The leveling up in Spider Cave persisted until the afternoon.
When the members of North Wind Team emerged, Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.
He had informed everyone via the team channel that he would continue leveling up for a while longer and advised them to head back first.
After the others had left, Sebastian lingered for another two hours before making his exit.
Emerging from the den, his face was etched with a touch of exasperation.
Post level 17, the pace at which he gained experience had become agonizingly slow.
After all his hard work, his experience bar had only risen by a third.
In contrast, Breeze had ascended two levels.
As Breeze neared maturity, his appetite grew substantially.
The food stock that Sebastian had purchased previously was now nearing its end.
Yet, Sebastian wasn't in a rush to head back.
He glanced at the dimming sky and set his course for the Wildlife-Filled Woodlands.
[Shadows of the Midnight Jungle (Blue Tier): On the forthcoming night, when moonlight graces the waterfall in the northern part of the Wildlife-Filled Woodlands, a special event will be triggered.]
The event mentioned in yesterday's update was set for tonight.
When Sebastian reached the designated spot within the intelligence, dusk had not yet fallen.
He surveyed the surroundings, recognizing this part of the game as a scenic zone, typically designed for players to admire and commemorate, hence devoid of monsters.
Sebastian released Breeze, instructing it to patrol the vicinity and ward off any unwanted presence, while he patiently awaited the event.
Time trickled by.
As nightfall enveloped the land, a silvery moon took its position high in the sky, casting its luminous glow over the landscape.
As its light gradually shifted upon the waterfall, the cascading waters sparkled, reflecting a mesmerizing sight.
It was at this moment that a shadow suddenly surged out of the waterfall.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed, intently observing the emerging silhouette.
Bathed in the moonlight, he discerned a raggedly-clothed "human."
Floating in mid-air, the figure spread its arms, basking in the silvery glow.
But within moments, the body began to expand rapidly.
Swathes of black fur emerged, and the once-human face tore open, reshaping into the visage of a wolf.
A haunting howl resonated, echoing throughout the entire woodland.
Sebastian noticed that under the moon's glow, wounds on the werewolf's body began to heal slowly.
Suddenly, the wolf's fierce green eyes locked onto Sebastian, gleaming with a murderous intent.
With blinding speed, the werewolf lunged towards him, its form like a bolt of dark lightning.
But just then, Breeze emerged, baring its fangs and standing protectively in front of Sebastian.
On seeing Breeze, the werewolf halted its charge, eventually landing in front of Sebastian.
[Nightwolf]
[Level: 60]
[HP: Unknown]
[MP: Unknown]
...
In Sebastian's gaze, information about the werewolf manifested, yet apart from the name and level, everything else remained inscrutable.
To his astonishment, this werewolf's level matched that of the earlier encountered Wolf King.
Could it be that this Wolf King was slain by this very creature?
A daring thought sprouted.
Nightwolf's gaze oscillated between Breeze and Sebastian, before he suddenly extended his right claw, tossing over a jade pendant.
Stepping forward, Sebastian caught the jade pendant in his grasp.
[Congratulations on triggering the special event: Nightwolf's Request]
[Quest Name: Nightwolf's Request]
[Quest Description: Nightwolf, a wanderer of the Beast Forest, out for revenge for the Wolf King, was grievously injured in an ambush by a mysterious assailant wielding light magic. Now, having lost track of this enigmatic foe, he's stumbled upon this jade pendant which carries traces of the adversary. Yet, the information encrypted within remains undecipherable to him.]
[Quest Objective: Decrypt the information on the jade pendant and relay the mysterious person's location to Nightwolf.]
[Quest Reward: Unknown]
[Quest Penalty: None]
[Quest Duration: Within three days]
[Note: Declining this quest will result in a loss of Nightwolf's favor.]
Holding the obsidian-hued jade pendant, a quest related to the event at hand materialized before Sebastian.
As he perused the quest details, a jolt of astonishment surged within.
It was unexpected that Nightwolf had connections with the Wolf King.
No wonder the initially menacing werewolf, after seeing Breeze, willingly threw the jade pendant to him.
Had any other player inadvertently triggered this event, they might already have fallen prey to this level 60 werewolf.
He caressed the pendant in his hand, feeling a refreshing chill emanating from it.
[Magic Jade Pendant (Unidentified)]
The quest, in essence, wasn't particularly challenging — all that needed to be done was to present it to old Arthur for identification and retrieve the relevant information.
However, what intrigued Sebastian was the obscured quest reward.
The game hadn't specified any tangible reward for this mission.
Nonetheless, this ambiguity didn't deter Sebastian; he chose to accept the quest.
"I'll bring you the information," Sebastian voiced.
Nightwolf cast him a fleeting glance before fading into the encompassing darkness.
[Congratulations on accepting the quest!]
After acquiring the quest, Sebastian, accompanied by Breeze, returned to Darkstone. Clutching the quest's jade pendant, he made his way directly to old Arthur's blacksmith shop.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door resounded with knocks, and a grumbling old Arthur eventually answered.
His initial annoyance dissipated slightly upon recognizing Sebastian.
"Couldn't you come during the day?" he griped.
Sebastian scratched his head sheepishly.
Thankfully, due to a favorable rating with the old blacksmith, he was invited into the shop.
"Out with it, what do you want identified this time?" old Arthur questioned, settling himself opposite Sebastian.
Pulling out the jade pendant, Sebastian answered, "This."
Taking the pendant into his inspection, old Arthur's brows furrowed, "Isn't this... the emblem of the Legion of Cataclysm?"
"Legion of Cataclysm?" Sebastian's face registered surprise.
The game lore of [Original Realm] had indeed mentioned this legion — a malevolent army under the Demon race, notorious for their pillaging and heinous acts, a perpetual thorn in the kingdom's side.
Conventionally, players at their current stage shouldn't be engaging with quests related to the Legion of Cataclysm.
However, the twist was that this special event's quest seemed intrinsically linked to them.
It dawned on Sebastian that this mission might be more intricate than initially presumed.
"How much for the identification?" Sebastian inquired.
"20 gold coins," came Arthur's response.
"That much?" Sebastian exclaimed.
"Boy, I'm giving you a discount here. Emblems of the Legion of Cataclysm aren't an easy task to identify," Arthur retorted with a snort.
"Alright," Sebastian conceded.
After parting with the 20 gold coins, Arthur, holding the pendant, approached his workbench to commence the identification.
Roughly five minutes later, he tossed the now-identified pendant back to Sebastian.
[Legion of Cataclysm Emblem (Purple): This emblem signifies the status of a Legion of Cataclysm team captain. The bearer of this emblem can command a team of Cataclysm.]
[Attributes: Equipable at level 20, MP+900, Spirit+120, Wisdom+200]
[Note: Emblem of the Legion of Cataclysm's eighth squad captain, Yomu.]