"A Nun Foreigner I saved gave it to me."
"A Nun? You were teaming up with Merushi in the video! Damn it, my eyes were completely glued to Merushi back then!" Flying Brick violently grabbed his head, using so much force that he even inflicted damage on himself.
Merushi? Was that the name of the Nun Foreigner? Blaze silently noted the name down while offering the ticket in his hand to Flying Brick.
"If you do me this favor, I’ll give you this ticket—"
"Wait!" Flying Brick raised his hand with a solemn expression, stopping Blaze in absolute earnest.
"Merushi gave you this ticket as a token of gratitude, so she definitely expects you to be the one showing up with it.
"A real man, a true solo-stan will rely on his own skills to earn the chance to meet his idol!"
For a fleeting moment, Blaze hallucinated a magnificent scene of ocean waves crashing against a towering cliff right behind Flying Brick.
"No, I was just planning to show you what the ticket looks like so you wouldn’t be completely clueless." Blaze put the ticket back into his inventory. Just as he said, he only intended to give Flying Brick a glimpse of it.
After all, this was for the Epidaurus Theater. Legend had it that the nobles of the Dark World, Ancient Races, and even Dragon Species would attend in human forms just to experience the Purification and enhancement that the breathtakingly beautiful singing would bring to their bodies. Thus, even the nobles of the Human Kingdom were not guaranteed an admission ticket.
Besides, he couldn’t actually regift a token of appreciation to someone else.
"However, if I see the Nun again, I’ll let her know there’s a real man... uh, a solo-stan like you, who’s been silently supporting her in his own way."
Flying Brick, who had already gone dark and drawn his weapon in an attempt to make Blaze drop the admission ticket as loot, quietly sheathed his weapon and dropped to his knees before Blaze in near-reverence.
"Thank you."
Blaze patted the spot beside him, this time inviting Flying Brick to sit.
"Now, can we discuss the details of the quest I want to entrust to you?"
"I’m listening, I’m listening! I’d go through hell and high water for you!"
"It’s not actually that dramatic." Blaze paused, wondering where to begin. "Do you know about the recent incident in the Golden Tree Sea?"
"I’ve heard about it. Rumor has it that the Golden Tree Sea is currently rejecting all Life from entering. You can only leave, not enter." Flying Brick put on a serious expression.
The Golden Tree Sea was a completely independent world formed by the Tree of Life, and it was also home to the largest Elf Tribe. It contained an unimaginably massive amount of resources, special storylines, special items, and special NPCs.
So far, only players who had completed the questline guided by the Hunter’s [Forest Blessing] or the special storyline of the randomly appearing Ancient Race—the Elves—would be invited inside.
Some players, furious upon discovering they couldn’t return after leaving the Golden Tree Sea, had filed reports and complaints, only to be informed that there was no system glitch.
Blaze relayed to Flying Brick how the Evil God’s Blood in the Hundred-Womb Ganges was causing Erosion to the forest, and how the Tree of Life had sealed off all pathways to protect the Golden Tree Sea, as well as the matter regarding the forest’s Traitors.
"The Beast Kings and their offspring? That’s a bit troublesome. They sound like enemies that can only be defeated in an ultra-large-scale raid." Flying Brick crossed his arms and tilted his head up in dismay. "I definitely can’t do it alone. The guild’s main force is completely fixated on *that* right now, so they probably won’t be willing to divert their attention to a quest they can’t monopolize... Ah."
As if struck by a brilliant idea, Flying Brick snapped his fingers and extended his right hand toward Blaze.
"Black Beast Knight Blaze, let’s make an Exchange. Our guild will accept your commission. In return, you’ll need to help us defeat a Monster."
"Deal." Blaze didn’t hesitate. He high-fived Flying Brick’s palm to seal the deal. At the same time, a notification for successfully accepting the quest appeared before Flying Brick’s eyes.
[Special Quest: The Night Watcher Seeking the Stars]
[The Traitors in the Hundred-Womb Ganges have sensed the birth of the Night Watcher, and they will awaken one after another. Defeat their offspring, entrust the remnants of the stars to the Night Watcher, and wait for this night sky to be illuminated by the stars once more.]
[Obtained Special Status: Night Watcher’s Guidance]
[Night Watcher’s Guidance: Higher probability of encountering the Nemean Lioness in the middle reaches of the Hundred-Womb Ganges.]
"Alright, I’ll go report this to Sis—*cough*—the Boss. Do you want to come with me?"
"No, I still have some things to do." Blaze glanced at the chicken quietly squatting to the side. The little guy had been completely still this whole time, but it would occasionally peek over at them.
This chicken had insisted on lowering its own status to sign a contract with him all for the Night Watcher Profession’s special ability, which allowed deceased souls to grow once again.
Although the chicken didn’t bring it up, Blaze knew it was actually very eager to test out the Night Watcher’s Skill. If he were to leave with the Foreigner now, he definitely wouldn’t have time to do so anytime soon.
"Hmm, I figured as much. But that’s for the best. That woman would definitely try to exploit a bug, lock you up in the guild, and force-feed you experience like a goose being fattened for slaughter until you were strong enough to fight *that*." Flying Brick didn’t push the matter and even sighed in relief. "By the way, if we want to find you, what should we do? Do you have any contact methods?"
"During the day, I’ll be around Balkan City, and at night, I’ll be in the forest beside the Hundred-Womb Ganges. I’ll be hunting Titan Hybrids in these two places for the near future," Blaze answered after mulling it over for a moment.
"Those two places are a bit dangerous. Even though you can undergo resurrection, I really don’t want to risk the quest failing if you die." Flying Brick muttered to himself as he opened his inventory and frantically scrolled through it, seemingly searching for something. "Ah, found it."
Blaze felt a sudden weight in his hands as a pile of items materialized in his grasp.
[Supreme Red Potion * 10]
[Effect: Recovering Health by 100% and converting any excess health into Shield Value.]
[Emergency Escape Device * 5]
[Effect: Can instantaneously disengage from the battlefield upon use.]
[Death Replacement Scarecrow * 2]
[Effect: Bears any negative status effects aside from instant death on behalf of the wielder.]
These were all items Blaze had only ever heard of in rumors. Only so-called Late Stage Foreigners could obtain them.
"It’s a pity I left in such a hurry and left all the useful stuff in the guild’s warehouse. Otherwise, I would’ve definitely armed you to the teeth."
Flying Brick sighed in regret, but Blaze already found this haul to be excessively absurd. A single Supreme Red Potion was equivalent to an extra life, and Flying Brick had just handed him ten extra lives in one go.
With great effort, Blaze stored all the items into his inventory and voiced his thanks, but Flying Brick waved it off dismissively.
Before Blaze could even marvel at whether this was the demeanor of a true Powerhouse, Flying Brick lowered his voice and spoke sheepishly.
"I don’t actually need a chance to meet her either. Just ask Merushi to record a voice message encouraging me, and that’ll be enough."