< You have opened the Gate of the Sun. >
With the status message, a small hole opened up at the top of the cave. A round spot of sunlight appeared where the Goat General had originally stood, and the sun emblem glowed white.
Was that it? Limousine looked around with a hopeful heart, but instead of the desired quest-clear message, all he saw was the challenger still engaged in battle with the Goat General.
“What? That wasn’t the end?”
“What wasn’t?”
The challenger, busy tanking in the corner and unable to properly see what had happened, shot back sharply. The Goat General’s aura was still fierce. Limousine’s expression turned serious again. If he just stood around, it looked like a party wipe was incoming…… Ah!
“Hey! Park him back where he was before! Right under the sunlight!”
At Limousine’s shout, the challenger quickly dragged the Goat General back.
< The Goat General is soothed by the sunlight he hasn’t felt in ages. >
With a status message, the Goat General switched from hostile to neutral mode and suddenly lay down like a sheep. The challenger and Limousine looked at each other.
“……Did that do it?”
“What about the crystal shard?”
Each of the generals’ trials had different mechanics and strategies, but the reward was always the same: a crystal shard. If they’d really cleared the Goat General, he should’ve dropped one…… but now he was just lying there, basking in the sun like he was taking a nap? Was it not over?
Limousine stared blankly and prodded the Goat General with his staff, but he didn’t move an inch. What was with this Snorlax wannabe?
“Hey. Found it.”
The challenger, who had been rummaging around the front, suddenly held up a crystal shard. Limousine hurried over. The shard had been hidden as part of the Goat General’s necklace, buried under armor and wool. No way they could’ve grabbed it during the fight. The challenger cut the necklace with a sword, and the completion message popped up.
< You have completed the Trial of the Goat General. >
< ‘Nameless Wanderer’-nim has acquired the crystal shard. >
< You will be automatically transported out of the dungeon in 3 seconds. 3, 2, 1…… >
Once outside, it was already well into the evening. He had logged in right at noon, so he’d been playing for over eight hours.
Getting kind of hungry now. But what if someone else starts the Pavilion of Rooster, Dog, and Pig while I’m eating…… Should I just starve a bit longer? Limousine was briefly weighing this very gamer-like dilemma—
“Grab food and meet back up after.”
“Huh?”
The challenger said it in a gruff tone. He still didn’t sound particularly polite, but compared to the venomous attitude from the beginning, it was a massive improvement.
“We’ve been here for eight hours, and no one else has interrupted us. That either means no one else can barge in midway, or we’re the only ones who got the quest.”
That…… makes sense. Smarter than expected, huh? Limousine was still quietly impressed by the challenger’s unexpected bit of reasoning when the challenger used the <Campfire> item. It was a placeable consumable item usable in the field, which turned the surrounding area into a rest zone for two hours. In rest zones, PvP was disabled, so it was mainly used when players wanted to safely AFK in the field.
“Meet back here in an hour.”
“Hey, then at least temporarily add me as a friend—”
Adding someone as a friend would display their online status and make party invites and whispers easier. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but for extended sessions like this, it was definitely more efficient to have each other on the friend list. But the challenger sharply shook his head.
“Why do you think I used the campfire? Don’t log out. Just go and come back.”
“!”
This devil of a bastard. Limousine’s jaw dropped—he’d not only been refused a friend request but was now even being monitored. And the more he thought about it, the more it bruised his pride. Even if he begged for a friend request later, the guy probably wouldn’t give it to him.
Grumbling inside at how pointless it would be to even try, Limousine obediently left the VR rig without logging out of the game.
After nearly eight hours, the real-world sky outside was pitch dark. He grabbed a few pieces of bread to fill up, and thanks to his habit of snacking a lot, he picked a bag from the heap of snacks he always had stocked and headed back to his room. About 30 minutes remained.
After a moment of thought, he sat down at the desk next to the VR gear and turned on his desktop.
<Celestial Wind> had a pretty well-built official website. In addition to basic info boards, the site ran a variety of community boards to encourage user engagement. With such a massive concurrent player base, it had user activity levels rivaling those of general game portal sites, even though it was for a single game.
Limousine clicked into the general discussion board. He wasn’t normally the type to comb through forums, but he was hoping to dig up some intel on the Twelve Generals’ Pavilion.
Since it was patch day, the entire board was flooded with update talk. He began scanning the posts from top to bottom.
[Title: Quest is batshit crazy]
Is this even a quest? This might be the wildest branching quest yet; even my friends all got different content, but mine’s just pure grindy bullshit…… I’m not a rabbit, why the hell do I need to gather 200 carrots……
Replies (4)
└ Grind222 Same here, wtf is 200 potatoes
└└ Grind33 Sounds like we got the same quest ㅋㅋ After that, they made me gather 200 onions too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m farming solo while everyone else is chasing suspicious clues
└ Doesn’t seem like there are many grind quests, guess you’re chosen ㄷㄷ
└└ I don’t need this kind of chosen, screw off
*
[Title: There needs to be a system where rankers get labeled ‘DO NOT ENGAGE’ when they enter beginner zones.]
Why the hell is Coffee loitering in a low-level area? I feel bad for the newbies; the ones who ran into him are probably having nightmares tonight.
Replies (12)
└ fr tho, it’s a horror movie if you see him late at night. If you’re not gonna fight, stop summoning ghosts in the field
└└ Tbh, you don’t even get to see the ghost face during battle anyway since he possesses stuff right away
└└ And no one says shit when summoners pull out divine beasts. This discrimination is real
└└└ Necromancer, huh? Just say so without crying
└└└└ fuck
└ I’ll pay for the spot where you saw Coffee-nim
└ How could you even notice the ghost when Coffee is there?
└ Who’s Coffee, omg?
└└ There’s someone called Americano. Top-tier ranker who walks around like a visual shock
└└└ Omg is it ’cause the character’s super buff?
└└└└ Nah, the avatar is hella pretty. It’s the ghost that’s nightmare fuel
└└└└└ Did he always summon stuff like that? Is he doing a quest or something??
└└└└└└ Seems like a quest
└ Why would he even be in a low-level zone tho? What story quest is he doing?
└ I just want to log into Coffee’s account for one day ㅠㅠ Life of Celestial Wind’s idol
Coffee was a nickname frequently used on the forums for Americano. Americano was a known name always at the top of the unified rankings, had quite a few fans, and people often posted about spotting him in-game.
This time, he must’ve been doing the main story in a visible area, because even though it was right after a big update and everyone was focused on story content, he was already getting mentioned. Poor guy…… Limousine suddenly remembered that time Coffee had triggered a ton of system messages in the middle of town while progressing a story quest, and it was like he debuted as an idol that day. It was a hidden quest, too, so people swarmed in just to watch…… After that supremely embarrassing experience, Limousine had come to prefer doing quests as quietly as possible.
Time flew by as he scrolled through the community. After checking that there were about five minutes left before the promised hour, Limousine got back into the machine. The challenger must’ve been planning to log in precisely on time, since he stood motionless.
Limousine stared at the challenger. The black mask completely covered his face except for his eyes, but even from his eyes alone, Limousine guessed he was probably good-looking. Judging from how fast he adapted to the dungeon and his DPS, there was no doubt he was a ranker. He was also tall, and a swordsman……
‘Feels like I know this guy.’
Even in a game with a massive user base, people tend to hang around in similar circles. It was only natural to keep running into people of similar skill levels. Limousine wasn’t particularly social, so he didn’t know everyone, but he was familiar with most of the veterans. And his gut was telling him the challenger was one of the old-timers. The problem was, swordsman was the most popular class in <Celestial Wind>, so it wasn’t exactly easy to guess……
“You done staring?”
A few minutes into zoning out in deep thought, the challenger’s eyes suddenly flicked to life. Jesus. Can’t he give a sign when he logs in? Though Limousine didn’t show it outwardly, he’d been startled and answered sulkily.
“Your whole face is covered. Not much to stare at.”
“My point exactly. I was getting the sense you’d try to take the mask off or something.”
“Shut it. I don’t care that much.”
They hadn’t met under great circumstances anyway, so staying anonymous was actually more comfortable. The sooner they finished this quest and disbanded the damn party, the better. With that thought, Limousine started walking toward the Pavilion of the Monkey General.
“Where are you going? It’s the other way.”
For fuck sake. Limousine scowled and turned around to follow the challenger.
💔
By the time they cleared the pig dungeon—the Pig General, the last one—it was late into the night. The guy had a bratty mouth, sure, but hey, he was decent enough to play with. After finishing the final dungeon, Limousine felt a mix of satisfaction and generosity swell in his heart, and his evaluation of the challenger rose as a bonus.
The challenger, for his part, looked like he couldn’t care less and pulled out the twelve crystal shards he had received as a reward, staring at them seriously.
“What do we do with these crystal shards?”
“Aren’t they main story items?”
Limousine replied offhandedly as he checked the item info on the crystal shards. Up until now, the description had just said something like ‘A crystal shard obtained from such-and-such general,’ but now a new line had been added.
A special bond awaits those who gather all the shards. Seek out Time.
A special bond? Is this like introducing us to another NPC? It seemed like a follow-up quest. Since the subject was plural, at least it wasn’t some stingy one-person-only kind of thing. Limousine shared the new info with the challenger.
“Time? What time?”
Limousine didn’t know either. What kind of vague crap was this—’seek out Time’? Wait a minute.
“Isn’t it that? The Chinese character time they use when reading the Four Pillars of Destiny?”
The challenger’s expression shifted as if something clicked, then he stared into the void. Seeking it, probably? Seemed like Limousine’s guess was right, as the challenger soon responded that it currently fell under the hour of the Tiger. Limousine and the challenger headed toward the Pavilion of the Tiger General. The quest was nearly at its end.
As they placed their hands on the Pavilion of the Tiger General and entered, the general with a tiger’s head that they had seen earlier was there waiting.
“You came quickly. Impatient types, I see.”
Guess the early bird gets the worm. A snappy retort rose instinctively to Limousine’s lips, but he swallowed it. No point getting into an argument with an NPC. Whether the general noticed Limousine’s increasingly unimpressed expression or not, he continued without comment.
“To come find me at this hour…… it must mean you are ready to form a bond.”
< Do you wish to form a bond? >
Seeing the selection prompt pop up confirmed it. This was a hidden quest. All that suffering today had paid off. So now, where do we go? What do we get? Without hesitation, the two hit ‘Accept,’ their eyes sparkling with anticipation.
At that moment, a white aura began to radiate from the Tiger General, and a solemn voice echoed. Light pink petals began drifting through the air around them.
……Petals? In a cave background?
“I, the Tiger General, on behalf of the Twelve Generals, officiate and confirm the union of these two. May you cherish and protect this precious bond.”
“?”
< ‘Jaheun’-nim and ‘Limousine’-nim have successfully formed a bond! >
< The exclusive title ‘Match Made in Heaven’ has been awarded. >
< Special benefits have been granted to the first bonded pair. >
< News of the first bond spreads across the continent. >
< The first bond has been recorded in the official chronicles. >
< Bonding system has been unlocked due to the first successful bond. >
[Clan] Americano: ?
[Clan] Americano: What the hell?
[Clan] Americano: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ A bond? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did Limousine just marry Jaheun? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Clan] Pichuragi: Omg what even is this notification ㅋㅋㅋㅋ what are you even doing out there, Clan Leader ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Clan] Moto: Woah woah what’s a bond??
[Clan] Americano: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ First ever ㅋㅋㅋ This is hilarious, congrats bro ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What the actual fuck……this trash game……
TL/N:
1. The Four Pillars of Destiny, also known as “bāzì”, which means “eight characters” or “eight words” in Chinese, is a Chinese astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour.
2. The hour of the Tiger is from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.