It was the story of the forbidden Cult of Blood from 130 years ago. The righteous and demonic factions were actual choices users could make as camps, and the Grand Tournament of Righteous and Demonic Factions was a real in-game event. It was clearly not just some passing plot device. At the very least, it was a hidden story; at most, it was the main storyline of this chapter. If executed properly, contributing to the main story was practically guaranteed.
This…… this is it. Limousine clenched his fist, feeling his heartbeat quicken.
The days of feeling lonely in a crowd, progressing through a completely different story while others effortlessly racked up contribution points just by breathing, came back to him in a haze. The humiliation of the previous chapter, when all he did was reflect on where things had gone wrong and what exactly he was doing with himself…… The past, where he ran wild through battlefields and raids like a madman to make up for his total score dropping out of the rankings due to low story contribution…… It had all been part of a grand plan for this very chapter.
Come to think of it, the fact that Jaheun hadn’t made it into the top 10 rankings last season made sense if he’d been in a similar situation to Limousine. There’s no way someone with his physical prowess wouldn’t make the top 10. It had to have been a story contribution issue.
“So what do we need to do?”
Jaheun asked Sī Chuān. Do they even answer non-herbalist players? Limousine had a brief moment of doubt, but it seemed like they were being treated as a party, whether it was because they were on the same quest or for both reasons. Sī Chuān responded naturally.
[This young one’s certainly got no lack of arrogance either……]
What a real boomer NPC.
“……What should we do, sir?”
Cursing him was no use—they couldn’t beat an NPC who held the key information.
[The place where the red spider lily was discovered is undoubtedly where the Cult of Blood operated. No matter how secretly they acted, members of the Cult of Blood are still human. And if they’re human, then they need to eat, sleep, and live……. You’d do well to ask around in nearby villages.]
The area map of General’s Tomb, where the Twelve Pavilions were located, was one of the newly added regions in the update. General’s Tomb didn’t have any villages, i.e., user rest areas, and the previous villages were several maps away, so calling them ‘nearby’ would be a stretch.
So Limousine and Jaheun decided to explore unexplored new areas to look for a village.
“Since he said ‘nearby,’ it probably won’t take that long.”
“I’d have no more wishes if we could just get out of here.”
How many days had they been staring at this same boring scenery? Jaheun deeply agreed with Limousine’s grumbling. Thanks to the grim reputation from the Bond quest, combined with the memory of endless grinding and wandering like crazy, this place was quickly becoming the worst zone in the game.
The search, filled with determination to escape this map as soon as possible, thankfully bore fruit quickly. As soon as they crossed into the next map, a village icon immediately appeared on the map, and Limousine and Jaheun sighed in relief. Apparently, they hadn’t gone so far as to hide the village entrance.
Yeah, even the devs need to have a conscience. Having been tormented by riddles all day, the two headed toward the village with light steps.
Unlike cities that spanned the entire map, the small villages scattered across fields had fewer NPCs, fewer shop items, and fewer user-friendly facilities—but they were still safe zones where PvP was disabled and teleportation was enabled. Especially important was the fact that you could teleport directly to the village.
After suffering the hell of General’s Tomb, where there were so few teleport points that you had to walk all day, anyone would lose their mind over a teleport point. That’s why, upon arriving in the village, the first thing they did was register the central teleport point. When the registration succeeded, the point lit up, and the village name updated in the teleport list.
‘Gravekeeper Village……’
After hearing the story about the Rén Hé Sect from Sī Chuān, even the village name felt ominous. Wasn’t the red spider lily a flower that bloomed on corpses? There had to be a connection.
Limousine and Jaheun took a look around the village. It wasn’t a large village, but it wasn’t small enough to see it all from the center either. From a distance, they could see more than ten scattered NPCs.
“I’ll take the south.”
“Got it.”
Being two people definitely made this easier. Limousine quickly coordinated with Jaheun, and they split up, north and south. But how exactly were they supposed to gather information? Limousine decided to start with the nearest NPC. It was a woman who looked to be in her late 30s to 40s.
“Do you happen to know anything about the Rén Hé Sect?”
Thanks to Sī Chuān’s etiquette lesson, Limousine had temporarily adopted the concept of using honorifics with NPCs and asked politely. The NPC was dressed modestly, but didn’t look especially poor. Usually, the lore was that remote villages were impoverished due to limited trade…… Was this also due to the influence of the Rén Hé Sect?
[Rén Hé Sect? What’s that?]
The NPC tilted her head in confusion. It seemed the sect had erased its existence and was hiding its name. Limousine asked her about the Cult of Blood and the red spider lily as well, trying to draw out a different answer, but she only shook her head as if hearing it all for the first time. Other NPCs responded the same way. Did we…… find the wrong village? As if reading Limousine’s confused mind, a chat message popped up at just the right moment.
[Party] Jaheun: Ingredients
[Party] Jaheun: Ask if we can buy any
“……Would it be possible to buy some ingredients?”
[Ingredients? I do have a little left……]
The middle-aged male NPC, who hadn’t budged no matter what was said before, told him to wait and went inside his house for a moment. How the hell did he figure this out? What kind of random nonsense did that guy spew in front of the NPC? While Limousine was alternating between admiration and disbelief at Jaheun’s ability, the NPC soon came back out.
[Our village has a contract with a merchant guild as a whole, you see. Aside from what we need for ourselves and for trade, there’s almost nothing left. Would this much be okay?]
What the NPC handed over was a rice pouch about the size of a fist. Limousine accepted it, then asked.
“A merchant guild?”
[Yes. We started trading with them a few months ago. Thanks to them buying up all kinds of essentials without discrimination, the village’s situation has improved a lot.]
“Would it be possible to meet them?”
[Well……]
The NPC looked troubled.
[The one who deals with them is the village chief. You’d best speak with the chief about that.]
[Party] Limousine: What did he say?
[Party] Jaheun: Said to meet the chief
[Party] Limousine: Same to me as well
[Party] Limousine: Where’s the chief
[Party] Jaheun: My side
Even after asking the other NPCs, every conversation ended with the suggestion to go see the chief. It felt like they had talked to everyone in the village except the chief. Having scoured the entire southern part of the village, Limousine headed north, where Jaheun was searching to find the village chief’s house.
Once they spoke and compared notes, they figured out that a rather large merchant guild had started trading with the entire village a few months ago. Not only did they deliver ingredients and goods, but they also occasionally hired villagers as laborers for odd jobs. The hired workers said it was just an ordinary merchant guild, but…… The whole story from beginning to end was suspicious, so it didn’t seem very credible.
“What do we say to the chief?”
“Ask to be included when they hire labor.”
“Oh……”
Limousine was impressed by Jaheun’s straightforward answer. Such a peaceful solution……. Is he a genius? I was just thinking of ambushing them during their next trade and wrecking the place. Limousine took a moment to reflect on his own excessively violent gaming instincts. People say he’s hot-tempered, but he’s more mild-mannered than I thought. I should let him do the talking.
The chief’s house was located at the highest point in the village. It was such an artificially designed layout that it really drove home the fact that this was a game. Limousine knocked on the chief’s door. There was a rustling sound from inside before an NPC came out. A frail, hunched, and deeply wrinkled elderly woman NPC—she was the chief of Gravekeeper Village.
[What brings you here?]
Maybe it was because she coolly conducted obscure trades with an unknown merchant guild, but her courage was something else. Most people would be startled to see two unfamiliar adult men standing at their door, but she showed no sign of surprise at all. You talk. As Limousine stepped aside, Jaheun naturally picked up the conversation.
“We need money.”
Out of nowhere? A question mark popped up over Limousine’s face at the sudden, random lie.
[And?]
“I heard that the nearby merchant guild sometimes needs labor. I was told the pay’s decent. If you ever find yourself short-handed, we’d like to be considered.”
[Hmm……]
This guy—did he go to some kind of job interview prep study group or something? It was a powerful opener followed by a naturally flowing story.
Sure, you might think it’s a bit much to go this deep when talking to an NPC, but the AI in <Celestial Wind> was surprisingly sophisticated. As you progressed through quests, there were times it really made you wonder if the NPCs were actual people. Say something truly nonsensical in front of these AIs, and they’d catch it right away—so if you didn’t want the quest to stall for some dumb reason, it was safest to give even nonsense at least a minimal level of plausibility.
[We may be short-handed, but why should I trust you two?]
See? What kind of AI gives an answer like that?
Regardless, both of them realized it the moment they heard the village chief’s line.
“What can we do to earn your trust?”
This was a new quest prompt.
< Gaining Trust >
Following the traces of the red spider lily, you arrive at Gravekeeper Village. To earn the village chief’s trust, prove your abilities.
(You may choose to complete just one of the two tasks below.)
‣ Clear ‘Tóng Jì’ within 12 minutes [0/1]
‣ Promotion to Prism Badge in the Battlefield [0/1]
“…….”
“…….”
This isn’t hiring laborers—this is recruiting people to conquer the world, isn’t it?