Kneeling in the middle of a room was a figure clad in black, which heavily contrasted with the white mist that filled the room to the brim. Right in front of her, a figure covered in white stood.
Luke had just appeared before the uncanny seer. However, unlike how it had been stated in his mission, he didn’t have the option to even accept or reject the about, he simply vanished and appeared right before her.
To Luke, the room felt larger on the inside than outside. It looked wider than two other cottages Luke had seen earlier, combined. Heavy velvet drapes blocked out the sun, keeping the room in a constant state of darkness.
The primary illumination came from the glowing mist that clung to the room’s atmosphere.
Positioned in the center, floating in the air about a meter upwards, was an orb. Squinting through the mist, Luke shifted his gaze to that of the seer.
She was currently bowing, her hands hovering over the floating orb. Her hair was draped over her shoulder, and her face was covered in a net-like mask.
’So this is the uncanny seer,’ Luke thought as his gaze settled on hers through the undefeated one’s mask.
Trying to maintain his composure, and trying to sound powerful, he spoke.
"Why have you summoned me, uncanny seer?"
Luke’s voice was deep, enhanced by the undefeated one’s mask, bounced off the walls of the cottage, raw and unfiltered. The seer straightened slightly and spoke her report.
"Oh Ancient and Mighty undefeated one, please grant me forgiveness for interrupting your deep resting state. However, there is a crucial matter of grave importance that you absolutely must be made aware of.
Within the borders of this small, isolated village, I have personally discovered and located a hidden structure that contains and guards one of the surviving pieces of your ancient, sacred ornament.
Concealed deep within one of the faraway, isolated holes situated on the descending slopes of the local high mound, a vicious creature has merged completely with this artifact. By absorbing its core essence and mana, that entity has transformed into an incredibly powerful and terrifyingly dangerous adversary.
This nightmare has become an immense, exhausting weight on the shoulders of the local people living here, who have unfortunately become thoroughly familiar with its overbearing, cruel rule, even reaching the point where they willingly provide it with tributes.
Many have tried to kill it in these past years but they all failed, but surely you, ancient warrior, the undefeated one, would take it down effortlessly. Just as you requested years ago, I have summoned you to take back the first piece of ornament."
[The NPC, Uncanny Seer, has assigned you a quest to retrieve the ornament of the undefeated one by clearing the dungeon that had been tormenting the village for years.]
Luke got the mandatory quest notification as he quietly sighed under his mask.
**You cannot deny this quest.**
**Time limit:** 10 days.
**Failure Penalty:** Banishment to the realm of the forgotten.
**Rewards: Undefeated one’s ornament, +??? 10 levels, + class unlocking, +??? Status unlocking. Extra rewards. +???
Luke had seen the position where all this was headed, he’d have to kill a monster probably a dozen levels higher than him. How unlucky he was.
The ten levels attached to the rewards made quite a lot of sense now. However, although dismayed, Luke knew if he could somehow gain the help of the party which were going into the hole the uncanny seer spoke of, he might actually have a chance of winning.
’Well, at least that is my best shot for now.’
He noticed some words the Uncanny Seer said got him confused, and made him a bit more certain of the fact that the undefeated one had existed long before he even got the class.
However, he decided to not dwell on it, since eventually Mythos was just a game and it was not like its history was really true and had once occurred. Or had it?
Feeling a bit of clarity about the whole situation, Luke spoke, his voice immediately transformed by the undefeated one’s mask.
"Is that all?"
The uncanny seer still faced the ground as she replied with a bit of happiness and longing in her tone.
"Yes."
And with that spoken, Luke found himself in the exact same place he had been before.
Just at the front of the smelling tavern’s swinging door, nothing had really changed. The evening shade was still in the sky, the night slowly approaching.
Since he was already at the front of the tavern, Luke decided to return back. He would stay there for the night, then figure out a way to speak to the members of the party on how and why he wanted to join them without disclosing too much.
But before he entered, Luke realized that there were other taverns on the same street, and one caught his eye which looked more elegant than the rest, probably even without the smell.
The tavern which caught Luke’s attention was called ’Hill-Side Tavern’ as its exterior looked more elegant than most other taverns on the street.
[ Hill-Side Tavern Price List :
→ One night stay ( No meals included ) – 3 Bronze Coins
→ One night stay ( All meals included ) – 5 Bronze coins
→ One week stay ( All meals included ) - 20 Bronze Coins
→ Custom Stay ( Negotiable ) - Only for guests staying 3 or more nights ]
Luke read the sign board outside the tavern and immediately decided to roam around to find the prices of other taverns before deciding on one. But after his survey, he realized that most taverns charged 1-1.5 bronze coins to stay a night without a meal, and around 3 coins to stay with all meals.
While the Hill-Side Tavern was expensive if one stayed only for a day, it was comparable to other establishments if one was planning to stay for a full week, and Luke planned to do exactly that.
Entering the tavern, he peacefully approached a young woman at the front desk and requested to stay for a week. This tavern looked well-designed, almost unaffected by the "uncanny" of the village.
"That will be 20 bronze coins," the woman said with a polite bow as Luke immediately paid.
As she was sorting out the keys to give Luke, his gaze lingered on the cafeteria, which was partitioned from the main hall.
He could see various NPCs and even players, some seemed to be talking about the recent worldwide announcement, a bit bothered as competition had been the last thing on their mind now, but now they’ve been kept on their toes.
Glancing around, his eyes caught a group of people sitting closely in one part of the cafeteria, and Luke couldn’t help but wonder if they were the party Carter had spoken about.