The Instructor's Plight
The soldiers led me to a single dilapidated building that looked like barracks. There was no separate instructor’s quarters in sight.
“The instructor is in here.”
“……”
I kept my questions to myself. At the very least, if this was the Black Dragon Society, they wouldn’t be complete outsiders to Boa Village.
“Open it.”
“……Yes.”
Creak. The old wooden door swung open, and a chill began to seep into my fingertips. Thanks to the Golden Fox Fur Cloak, it was only a sensation, nothing more.
Defense: 25
Cold Immunity | Heat Immunity
Scorn the Weak | Immunity to physical attacks from targets with Strength below 10
Immunity to magic attacks from targets with Wisdom below 10
Increased level penalty against targets more than 10 levels higher
Immunity to physical & magic attacks from targets with stats differing by 50 or more
A masterpiece cloak crafted by a master artisan who poured their soul into it. The unique properties of the golden fox fur have been preserved. Can also be used as a blanket. Logout permitted.
“Kgh! Then I’ll take my leave!”
From the soldiers’ reactions, it was obvious this wasn’t ordinary cold. The fact that icicles had formed inside this shabby room alone defied common sense.
“……”
Once I confirmed the soldiers’ presence had faded, I slowly stepped forward.
“……Who’s there?”
Even though my footsteps made no sound and the instructor’s eyes remained closed, he detected my movement instantly. As expected, the training instructor was a powerhouse. Though bedridden, he could still sense that much. His massive frame and appearance, reminiscent of Zhang Fei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, left no room for doubt.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Kael.”
“……So it’s finally time to deal with me?”
“Not at all. The people here keep mistaking me for the Black Dragon Society, but I’m not from this place. I came from Liam.”
Only then did the instructor force one eye open and stare straight at me.
“Liam. You said Liam?”
“Yes.”
The instructor gazed at me in silence before suddenly furrowing his brow.
“……Handsome looks, black attire, and even gold ornaments. No wonder they mistook you for the Black Dragon Society. Or perhaps you really are one. I was deceived the same way before and ended up like this. Hah.”
“Still don’t believe me? This cloak—I made it from the golden fox the Liam training instructor asked me to hunt. Would you like to touch it?”
I placed the cloak directly into the instructor’s hand. A man of his strength would immediately recognize its value.
“……At least it’s not the kind of fur you’d find in this region.”
The instructor began stroking the cloak with a noticeably more relaxed expression.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Hmm. Hmmm. Hmph.”
Yet for some reason, he didn’t let go of the cloak.
“It’s warm. First warmth I’ve felt in years. I believe you. You’re not with the Black Dragon Society.”
“……”
Given the circumstances, the cloak’s Cold Immunity effect must have activated—and it applied to others as well. Probably because the cloak could also be used as a blanket.
“Hmm. This is nice. Heh.”
The situation wasn’t entirely bad. Especially since I could solve the instructor’s problem with a single item. This might even lead to a hidden quest.
“How did you end up like this? You don’t look like someone who’d fall so easily.”
“……I was poisoned by a foreigner. Even the temple’s detoxification magic didn’t work. Most of us were hit the same way. From the swordsmanship guild master, who’s at a similar level to me, down to every notable figure in Boa Village.”
“An antidote-resistant poison.”
A sense of déjà vu. It was the same as the unkillable golden fox boss. If I could find the method, detoxification should be possible. Beyond that hypothesis, another problem remained. The culprit was Chinese, of all things.
“If it’s China, maybe things are different?”
The Sichuan Tang Clan from wuxia novels, who specialized in poisons, came to mind, and modern China likely possessed real-world expertise in assassination by poison. Combined with their ties to the Black Dragon Society, the most notorious criminal organization in China, it gave me plenty to think about. Any poison that could be realized in reality would certainly work inside the game. The game even allowed magical elements to be added, and there were hidden classes capable of all sorts of bizarre techniques.
For now, I decided to move somewhere more comfortable and investigate slowly.
“Instructor, can you move? How about we change locations first?”
The entire room had frozen over from the cold radiating off the instructor. If he was feeling up to it, stepping outside for some sunlight would be better.
“I can move anytime. At this rate, I’ll recover in ten days.”
Ten days. Neither long nor short. But under the current pretense of being the Black Dragon Society, it felt like an eternity.
“Can’t you do it faster? The village is in chaos.”
“I know that much. That’s why I reassigned the soldiers elsewhere—to avoid the worst-case scenario.”
“Won’t the royal family do anything?”
“……None of the soldiers sent to report ever returned. Besides, this is the frontier. The royal family doesn’t pay much attention.”
“That’s troublesome. If foreigners flooded in, it would be quite profitable for the kingdom. It’s completely different from Liam.”
“It’s different from Liam. The foreigners here supposedly came from the kingdom called China. Most of them act no better than savages. They show not even a speck of respect for the kingdom.”
“Ah.”
“The ones who reduced me and my comrades to this state—I’ll wipe them out myself. Then I’ll report proudly to the royal family. I’ll tell them that every time the foreign criminal organizations in Boa Village revive, I’ll slaughter them again.”
The magic word “China” made it easy to accept. At the same time, I realized something. The moment the instructor recovered, Boa Village would return to normal. I was certain of it.
“Recovering your condition is the top priority, then?”
“Yes. It’ll be a long fight. In ten days, I’ll be back. And one day after that, that stubborn old man from the swordsmanship guild will recover too. That should be enough.”
The instructor was aiming for a total of twenty-one days. Even for him, the swordsmanship guild master’s assistance seemed absolutely necessary. That spoke volumes about how powerful the man was.
“Of course, I’ll need your help as well.”
Freedom for Boa Village
📍 Location: Boa Village
🎁 Reward: The Instructor’s Treasure
The hidden quest was accepted automatically. It was different from the one I received in Liam. Everything—from automatic acceptance to the time limit and reward—was clearly defined. The only vague part was “the instructor’s treasure.” There was still room to dig deeper.
“If you help me, I’ll gladly hand over my most prized treasure. Refusal is not an option.”
“May I ask what the treasure is?”
“My one and only beloved daughter. I’m glad I sent her and my wife to the capital. I’d be willing to give her to you.”
In short, he was offering his daughter’s hand in marriage. For some reason, it reminded me of the pure-love knight story. I was tempted by the growth-type armor, but our paths didn’t align. I was aiming to become an Eternal Adventurer.
“I’ll decline the reward.”
“I already said refusal isn’t an option.”
“I can still run away right now.”
“Hah. You thought that far ahead? But you won’t get far. I’ve already recovered enough strength to subdue you alone.”
His words weren’t lies. Blue mana was already leaking from the instructor’s forearms in streams.
“Still, a benefactor is a benefactor. I’ll only kill you once and take the cloak.”
I thought there was no miscommunication. But this instructor was far more direct and rough. He spoke as if I were already an item.
“I only said I’d refuse the reward. I planned to help you from the beginning. I’m aiming to become an Eternal Adventurer. I’m not thinking about marriage right now.”
“……So that’s what you meant? I misunderstood. Ahem.”
“Instead, I think I can offer more active assistance. How about this?”
Using the leather strap I’d kept, I cut off a small piece from the edge of the cloak.
“Your eye must be uncomfortable. If I make an eyepatch from this, you should receive the same Cold Immunity effect.”
The instructor still had one eye closed. It had been frozen for too long. Until he found a complete cure for the poison, the golden fox fur’s effect had to remain active.
“Oh? So it can be used that way too. You’re certainly nothing like the other foreigners I’ve seen.”
I’d brought several tough, elastic leather straps in case I needed to make a primitive slingshot. They could also serve as eyepatch strings.
Defense: 3
Cold Immunity | Heat Immunity
An eyepatch made from a small piece of golden fox fur. The reduced size removed the Scorn the Weak effect, but it now provides modest defense for the eye area.
Once again, the Cold Immunity effect was firmly attached. It was another moment that reminded me why golden fox fur was so expensive.
“Take it. With this, you won’t have to freeze anymore.”
The instructor put on the eyepatch with an admiring expression, then became lost in thought.
“Good. Until now, the best I could do was push the cold back with my heart. It was worth enduring.”
“I’m glad it works. Now let’s renegotiate.”
“Hmm? Renegotiate? Wasn’t the matter settled when we talked about restoring freedom to this village?”
“No. We still need to discuss the reward. I have to make a living too.”
If I didn’t like the hidden reward, there was another way to draw out the best compensation from him.
“I want practical, material rewards.”
This was a method I often used against the few NPCs from the previous game.