‘Wow.......’
While supporting the wagon from the side as it seemed ready to topple over at any moment, Ivelin could not help but be amazed.
CLANG─!!
The crisp parry sound effect vibrated through the wagon.
That sound effect was the reason Ivelin had no choice but to admire him.
“KRRrrRR──!!!!!”
The wolf carrying a goblin howled as it rushed in. And Kylo countered it with an utterly calm expression.
CLAAAANG─!!
“Khihihhing!”
Unable to withstand the recoil of the parry, the wolf and Goblin Rider were flung backward as one.
‘He really does parry like it’s nothing!’
At the PVP scene, everyone around had been shocked by nearly ten consecutive parries.
But what about now?
CLAAAANG─!!!
Kylo had already performed more than twenty parries in total as if it were nothing.
And this time, the conditions were even harsher.
‘How can he push the wagon with one hand and receive everything with parries using the other?’
The Goblin Riders pursuing them continued to respawn, and their numbers had already exceeded ten.
Whenever more than ten Goblin Riders attacked irregularly.
CLAAAANG!!
Kylo parried them as if it were nothing.
While still pushing the wagon with one hand!
And that was not all.
CRACK!
From time to time, Kylo also threw potions again to keep the Goblin Riders in check.
If the potions hit, all they would do was restore HP, but in reality, that did not happen.
The Goblin Riders’ AI tried to dodge thrown objects unconditionally. Therefore, Kylo’s potions only disrupted the Goblin Riders’ attacks and never restored their HP instead.
‘He’s throwing them all deliberately.......’
It was an exquisite application.
He was substituting other items in a situation where there were no throwing weapons, and he was even toying with the monsters’ AI!
On top of that, because of the throwing checks, the Goblin Riders could not target the wagon or Ivelin, and their attack routes were limited.
The only zone where the monsters’ attacks were allowed, unaffected by his checks,
was behind the wagon, where Kylo did not throw potions to keep them in check.
CLAAAANG!!
And the attacks of the Goblin Riders that approached from behind were all received by Kylo’s parries.
Was that all?
SLAAAASH!!
“KirraaARRRrrrrr?!?!!”
Kylo did not miss even the occasional opening to counterattack. The Goblin Riders who received counterattacks between parries toppled over just like that.
Even though it was a situation where he had to unilaterally receive the monsters’ attacks.
‘And he’s doing this at level 1.......’
On top of that, Kylo still had more than enough composure.
“I think we’re about halfway there, so please hold on a bit longer!”
“Y-yes!”
Far from merely having composure, he even encouraged Ivelin, who was only supporting the wagon from the side.
However.
‘Can we really hold out......?’
Even Ivelin, who had experienced Kylo’s overwhelming strength, could not help but wonder whether this quest could truly be completed.
The quest was too one-sided.
They had to forcibly carry a broken wagon while only blocking Goblin Riders that continuously respawned.
And the number of Goblin Riders was only continuing to increase.
The twenty or so currently attacking the wagon were not the end.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE......!
Far away, another pursuit squad was kicking up dust and running toward them.
“Ah, over there! Kylo! More monsters are coming!”
Ivelin urgently informed him of the situation.
And that was not all.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE......!
From the opposite direction, in front of the wagon, tremors began to be felt as well.
“Ah, from the front too!”
They were truly trapped between a rock and a hard place. If the situation was this bad, wouldn’t even Kylo be unable to block any more?
“I-it’s over now!”
When the flustered Ivelin cried out like that.
“Don’t worry.”
Kylo responded in an extremely calm voice.
“H-huh?”
“The quest is a success.”
While parrying another Goblin Rider that charged in, Kylo declared that.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE......!
And before long, when the group of monsters approaching from afar drew near,
Ivelin understood what Kylo had meant.
***
Protection-type quests mostly tended to flow rather loosely due to the nature of protecting something from monster attacks.
If it was a siege, that was at least better, but at the individual level, they usually dragged on.
The one fortunate thing was that this quest was one of the occasional protection-type quests where a “gimmick existed.”
[A base scout has witnessed the commotion!]
[Patrolmen have departed from the base!]
[Survive until the patrolmen arrive!]
When we had arrived about halfway and the Eighth Supply Base came back into view, a quest message appeared.
‘So this is a quest where NPCs intervene from about the middle.’
CLANG!
Once I was certain of that, I felt relieved inside and focused on protecting the wagon.
If NPC intervention changed the state of the battle, it would become possible to move forward while simply dealing with the monsters.
However, the NPC intervention happened in a form that exceeded my expectations.
“There!”
“Kylo!”
“It’s Kylo!”
The group running from in front of the wagon were not monsters, but NPCs.
[Reputation at the Eighth Supply Base is at maximum!]
[NPCs will cooperate with full force!]
[Eighth Supply Base Elite Guards have arrived!]
And they were even NPCs with the name Elite Guards attached to them.
‘Do the NPCs who join here change depending on reputation?’
I had learned another interesting hidden element.
“We will assist you!”
“Vanguard, charge! Rearguard, protect Kylo!!”
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE─!!
The cavalry charge literally smashed the incoming Goblin Rider group apart. The goblins and wolves that had chased us so persistently collapsed in an instant.
And that was not all.
“This wagon is......?”
“Is it carrying important goods?”
“Yes.”
“We will help!”
The NPCs even attacked themselves to help push the broken wagon.
“Kylo, excuse me, but may I ask what this wagon is?”
Only the person who seemed to be the unit commander properly asked me about the wagon’s identity.
“At the blacksmith’s request, I recovered tools that had been abandoned on the battlefield. What is loaded on the wagon are those tools, and the bodies of dwarves who seem to be the blacksmith’s companions.”
“You recovered weapons from a battlefield where evil energy and poison linger? And even the bodies of artisans?”
At that, the unit commander and the other NPCs showed visibly large reactions.
“Through the battlefield overnight.......”
“And even an entire lost supply wagon......!”
“As expected of our base’s hero!”
[Reputation within the Eighth Supply Base increased!]
[Reputation at the Eighth Supply Base is already at maximum!]
[Morale of Eighth Supply Base NPCs increased!]
Recovering the wagon seemed to be a more important trigger than I had expected. Here, my reputation rose by one more stage.
Though since my reputation was already at maximum, it did not mean much.
“Should we move it to the armory?”
“Yes.”
“Please leave the rest of the transport to us!”
Surprisingly, from here on, the guard NPCs who had rushed over carried the wagon for us.
Ivelin and I were finally able to take our hands off the wagon.
All that remained was walking back to the base together with the soldiers transporting it.
Since we had chased away all the pursuing monsters, we only had to walk leisurely. Compared to earlier, it was practically a rest period.
“Whew, that was really hard!”
After the wagon pushing ended, Ivelin spoke while fanning themselves wildly with their hand as if sweating.
......But did that really help them calm down when they were wearing a helmet that did not even show their face?
“It’s strange. Even though it’s a game, when I do tiring movements, it feels tiring, and I feel like my body heats up too! It even feels like I’m sweating.”
“They say you feel sensations like that in proportion to the amount of stamina remaining and the amount of strength used. You can adjust it in Settings too. Though they don’t tell you that even in the tutorial.”
“Aha.”
In the end, it was a game, so it could not bring over all the fatigue of reality. The fatigue and pain you could feel in the game only went as far as making the game’s fun stand out.
Even then, this system of feeling fatigue was divisive, so everything could be adjusted in the options.
I still preferred settings where the five senses remained as much as possible, but when doing simple-labor quests like this, I did end up considering disabling sensation.
It was fine while doing it, but when you logged out and woke up in the VR capsule, there were times when your body was drenched in sweat.
“Still, I really didn’t expect the ones coming from the front to be allied NPCs! I thought it was all over.......”
“It surprised me too. It’s a relief there was a rescue measure for everything.”
“It really is!”
In truth, I had somewhat guessed it, but I did not say it because it was only a guess. Still, it was probably quite a fun experience for this armor newbie.
“Kylo is returning!”
While we chatted briefly like that, we were soon able to return to the Eighth Supply Base.
GRRK, GRRK, GRRRRRRK──
As we followed the wagon the NPCs were pushing into the Eighth Supply Base, the world crackled and slowed again.
Then the players inside the base appeared once more.
The NPC interactions from transporting the wagon and the players who appeared again had once more overloaded my VR capsule.
‘Once I save some money from a part-time job, should I change my VR capsule?’
I had underestimated it because it was an old game, but perhaps because various updates had been added over the years, the game was heavier than expected.
I missed the comfort of playing without loading or lag.
“What is that......?”
“A wagon?”
“NPCs are moving it.......”
“Was there a hidden route like that?”
“It wasn’t in Yang Pinpin’s guide?”
“It wasn’t in the guide uploaded to Kibble’s channel either.......”
“Wait, isn’t that the person who was talking about the hidden route with Yang Pinpin earlier?”
“Huh, it really is?”
The nearby players began murmuring after seeing us again.
Well, it was not a common hidden route. It was a hidden route I would have passed over too if not for Ivelin’s newbie-like perspective.
“Kylo, I think you’re really amazing. A real game expert really is different.”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
When Ivelin suddenly let out that admiration, I was dumbfounded and asked back.
“No, look. We’re bringing this wagon, and everyone else is admiring it, right? With the medal too, it seems like you know so many things other people don’t!”
“......No. This is a hidden route we found thanks to you, Ivelin.”
“Uh, me?”
This newbie did not seem to realize at all that they had discovered a hidden element.
“But in the end, you solved everything, Kylo, and I just watched from beside you and did it with you. Isn’t that what makes you amazing?”
“If you do similar hidden elements yourself, you’ll adapt quickly too, Ivelin.”
In Elysium, imagination was more important when it came to finding hidden elements.
I was a fairly stagnant old user too, but in the end, there were still many hidden elements outside my specialty that I did not know.
Maybe Ivelin had more talent than me when it came to finding hidden elements. In the arena, though, they would not stand a chance.
In any case, while chatting like that, we soon arrived at the smithy.
“Should we leave it here, Kylo?”
“Yes, thank you for your work.”
“Not at all!”
“If Kylo had not defeated the [Medusius Serpent], not only the retreating soldiers, but the base itself would have been in danger!”
“......”
One soldier’s guess was so sharp it felt like a line that had crossed the fourth wall.
In truth, in the branch I had taken for this hidden quest, if I failed to kill the [Medusius Serpent], even the base wall would be smashed to pieces by the [Medusius Serpent]’s breath.
Had the developers put that line into the AI for laughs?
“In any case, we will take our leave now!”
“If there is anything you need, please call us again!”
The NPCs who had moved the wagon left to return to their work. With fewer NPCs, the load on my VR capsule decreased again and things became a bit more comfortable.
“No, you two... What is all this?”
Soon, Kelvin, having noticed the commotion, appeared from inside the smithy.
“This is......!”
Then, the moment he saw the wagon placed near the entrance of the smithy, his complexion changed.
“You brought the whole wagon? Ohhh, how could such a thing.......”
“Look inside.”
Toward Kelvin, who was admiring the wagon alone, I spoke lightly.
“Inside?”
Because he was a short dwarf, Kelvin had to practically hang from the wagon, whose foothold had broken, to look inside.
“This is......!”
“They’re your companions, aren’t they?”
“Do not tell me you deliberately transported my companions’ bodies?”
“That’s right. We thought it would be good if you could at least hold their funeral yourself and honor their souls.”
Ivelin answered in a sincerely immersed tone.
“......Thank you.”
Kelvin expressed his gratitude in a trembling voice. Still hanging from the wagon’s threshold, he seemed to be barely holding back his sobs.
I was inwardly admiring this development I had never seen before when it happened.
[‘Necromancer’s Soul Fragment’ reacts.]
‘Huh?’
Once again, the item in my inventory reacted, and silver light began surrounding my body.
And that was not all.
VWOOOOOM......!
This time, silver light also flowed out from inside the smithy. It meant that several event items were reacting to the current situation!
WHOOOOSH!
Then silver mana circled around the wagon and once again took the form of ghosts. Kelvin, who had been hanging from the wagon, fell away from it, stepped backward, then toppled over onto his back.
Before the fallen Kelvin, the silver mana transformed into complete ghostly forms.
Three ghosts. The ghosts of dwarven blacksmiths who had been his companions.
“A-ahhh......! Owen! Finley! Eric!”
Kelvin, looking at the sight, let out a gasp and muttered what seemed to be names. Were they the names of the dead dwarf ghosts?
─Ohhhhh, this is.......
─The young man safely sent us to the side of our kin.......
─Hmmmm......?
─Is that not Kelvin......!
─You were alive.......
─Good, good indeed......!
The dwarf ghosts, having regained consciousness, saw Kelvin and each let out a sigh of relief.
In contrast, Kelvin could not hold back at the sight of the dwarf ghosts and sobbed as he shed tears.
“I am sorry, everyone. I am sorry....... We swore to die honorably together and contribute to humanity’s survival, yet I alone remain in such shame.......”
─Do not do that, Kelvin.......
─Was this not something we agreed to do with our lives on the line from the beginning?
─If anything, we are the pathetic ones....... We ended our lives without even displaying the skill we had trained until now, without even tending to weapons.......
WHOOOOSH......!
As if the brief reunion were regrettable, the ghosts’ bodies shook again. As if they would disappear at any moment.
─There are mountains of things I want to say.......
─But it seems time is short.......
─Our tools, the masterpieces we desperately made until now.......
─We entrust them all to you, Kelvin.......
“......I understand. I will take responsibility and return your heirlooms to your families. And with your tools, I will certainly create weapons that contribute to humanity.”
─Thank you, friend. Thank you.......
“What are you saying.......”
─And lastly, we have just one more request.......
As if preparing for their final farewell, the dwarf ghosts prepared a new will.
The dwarf ghosts’ final words that followed were entirely unexpected.
─Your smithy.......
─It is quite shabby, but I see a sword within it that holds strong power.
─The power of that Soul Stone allows us to remain in the present world, if only briefly.
─If it is a weapon of that caliber, then surely it is more than enough to hold our souls.......
“You all, do not tell me......?”
─Yes.......
At last, the gazes of the dwarf ghosts turned toward me.
─We do not yet intend to fall into eternal sleep like this.
─Our battle spirits swore to fight the demonic legions.
─Therefore, let us become part of a sword that will drive out evil.
‘What?’
They wanted me to let them become part of the sword. The event was flowing in a direction I had never imagined at all.
Could it be that this hidden event did not simply end with showing an additional event?
“Um, what exactly does that mean?”
When Ivelin asked, unable to understand the situation, Kelvin slowly shifted his gaze toward his ghostly companions, Ivelin, and me.
“The souls of my companions wish to follow you.”
Then Kelvin, seeming to have finally decided, looked straight at me and began explaining.
“By dwelling in your sword.”
The moment Kelvin conveyed his companions’ intent.
[Saved the souls of the dwarven blacksmiths!]
[Deliverer of Souls!]
[Hidden objective completed!]
[Quest completion reward granted!]
Together with the message announcing quest completion, the most important reward in this hidden quest began to be granted.
[The battle spirits fallen on the battlefield dwell in the ‘Sword of the Lost Battlefield’ and regenerate it!]
As the key item for clearing the hidden scenario.