Xin opened his mouth, but Triton was quick to add, "After the invading empire faced defeat against the Baskan mage's powerful magic, their entire fleet was considered destroyed. But amidst the chaos, two ships managed to survive the storm, only to crash into nearby reefs. Though the ships overturned, the calm sea allowed around thirty survivors to cling to the reefs and salvage what they could from the wreckage. They constructed rafts and set off to find a new home.
"Sadly, their only source of food, the pepper fish, was tasty but harmful when consumed for a long time. Gradually, their ability to remember their past and who they were faded away.
"As they arrived at the Luckernaught shore and established their new residences amidst the hidden nooks and sandy hills, fragments of their memories started resurfacing. However, instead of longing to return to a place they could barely recall, they chose a different path. They turned to plundering nearby fishing villages and unsuspecting travelers from Seagull's Nest. Thus, they became notorious as the Reef Raiders.
"The current count of the Reef Raiders stands at around two hundred skilled fighters, both men and women. Occasionally, they receive support from other tribes like sahuagin, kobolds, merfolk, and merrow. These Raiders adopt a strategy of quick strikes and evasive maneuvers.
"They have also mastered the art of domesticating various creatures native to the region, including axe beaks, sharks, dinosaurs, and the rare sidewinder salamanders. These creatures serve as their mounts, help with carrying heavy loads, and provide support in battles."
Xin found himself momentarily surprised by the mention of dinosaurs. However, he quickly reminded himself that he was immersed in a fantasy game where anything could happen.
After all, he was currently embodying a talking and walking cat, accompanied by a mereman who effortlessly dispatched all foes they encountered with a swift swing of his halberd while touring him around.
Triton continued on without stopping, "Word got around that the Luckernaught coast was teeming with treasures salvaged from the sunken fleet. With this knowledge, the conflicts between the Reef Raiders and Seagull's Nest intensified, happening more frequently. The two groups crossed paths more often as they competed for the newly discovered wealth."
Triton took a deep breath and turned to Xin, his eyes filled with hope. "Did you understand everything I said?"
"Umm . . ." Xin glanced to the side and fibbed, "Well, kind of."
"Great. That's good to hear."
Triton continued talking for a while, but then his attention shifted as he pointed towards the sky, where a group of vultures were circling overhead.
"What's that?" Triton asked, his voice curious.
Xin narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look.
The cool breeze blowing from the sea turned foul as a strong smell of decay filled the air. Xin's attention was drawn to a disturbing sight — the vultures circling above a group of lifeless bodies scattered across the headland.
There were around twelve corpses in total. As Xin approached, the vultures took notice and quickly scattered, abandoning their grisly feast.
Getting closer, Xin could make out that the deceased was dressed in two distinct styles. Some wore tattered brownish rags adorned with colorful seashells, while others donned uniforms in shades of yellow and blue.
Triton's expression turned grave as he spoke with a somber tone, "They're six rangers from the Seagull's Nest patrol and six Reef Raiders."
Lying around the bodies were six short swords, six javelins, three nets, two tridents, one rapier decorated with shells, and one horn.
Piled to the side were four sets of sturdy animal hide armor and six sets of soft padded armor. The padded armor displayed the emblem of Seagull's Nest — a seagull perched on a tower.
Xin had the option to equip all the items since he hadn't chosen a class yet. Despite being able to select one with a simple button press, he chose not to because he was still undecided.
"What do you think happened here?" Triton asked.
Suddenly asking him that, Xin didn't know. "I–"
"I think so too. You're smart, Xin."
Huh? But he hadn't said anything yet.
"I think there was a battle between the two groups, but something doesn't add up," Triton continued.
Triton took a step forward, and Xin followed closely behind.
As they explored further, they discovered two additional lifeless bodies a short distance away from the scene. The victims had been struck down by poisoned arrows.
"Just as I suspected," Triton remarked as he inspected the arrows. He then revealed, "These arrows were crafted by sahuagin."
A prompt then appeared on Xin's screen.
[Upon reexamining the area with this new insight, it became evident that the scene had been manipulated to create the appearance of a conflict between the two groups.
In reality, both the Seagull's Nest patrol and the Reef Raiders had fallen victim to a surprise attack by sahuagin while they were asleep. The evidence pointed to a cunning ambush rather than an actual fight between the factions.]
"What are you going to do?" Triton asked Xin.
And another prompt appeared on his screen.
It was obvious to Xin that he should choose the second option. It felt like the right thing to do, and in most cases, doing the right thing would lead to the best outcome. That's what he had heard about RPG games anyway.
"Nice choice. I'll help you gather them."
As Triton moved the corpses, the vultures circling above swooped down to attack. There were three regular vultures and one giant vulture.
Triton furrowed his brow in irritation.
"These annoying creatures! Begone!" he exclaimed.
With a powerful swing of his halberd, Triton swiftly dispatched all the birds in a single motion while Xin raked EXP enough to catapult his Level to fifteen.
With this amount of EXP, even without a [Monocle], Xin was sure that those vultures couldn't be killed soloed.
"Whew." Triton removed the invisible sweat on his face. "Nice job Xin!"
Augh . . . I didn't even do anything. He thought.
This definitely wasn't normal.
Xin didn't know what to feel about clearing a quest that he didn't start and didn't even finish himself.
"Ilyath's?" Xin wondered.
"What's that? Ilyath's? You need something from her?"
"You know her?"
"Yeah. She's located in the Floating Market in Seagull's Nest. Though the market is currently being fixed right now."
". . ."
"Want to enter the town?"
Xin nodded.
========================
The DEVELOPERs Distress
========================
The tiny cottons were swirling around and around like a storm of dark clouds.
"Urhg . . . this quest . . . should there be a quest like that?"
"That's . . . that's the rare quest we'd been talking about before . . ."
"D-don't tell me, Triton is . . ."
"Yes . . . Triton is that NPC that the player needed to be [Intimate] with to acquire the rare quest."
"If you're going to put a rare quest, then at least make it a chain quest! How is a rare quest finished that easily?! Player Lord Schrodinger didn't even do anything!"
"Err . . . it is a chain quest. To get the reward, he had to complete a series of quests first."
The surroundings grew quiet, and all that could be heard was the sound of fluttering clouds. Suddenly, a loud crunching noise shattered the silence.
"*munch. I wonder what he would do next."
"This is no time to be munching on popcorn! We've got a BUG player here that disrupts the game and the damn central system that refuses to erase him!"
"WE KNOW ALREADY!"
"Uh . . ."
"What?!"
"But . . . doesn't it make you curious to find out what will happen next?"
. . .
. . .
"Ah . . . when you put it that way . . ."
". . . It does make me interested."
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A/N
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