firebolt?
'Double!'
As the Firebolt flew towards him he realised Soo Hyuk wasn't just a poison Magician. He was a double magician who controlled two elements, fire and poison.
'Hmm, a bug?'
Adilo thought as he frowned while staring the Firebolt hurtling towards him. Like Lightning Spear, Firebolt required a small amount of time to completely activate.
Soo Hyuk had somehow completed his firebolt before Adilo, even though Adilo had started casting earlier. No, it had been instantly formed when he had cast the spell. Was it a bug?
[You have attacked player 'Soo Hyuk'.]
[Your relationship with player Soo Hyuk is now 'Hostile.']
(TL: this phrase above is pretty confusing. Basically, it's not about his relationship, it's something like the start of a fight and that they're fighting each other. Relationships are only for NPCs. Probably. I'll leave the raw below and if anyone has a suggestion, say in the comments or message me in discord.)
[Your Crime Count has risen.]
While Adilo was busy brooding over Soo Hyuk's Firebolt, his Electro Ball exploded on Soo Hyuk. At that moment, Lightning Spear also finished activating and flew towards Soo Hyuk. Just after the Lightning Spear was fired, Soo Hyuk's Magic Missile and Firebolt also arrived.
[You are stunned for 3 seconds.]
A message window warned as the Magic Missile hit him.
'Ah! F*ck!'
Curses came out of his mouth on their own. Of course, he didn't actually say them out loud, because he couldn't move, instead he cursed internally.
'How did the stun take effect?!'
Magic Missile's special effect had a 10% chance to stun the target. Adilo had thought that it wouldn't take effect because of its low chance, but it did. (TL: This guy hasn't experienced gacha battles.)
'I can't dodge it.'
Since he was stunned, Adilo couldn't avoid the Firebolt which was just behind the Magic Missile.
'How much damage did I take.'
Of course, he wasn't worried. Magic Missile and Firebolt were both beginner spells, so he had no reason to worry. Adilo moved his eyes and checked his status window.
'...Huh?'
Adilo was alarmed when he saw how much health he had left.
'What? Why...'
The reason for his sudden panic was because he only had half of his health left! Adilo moved his eyes just in time to see the Firebolt only centimetres away from him.
'W-wait, st....'
Boom!
The message window appeared when the firebolt exploded. Adilo grinded his teeth as he stared at the message.
[You died!]
"F*CCKKK!"
Adilo no, Park Kyung Ho cursed furiously as his surroundings faded into darkness save for the message.
When he came to himself in the capsule, he shivered.
"What! The! F*CK!"
He swore loudly.
"Why! What! Why! Why! F*ck!"
He couldn't understand.
"AARRGGGHHH!…Hoo…Hoo..."
Park Kyung Ho screamed loudly then breathed deeply to forcibly calm himself down. As his madness dissipated, he thought of Soo Hyuk's face again.
"This dog bast…hoo…hoo...right, was he a ranker catfishing as a noob?"
Was he a high level player pretending to be a newbie?
"My healthpool isn't particularly small either, so to kill me with a Magic Missile and a Firebolt..."
He hadn't been killed by advanced spells. And the only people who could kill like that were...
"At least a Midranker."
Park Kyung Ho gulped in fear when he finished his thoughts. He had provoked a wolf in sheep's clothing. And to make it worse, he had tried to kill him on two occasions.
'I'm screwed.'