Hidden Quest

Hidden quest. What a heartwarming phrase.

Usually, it's something developers hide away tightly, a honey pot that only a select few veterans know about and snag easily. But in Lost Honor, we see it differently. We see it in 4D.

...Not a rotten pun. Difficult. Dangerous. Deep. And Deliciously rewarding—that's what it means.

While typical hidden quests are no-risk, high-return deals, Lost Honor's hidden quests pack all four D's: high-risk, super-duper high-return.

'Those who seek great rewards must embrace great danger... something like that.'

Of course, honestly embracing that danger is for noobs. Veterans like me develop a hyper-sharp instinct for finding exploits to dodge the risks altogether.

And that's exactly what I planned to hunt down now.

I'd already laid out the guidelines for it. First step?

—Gear power.

'Items. The essence of any RPG.'

The time it took Han Seol-ah to absorb the mana elixir? A full day. And I didn't spend it twiddling my thumbs.

'Dicking around at the crossroads of Korea's survival? That'd make me insane.'

I cashed in some assets to craft killer gear for Han Seol-ah. The pinnacle set for a frost sorcerer: the Winter Sovereign set.

And now, the final piece of that set. Time to make the 'weapon'.

I clicked the anvil, gleaming in rainbow brilliance, and kicked off the crafting.

A red warning blanked my screen. In this mode, screw up and it's not the weapon that explodes—your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠character's head does. Death in Lost Honor means character deletion, so tanking that risk for crafting is way too huge.

But.

To craft a Genesis-grade item, you gotta take the risk. And anyway.

Just don't screw up.

"With my skills, it's no risk."

Time to show off my true craftsmanship.

* * *

"Heh."

After grinding through the boring, pretentious crafting minigame.

Flawless. Zero mistakes.

Flash!Bam-bam-bam!

I swiped away the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over-the-top alerts. There, on the anvil, lay the staff.

Carved from transparent ice crystals, with aurora-hued chill coiling serpent-like along its length.

A Genesis-grade item exclusive to frost sorcerers—the Frost Sorcerer. Eternal Winter.

Genesis-grade weapons in the world? Just five now, including this fresh one. Each wields unique power, meaning this is the only weapon fit for a frost sorcerer's peak.

"Basically the endgame item."

Its specs? Dazzling.

"Lemme check how it turned out."

Magic attack boost, frost attack boost, mana regen speed... and on.

"Even a receipt wouldn't be this long."

The options scrolled endlessly. Even stuff you'd think, 'Does it really have this?'—yep.

'Skip the basics.'

For Genesis-grade, this novel-length receipt is just table stakes. The real deal?

'Genesis Trait.'

The broken passive skill exclusive to Genesis items. Aptly named Genesis Trait.

'Did it attach right?'

Yep. Perfect.

'As expected of me.'

The man who tolerates no mistakes....

[Ugh...]

Right then, Han Seol-ah recovered from her collapse with a gasp and finally came to.

"Time for your gifts."

I started dropping items one by one in front of her.

"Crown of Absolute Zero."

Headpiece of the Winter Sovereign set.

"Ice Cape of the Snowstorm Lord."

Her mantle.

"Frostscale Lamellar. Bracelet of Icy Pact. Roar of the Winter God."

Top, wrists, belt.

"Greaves of the Ice Citadel. Shoes of Eternal Ice."

Legs and feet.

Seven crimson pillars of mythic-grade light shot up. Han Seol-ah alternated stares between the scattered gear and my character.

Her eyes wide. Nostrils flaring slightly, breath quickening. Face flushing.

'Why this?' mixed with 'For me?'

She backed up a few steps.

She watched cautiously. Seeing my character not move, she unleashed a barrage of 90-degree bows in gratitude.

She scooped up the items and started equipping from the shoes, careful as could be.

Each piece invigorated her; she let out endless gasps of awe.

Once all seven were on, Han Seol-ah looked every bit the sovereign ruling the Arctic.

'Cute.'

"One more to go."

The heart of the Winter Sovereign set. The Genesis-grade staff, Eternal Winter.

I dragged the radiant staff from inventory and dropped it.

A rainbow pillar bloomed before Han Seol-ah.

"Take it, Han Seol-ah. Seize your destiny...."

And.

She fainted again at the sight.

"...Huh?"

* * *

God exists.

In the darkness, Han Seol-ah thought so.

'Oh, I passed out.'

Mindscape space. That's what she called this place she sometimes visited when asleep, fainted, or unconscious.

'Why'd I faint?'

Recalling, she remembered mumbling about 'god'.

Holy radiance. Beautiful light surely emanating from the god himself. Not an artifact—a divine relic!

Seeing it, tension melted, snapping her mind.

Like a fuse blowing from overload, causing a blackout.

Why the tension? Obvious.

Shiver— Han Seol-ah trembled unwittingly.

Dropped into this world, she'd faced a terrifying being. Human in form, but not in aura.

Its black armor emitted hair-raising wails instead of clanging metal.

Its breath reeked of malice numbing the mind.

An ominous aura of blood and killing intent.

Its 'strength'? On another level entirely.

The air itself crushed down, lungs aching with every breath.

Primitive terror that grotesque tentacles would erupt from that abyssal helm to devour her whole.

Just knowing such a horror existed made her mind scream.

Being near it drove her mad. Cosmic horror, pure.

Seeing the familiar frost mana relic eased her tension.

'Still, gotta wake up.'

She knew how to leave: focus, imagine opening eyes.

'Hah!'

—Eyes snapped open.

'KyaAAAAAH!!!'

"Guh."

Seeing it staring down at her, she fled back to mindscape.

'S-s-scaryYYYY!!!'

Her mind fracturing....

Tap.Tap.

Mindscape quivered. The being outside called. Wake up. Or else....

'W-w-wake up!!!'

"Guk."

'P-please...!'

"Keruk."

* * *

...After several rounds of waking and fainting.

I slapped on a mental protection buff, and she finally stabilized—barely.

Gasping wildly, body quaking—was she really 'awake'? Debatable.

"Hey, listen. What're you doing?"

But Han Seol-ah just knelt before the staff, bowing nonstop, too scared to touch it.

She muttered some alien tongue.

"What's going on here?"

Even the system couldn't parse the dialect, spitting garbled strings. Text flickered like 10x fast-forward.

Then, finally, translation kicked in.

'Praying?'

Her freakout lasted another 10 minutes. Trembling like aspen leaves, sweating buckets, she finally asked where the bathroom was.

I pointed; she bolted, bathed, and returned.

Silver hair glistening damp, pale hands extended reverently like grasping a holy relic.

"Cute."

With utmost piety, she gingerly lifted Eternal Winter.

As if it'd shatter, she caressed the staff tenderly.

I scooped her up with it.

And opened a portal right away.

—We emerged into a snowy wasteland.

The world's far north. Teeming with frost-attribute monsters.

I led Han Seol-ah across the hunting grounds.

Roooar!—

The zone boss, sensing intruders, dove in with a roar: Frost Dragon.

A trash mob in Lost Honor. But understandable mix-up—looks just like the real-world 'Ice Dragon' the Hunter Association named.

"...Hold up."

...Han Seol-ah crossed into the game.

Does that mean game entities can cross to reality too? Monsters' specs match perfectly...

'Nah, probably not.'

While I spaced out, she froze in terror.

"Aigoo."

Terror as a debuff, yet her face blank. Battle-hardened from frontlines—knows she can't falter.

"Good girl, Han Seol-ah."

I dispelled the CC (Crowd Control) lightly with mental shield.

Click.

One skill nuked the charging Frost Dragon.

"This ain't an Ice Dragon."

Ice Dragon is too grand for Frost Dragon trash. The real one's elsewhere.

'You'll meet it soon.'

At the northernmost edge loomed a massive black gate.

The Otherworld Gate. Sacrifice offerings to summon boss-tier powerhouses from other realms for raids.

"Found it."

The gate yawned wide, swallowing me and Han Seol-ah.

Instantly, the field shifted to an ice cavern.

Grrrrowl—predator's rumble played.

Blue Dragon: Strongest water-line dragonkin.

Ancient: Oldest among Blue Dragons.

Lord: Mightiest of all Ancients.

Combining these, bestowed the elemental name in reverence: Ice Dragon (ice dragon) Skazaha.

Worlds apart from Frost Dragon—like worm to dragon.

—ROOOAR!!

"Whoa, check that presence."

Just facing it drained my character's mana chunk. Han Seol-ah's mental barrier strained against the intimidation.

Ah, my character has mental immunity—no effect.

"This is the real Ice Dragon."

Skazaha unleashed its presence roar, then glared silently. Battle not started yet.

Thud.

I tossed a different elixir in front of her. Red one—for HP boost.

She gulped it trustingly.

Flash!—Effect faded; her eyes widened.

Thud. Another, farther.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Farther still.

Flash! Flash!

Like a hamster pecking sunflower seeds, she gathered and chugged them, unwittingly slipping into Skazaha's aggro range.

System message popped; a house-sized translucent dome barrier enclosed her and Skazaha.

Han Seol-ah, pale as snow, whipped around.

"Go, Han Seol-ah!"

—KUOOOOOH!!

Boss fight on. Maxed speakers boomed majestic Ice Dragon roar.

Panic mode. Makes sense. Even weaker Frost Dragons resist frost heavily. But Skazaha? Perfect frost immunity—zero damage from frost magic.

A Frost Sorcerer can't ever hurt Skazaha with frost.

—Impossible win.

Natural conclusion. Even at EX-rank mana, odds zero.

How's a frost mage beating a frost-immune foe?

'...This is the shadow of doom Korea will face someday.'

...But now?

Zero danger. Zero chance of loss.

Because she holds Eternal Winter.

'...Though she doesn't know it yet.'

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Skazaha charged fast.

Her response? Swift. Composed her cool facade.

Whoosh! Staff thrust forward.

"That's it."

Giving up ain't her.

Her ace.

Vreeee—!

Azure mana swirled before the staff; in a blink, a head-sized ice orb formed!

Odd casting feel made her hesitate.

Whoosh!

Invisible-speed orb hit Skazaha.

BOOM!

It... exploded Skazaha dead.

"There we go."

Genesis-grade power.

The Genesis Trait I imbued on Eternal Winter:

Frost Dragon's 'frost resistance'? Skazaha's 'frost immunity'? Meaningless here.

Ignores all resistances and immunities, deals straight damage.

But that's baseline.

'If that was it, it'd just be immunity pierce.'

Monsters innately resist magic.

Absolute Zero ignores even that.

Plus Genesis-grade busted buffs galore.

Nothing blocks Han Seol-ah's magic now.

"Proof complete."

And as predicted.

—Hidden quest cleared.

* * *

Lost Honor's quest window ain't user-friendly. Just lists name, objective, reward. Done.

Pulling value from this barebones list? Player's skill.

Reread the window.

Awakening Han Seol-ah to EX seems to wrap the urgent epic quest.

But pros spot the gap.

I fed her mana elixirs, hit EX-rank.

—Does that save Korea from doom?

'No way.'

Answer: No.

Her frost specialization—and limit—means unbeatable bosses will arise again.

So the epic's surface goal is just that: surface. Like a starting line.

Why this goal? The quest name's true aim.

Save Korea from the Brink of Annihilation

...Not just make her EX. Give ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her the power to save Korea.

That's the real purpose. The hidden piece.

That's why I led her to Skazaha.

To handle the Difficult. Dangerous. Deep.

...And snag that Delicious reward on the side.

'She gets Genesis gear, I get hidden reward. Win-win.'

"Let's see what we got."

"...Awakening Plus?"

'How OP does this make my character?'

I hit complete and claim.

Ding!—

"...Huh?"

The alert was weird. Not in-game, on the monitor.

Floating before my real eyes. Ha Seong-un's eyes, in reality.

"...What the?"

Hallucination? My mind finally crossed from 'normal' to 'insane'?

"Gasp!"

That instant, bone-chilling frost mana surged through my body.

Vision blurred.