[Clan] Americano: Does anyone know what Jiangshi’s Tear< this item is ㅠㅠ
[Clan] Pichuragi: ㅇㅁㅇ Is it from the main quest?
[Clan] Americano: Yeah ㅠ but I don’t think it’s an existing item
[Clan] Americano: I’m checking every dungeon that seems like it could drop it, but no luck ㅠ
[Clan] Moto: Want help? ㄷㄷ
[Clan] Americano: Moto of loyalty… so cool…
[Clan] Pichuragi: Oh… Loyal Moto~
[Clan] Moto: ㅋ
[Clan] BananaMambo: Idol Moto
[Clan] Pichuragi: Oh~ Idol Moto~~
[Clan] Moto: I don’t know what this is, but I apologize anyway
[Clan] Americano: It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m playing with a friend now
[Clan] Pichuragi: Good luck, good luck ㅠ
Seeing how energetically Americano was chatting, it looked like she was back on the main quest. Given how pathetic she looked earlier, and assuming from that, there was very little chance Americano handled the situation well, which meant World Map must be unexpectedly level-headed.
But then why would someone that rational go on a massacre at the quest location? People are complicated…… Not wanting to dwell on something already over, Limousine muddled through the thoughts and focused on gathering again. A long silence followed.
The seemingly endless life of Limousine the herb gatherer thankfully looked like it was about to end before midnight.
< You are gathering herbs. Gathering success rate increases depending on your trait level. >
< Due to the max-level trait, the chance of gathering rare items increases. >
< You have gathered ‘Red Spider Lily’! Added to the Gathering Journal. >
“Master Gatherer.”
< Your gathering success rate has increased. >
“Hey, red spider lily! You got red spider lily.”
“Oh, damn. For real.”
Limousine, who had been approaching the verge of becoming one with the mountain and nature like a Zen herb collector, came to his senses at Jaheun’s shout and put away his hoe. Wait, when did I gather that? Taking out the gathered red spider lily again from the inventory, it looked more or less like the one he saw during the last quest.
“What are we even supposed to do with this?”
As he turned the flower over and inspected it this way and that, Jaheun came closer to examine it too. Since the flower was only about fist-sized and there were two people trying to look at it, the distance between them naturally closed. Limousine flinched slightly at the boldness of someone with no sense of personal space, but it would’ve been weird to suddenly pull away, so he just stayed put. Yeah, I guess he really wants to take a close look too after all that hell week……
Because the mask was so distinct, it was only now that he realized—Jaheun’s character had curly black hair. Pretty common hairstyle, but this was the first time he saw it so close. It looked super fluffy. Kinda reminded him of Daepal.
“What does the description say?”
At Jaheun’s question, Limousine checked the red spider lily’s detailed info.
<Red Spider Lily>
Rare | Herb | Tradeable
A blood-red flower that grows nourished by corpses. No one knows whether the corpse came first or the flower did.
Do you happen to know anything about Red Spider Lily?
What kind of bullshit is that? Is the main story asking me for answers now?
Along with the absurdity of it all, when the information was shared, Jaheun also had a puzzled expression. This…… what are we supposed to do with it? In the middle of a now nearly empty map, late at night with most players gone, the two stood there blankly in silence, left behind in vain.
It was the beginning of <Celestial Wind>’s signature feature, its trademark: the so-called escape room segment.
💔
[Looking for someone who knows what the purple room is. Will reward.] +3
[This freaking escape room is insane. Real escape rooms at least give you a hint when you call.] +22
[ㅠㅠ This is my first time doing the real-time main story and I’m stuck. Please help.] +9
[The escape room section that comes back like a holiday.] +2
[Is the escape room difficulty broken or what? Are they telling us to play or not play the game (please help)] +1
[Real‑time main quest is hard as hell;;] +5
*
[Title : Real‑time main quest is hard as hell;;]
Body : This game makes me doubt my own IQ—kills my self‑esteem, man ㅠ It’s so damn brutal even Sherlock Holmes would rage‑quit and call it demonic.
Replies (5)
└ Don’t cry—just tell us what’s up
└└ ㅠㅠ F‑Fuck…! Fuck!
└ I’m just gonna fall back and let the smart people blaze the trail, then stroll down the road they paved. Y’all can have the hidden quests—enjoy your feast…
└└ If I really put my mind to it, huh? Main quest, hidden quest—cakewalk. I’m just being nice and holding back
└└└ For real… stay humble, bro…
Even after scouring the community forums like grasping at straws, Limousine couldn’t find a single useful solution. Forget the same quest—there weren’t even any similar ones. Starved for information, he ended up typing meaningless phrases into the search bar like ‘Which came first, the flower or the corpse,’ ‘corpse-eating flower,’ ‘red spider lily corpse,’ and ended up screaming curses and jumping out of his chair when he stumbled across uncensored gore images.
Jaheun seemed to have had no more luck than him—his face was grim as he stared into empty space for a long time. What even is this ‘Did the corpse come first or the flower’ stuff? Like the chicken or the egg? A philosophical thing? What was the name of the philosopher who talked about that? Unknown, apparently. Good grief…… what’s with the mystery vibe……
[Clan] BananaMambo: Anyone up for a round of ‘Laboratory’?
[Clan] BananaMambo: Ratan says he wants to go
Just as Limousine was on the verge of completely losing his mind, a party recruitment message popped up in clan chat. Looked like they were heading into a dungeon just for fun.
[Clan] Ratan: ?
[Clan] Ratan: Huh?
Apparently, the person in question hadn’t been consulted.
[Clan] BananaMambo: How can it be that we’ve never taken a round through ‘Laboratory’?
[Clan] BananaMambo: We’ve been neglecting you. We reflect on our actions
[Clan] Pichuragi: ;; Reflecting
[Clan] Pichuragi: I can’t believe Tannie’s never done the number game ㅠ
[Clan] Pichuragi: Omg let’s drag Moto in too
[Clan] Moto: Uh, what?
[Clan] Ratan: Wait… you guys… are you sure about this?
[Clan] Ratan: Are you okay dragging along dead weight like me?
[Clan] BananaMambo: My main quest is stuck, and I’m this close to breaking everything in sight right now
[Clan] BananaMambo: Just leave it to me
[Clan] Pichuragi: ㅋ Mambo-nim, you’re not denying the ‘dead weight’ part, tho?
[Clan] Ratan: ㅋ
[Clan] BananaMambo: This Mambo… may be incapable of lying
[Clan] BananaMambo: But I can wrap you in love
[Clan] Pichuragi: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah
[Clan] Ratan: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Other clan members must’ve been in a similar situation, because as soon as someone suggested a random dungeon run, everyone eagerly jumped on board. Looked like everyone wanted to escape their main quests through dungeon diving. Limousine felt a strange sense of solidarity, and his gaze softened in empathy.
The dungeon Banana Mambo had suggested, <Niú Mó Wáng’s Laboratory>, commonly referred to as ‘Laboratory,’ was the highest-tier dungeon in <Celestial Wind>. Still, even though it was ‘high-tier,’ it was content from the final story of the previous chapter, released three months ago, so most players had already experienced it.
But Ratan mainly played using non-combat traits, so his combat gear progression had been slow—he hadn’t been there yet. Moto, too, mostly enjoyed PvP, so while he knew the basics, he wasn’t particularly practiced in that dungeon.
Both Ratan and Moto rarely visited high-tier dungeons unless invited by friends. As a result, it had become something of a clan tradition to form parties around them as targets(?) for first-time dungeon runs. It was basically a showcase where veteran dungeon players got to watch these two cluelessly stumble through the mechanics, and because their reactions were entertaining, everyone gladly joined when such runs happened.
Should I go too? Limousine glanced sideways at Jaheun. They weren’t making any progress anyway—it wouldn’t hurt to take a break for some fresh air.
“Hey, I’m gonna go do a ‘Laboratory’ run real quick.”
“What?”
Jaheun looked at him quizzically, caught off guard by the sudden comment after a long silence. ……Was that too random? Limousine scratched the back of his head, trying to offer an explanation.
“A friend’s doing their first run and asked for help. There are a lot of helpers, so it won’t take long.”
I mean, we’re both out of ideas right now, so maybe you can just do something else for a bit too…… As his words dragged on and on, he started to feel more and more awkward. Why was he explaining himself so much? It’s not like he was doing something wrong. And what’s with that look—why was Jaheun staring at him like an abandoned puppy?
Limousine blinked, startled by a sudden pang of sympathy he hadn’t even realized he was capable of. What…… does he want to come too? Does he like dungeons? Or trying new content? Feeling weirdly pressured by those wide eyes, Limousine blurted out without thinking.
“Do…… you wanna come too?”
“Sure.”
Jaheun answered instantly, like he’d been waiting for the invitation, and quickly left their current party. He’d even turned off his name-anonymization feature without hesitation. Technically, yeah, it’s polite to show your name in a friend’s party, but…… that was fast. As Jaheun looked at him with an expression that clearly said well, invite me already, Limousine uneasily typed into the chat. This wasn’t exactly how he’d pictured it. Something felt off……
[Clan] Limousine: Me too
[Clan] Limousine: Dragged one more friend in, pls invite and hand over the lead
Dungeons in <Celestial Wind> allow free entry for parties ranging from 1 to 6 players. However, due to the mechanics and overall DPS checks, high-tier dungeons typically recommend at least 4 players for mechanics and a full party of 6 for sufficient damage. Since <Niú Mó Wáng’s Laboratory> was the most recent dungeon, and considering that two of the party members wouldn’t be of much help, it was ideal to fill all 6 slots—and thanks to perfect timing and the clan leader’s networking skills, the final member was brought in just in time. The clan rejoiced.
In all that excitement, Limousine forgot.
Forgot why the two of them had been together in the first place……