"Brave Immortals!" Lind spoke gravely, "The wild breath of panting surrounds the outpost day and night, the restless low growling keeps people tossing and turning in their beds. I am asking you to take on a dangerous yet significant task!"
"Hiss!" The four of them immediately perked up.
They loved quests!
If it's not dangerous, it doesn't even pique my interest!
"Go and investigate the situation with the wanderers based on the information around! The peace of the outpost must not be disrupted, I hope this can become our last hope… Star Dragon Ridge will always remember your sacrifice, of course, there will be a reward of 50 Gold Coins upon completion of the task!"
The four clenched their fists and pounded their chests, shouting with a heart-offering pose, "Yes, Lord!"
The player Undead sighed inwardly, thinking that their Newbie Village was indeed different; the quests they received were all hidden versions. They didn't have to repair fences, check traps, or catch rabbits.
Even the very first quest to kill hyenas, other players hadn't encountered that.
In other players' experiences, hyenas could be considered "elite monsters"—not only hard to kill but also rare to find, yet at Star Dragon Ridge, just kill at will.
Perhaps their luck was simply good, landing them directly in the game's mid-level map.
In any case, it felt great!
The four geared up, ready to set off to investigate, but judging by their fierce demeanor, they didn't seem like they were preparing to stealthily explore, but rather to charge into battle.
Moon Slash Blade: "It seems like a new NPC has come to the outpost!"
He had seen Aluna, Mmm Mmm.
A wrinkled old lady, dressed in a nun's robe and with a stern face, matched every stereotype of an old church nun and gave the easy impression that she was a key NPC.
In this special "Newbie Village," where there were few NPCs, the appearance of a distinctive NPC was hard to ignore.
Definitely a quest there, although I wonder how intelligent she is, but it's worth engaging more deeply.
Dragon Scale Sword: "Could she be a special quest NPC, perhaps."
Through their time in the game and conversations in the gaming group, they had discovered the unique characteristics of this world—it was almost too realistic.
NPCs were like living people, each with their own stories, not really adhering to the rules like in games.
Observing them over the past few days, they found that NPCs would slack off, make jokes, and even use the toilet—the timing of which was not fixed.
If they weren't afraid of being seen as perverts and getting chopped with a sword, they were quite curious to see if the "animation" of using the toilet was made.
It was like GTA where key story scenes hadn't been created, which was regrettable.
Moreover, during the pioneering phase of the game, everyone was busy with quests; otherwise, there would already be a bunch of people bored enough to track NPCs and record what they did all day.
"Let's go out and search for clues," Black Tortoise Shield said, organizing his equipment. "I guess there should be a battle instance by now."
"We might be the first ones to open an instance."
The mention of being the first to pioneer an instance had all four of them very excited.
Ultimately, new NPCs were not as attractive as new quests, and with Lind having an attitude of "you won't meet the new NPC unless you complete the quest," they had no choice but to dutifully carry on with the task.
Having built houses for two days, the four were already sick of it.
If it weren't for the ability to adjust their bodily sensations, they seriously doubted they were players; they felt more like laborers who logged in to work.
They left Star Dragon Ridge together.
Without the function of a map to guide them or any highlighted reminders, everything had to be found on their own.
This game is really a tad too realistic.
When the players left, Lind had already arranged a simple residence for Aluna, and he didn't immediately let Aluna interact with the players.
His nine Soldiers were a different story, as their knowledge was limited. Being illiterate and uneducated as Soldiers, they had little to talk about with the players.
But Aluna was different.
She carried Lind's expectations, and he hoped she could take on the responsibility of bamboozling... oh no, I mean guiding the players.
In layman's terms, he wanted her to continue speaking with that old charlatan's tone, giving the players a strong sense of role-playing.
In a room with just the two of them, Lind made sure there was no one else around before speaking to the old nun, "Aluna, I hope you can learn the speech techniques I am about to teach you and apply them flexibly!"
Aluna, with an expressionless face, looked at Lind, her eyes wide open: "Yes."
She always stared at people with wide-open eyes as if she were in shock, but her face remained expressionless, giving off a somewhat crazy vibe.
The process of teaching the speech techniques went very smoothly, even smoother than Lind had anticipated. Aluna could think on her feet, talking about gods, dreams, murmurs, and prophecies with even more flair than Lind's techniques, which could be called full of soul flavor. As a tool for issuing special missions that Lind envisioned, she was perfect.
However, what Lind really wanted was Miss Miko. Not only was she cute and pretty, but she also knew how to make Magic Potions. Having her as the Poster Girl would surely captivate every LSP, regardless of gender!
Aluna spoke in her dreamy, delirious tone, "The magic circle is broken, yet the King's shadow is nowhere to be seen." "We have no gods to pray to. Even so, I hope your journey is smooth sailing."
"Exactly!" Lind smiled, "Aluna, please continue to adjust your state. In the future, I will have a church built for you on Star Dragon Ridge, oh, and by the way... we are having stewed meat soup for dinner tonight!"
"Gulp!" Aluna swallowed, "Yes, my lord! I will work hard!"
As long as there was food, things were manageable!
She quietly clutched the dried mouse in her dress pocket, the lifesaving treasure she had kept well hidden, in case one day Lind turned his back on her and threw her out, she wouldn't starve to death... Hopefully, she would satisfy the Lord.
After leaving Aluna's room, Lind returned to his own room.
Nowadays, having advanced to Great Knight, but after the magic circle broke, Lind was unclear about what the future trajectory of advancement looked like. He only knew from the fragments in Clore's journal that the power stolen from the Calamity actually came from the broken magic circle, and it was infused into his body in the form of Magic Potion.
Therefore, to enhance his strength, it was imperative to absorb more Magic Potion.
"More Magic Potion, or rather, the formula for it, would be great if I could find the Blackfire brothers," Lind thought.
Aluna mentioned that the Blackfire brothers had successfully advanced more than half a year ago, and Lind suspected they held more useful information.
While Lind was planning his future actions and thinking of how to wring labor out of players, a four-person gamer squad was on their way elsewhere.
"We might have found it!" the Black Tortoise Shield crouched down, scrutinizing the footsteps on the ground.
Among the four of them, three were college students, and one was a civil engineering brother turned video blogger. Their outdoor combat awareness basically originated from PUBG, and listening to footsteps was their only mastered enemy detection technique.
Unfortunately, after holding their breath and focusing for a long time, they heard nothing.
Fortunately, those they were following seemed in a rush and didn't cover their trails.
The soil around Star Dragon Ridge wasn't great; it was almost all sandy, leaving footprints with every step.
"They should be around here! We're scouting for information, it's best not to be discovered," Dragon Scale Sword said.
Loves White Silk immediately chimed in, "Then isn't it simple, just kill everyone who discovers us!"
Stealth?
The four laughed simultaneously.