Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 130
>Chapter Title: Hidden NPC
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
A hidden NPC.
A sort of hidden piece—NPCs that couldn't be met through ordinary means.
They could only be encountered after barely fulfilling all sorts of tricky hidden conditions, so it went without saying they weren't easy to run into.
Even the Adventure King Barion had only met four of them so far.
'First one since Gamillion, so this makes two.'
And yet, he'd already met such existences twice at just level 41.
It was undoubtedly an incredible stroke of luck, but Do-hyun felt inexplicably tired.
-Escaping those outlaws was bad enough, but not having a single soul to help me... man, it was rough. At least one group managed to decipher my map, but so what? They couldn't see me and just walked right past.
"I see."
-So after agonizing over it forever, I decided to switch tactics. Leaving hints about my location wasn't cutting it.
"......Skip."
-So here's what I did... You listening?
This Jin Ruddel guy—this hidden NPC—turned out to be a nonstop chatterbox that reminded him an awful lot of Raven's Zrinna.
'Whoa... My ears are bleeding, Master.'
'Lizaliza....'
'Just give the word, my lord. I'll handle it.'
'You can't even see him.'
'Ahem....'
Even the usually talkative Jihard had thrown up both hands and feet.
Especially since they couldn't even see the guy and had to endure his nonstop tirade—it had to feel all the more exhausting.
'Weird. Sounds like other players couldn't even hear his voice.'
If his voice was audible, Jin Ruddel never would've bothered leaving codes or maps in the first place.
Was it because his master could perceive the man that the guardians could hear him too?
That seemed to fit the situation.
[The Eye of Truth activates.]
'If you're gonna show him to me, couldn't you just show him to everyone...'
It was kinda half-baked, but oh well.
Do-hyun couldn't even claim to fully understand the Eye of Truth trait himself.
At least the guardians could hear him—that was something to be grateful for.
Otherwise, he'd have had to summarize this motormouth's endless ramble.
-Ah, sorry. Been so long since I talked to another person, I lost my head. Try going years without speaking to anyone—you'd get it.
"......It's fine."
-Still, feels like I hogged the conversation. A ghost pops up outta nowhere, you gotta have questions. C'mon, your turn—say something.
Blessed are the patient, or so they said.
His superhuman restraint in fighting off the urge to deck the guy had paid off.
Do-hyun gathered his thoughts as he watched Jin Ruddel finally clamp it and prepare to listen.
'Guy yapped so frantically, hard to even sort it out.'
The only bit he'd really caught was that it'd been years since the man last spoke.
Which meant Do-hyun was the first to find him, per his words.
That was huge.
Hidden pieces were valuable in their own right, but a first-discovery hidden piece? Priceless.
'Whew.'
Do-hyun calmed his excitement and spoke evenly.
"I've got three questions."
-Oho, shoot.
First: What were these outlaws up to, and what were they after?
Second: Why was Jin Ruddel hanging around the forest, leaving traces for people to find?
The answers came quick.
-Only on nights when the full moon rises, brimming with lunar energy, can we descend to the mortal realm. Specifically, it's because of this special item their leader has...
The explanation dragged on, but boiled down to this:
The day these bastards first descended to the mortal world via that special-energy item, Jin Ruddel happened to croak.
Before he could ascend, that energy pulled him back down to the mortal plane.
Now he was stuck—a soul that couldn't stay in the land of the living or pass on to the afterlife.
-I don't know where these rotten pricks came from... but they're definitely scheming something. Looked like they were following orders from someone.
"......So that's it? You're just drifting aimlessly?"
-Psh, if that was all, it'd be a cakewalk. Nah, these guys are hellbent on catching me. The lycanthropes spot me and start barking up a storm every time... Keeps me dodging left and right—I'm plenty busy myself.
"Hm?"
Do-hyun couldn't help cocking his head at that.
These goons didn't attack unless provoked first—so why the hell was he dodging?
Unless...
-I swiped what they were prepping to offer up to their empty-headed boss.
"......"
Well, that cleared things right up.
Do-hyun nodded.
He wakes up after dying, first thing he sees are these creepy motherfuckers... and he decides to rob 'em?
'Damn if I know whether to call that ballsy or batshit crazy...'
Couldn't decide if it was epic guts or straight-up lunacy.
-Don't gawk like that. I didn't have a choice.
Did his skeptical thoughts show on his face?
Jin Ruddel sounded indignant as he defended himself.
-Overheard 'em laying out plans to storm the castle and kick off a war. And I'm just supposed to sit there? Hell no—a man's gotta act.
"......"
-Me? Already dead anyway. Figured if they nab me, big deal—just die twice. So I went for it. I'm no pro at much, but thieving? That's my jam. Heh, left 'em blind as bats. Can't even escape the damn forest.
'Lord have mercy.'
If that was true, one gutsy heist had straight-up saved the city.
Not just derailed the outlaws' plans—the theft had slapped them with all sorts of restrictions too.
A legendary hero, born from petty theft.
Judging by looks, he'd died in his early thirties. Hell of an ambition.
'......Not some two-bit thief after all—god-tier burglar?'
His image of thieves was shifting just a bit when...
-Anyway, that's the gist... So, last question—what's up?
Do-hyun snapped back at Jin Ruddel's casual shrug, straightened his expression, and answered.
"Nothing big. Just wondering if you knew how to meet the Castle Lord. I really need an audience, but he's not granting one."
Expectations? Zero, obviously.
Legendary thief worthy of the history books or not, he was still a crook at heart. Fat chance a thief knew how to score a sit-down with the lord.
Even alive, it'd be a stretch—more so now that he was a ghost.
'Not like I can afford to be choosy right now.'
Still, he'd asked anyway—pure desperation, clutching at straws.
Purely perfunctory, no real hope attached.
-Huh? Castle Lord? You mean the lord of the castle?
Had to be...
-Perfect! I was debating whether to impose anyway—now I've got no qualms!
"You know the Castle Lord?"
-Know him? He's my nephew.
"Whoa...?"
That straw had hit the jackpot.
* * *
Deep in the forest on a full-moon night.
There was a cave. Massive—one you might expect a bear to call home.
It sat right out in the open—not hard to find at all.
But nobody set foot inside.
More precisely, not on full-moon nights.
"Only a lunatic hits it on full moon."
"Rewards are the same—why risk full moon? It's not a graduation quest or anything."
"Boss stats jacked 30% higher, but EXP and drops unchanged? Total bullshit."
"And no parties allowed. Explains why they call it the brick-game sequel."
Same rewards across the board, but difficulty spiked to insane levels?
And a solo-only dungeon to boot?
Anyone dumb enough to try it was the real weirdo. Double true in God Ose, with its death penalties.
But hey—every crowd's got extenuating circumstances.
"Ah, quest deadline forcing my hand..."
"Mine's a class quest. Fuuuuck... Why full moon of all times?"
"Ugh... This is stressful. Maybe smash my gear and bounce."
Folks stuck clearing class quests or big-deal missions had no choice but to suck it up and head in.
Do-hyun was one of 'em.
-Master, you seem pretty chipper.
"Damn right I am."
Unlike the rest, though, Do-hyun's face lit up bright.
Hell, grinning so wide his mouth might split.
All thanks to the quest window floating in front of him.
[Jin's Request]
-Rarity: Rare+
-Description: Jin Ruddel—the thief who became the city's unsung hero.
Truth is, he had a secret about his birth: though excommunicated now, he used to be the uncle of the current Castle Lord of Sargis.
He says there's something he absolutely must deliver to the lord.
Catch is, it's stashed in the Shadow Lycanthrope lair.
Fetch it in his stead, as a ghost.
-Jin Ruddel's items (0 / 3)
-Success: Jin Ruddel affinity up, linked quest 'Uncle's Item' generated.
-Failure: No linked quests, quest deleted.
'Kraaah.'
Jin Ruddel.
Hidden NPC. Uncle to the Castle Lord of Sargis, no less.
-There's info that guy absolutely needs to know. Never planned to come back here, but I did—for that. Then bam, I died first. Haha!
'......Everything's great, but why's it gotta be there?'
-That's where I kicked it. Thought I'd hidden it good... but nah, ran smack into 'em. Guess you shouldn't try stuff you're not used to.
'......'
Dude had the worst luck imaginable, too.
Anyhow, Do-hyun had ended up here thanks to that request.
'Who'da thunk it'd play out like this.'
Figured he was just some legendary master thief.
Turned out he was the Castle Lord's uncle? What a VIP.
Coincidences this wild had to be fate.
Explained why Gamillion was always yapping about destiny.
'Wouldn't have been this easy normally, though.'
No guesswork there.
-I was just exposed to that weird energy, so regular folks couldn't see me right. Hell to exert any real force, too...
-Tried my damnedest to mark the item spots... But why can't they figure it out? Fine, whatever if they can't see the hints. But they go there and leave the stuff behind! Take it with you! That's how you'd spot me!
The items hidden in the cave.
It was a hidden quest that only kicked off after grabbing those.
Lycans could see ghosts, though—too spooky for most to brave it.
Jin Ruddel's frustrated tirade was still fresh in his mind.
'How the hell'd he hide 'em that nobody found squat?'
Too well concealed? Hints too half-assed? Players too dense?
Got him wondering, but whatever—didn't matter now.
Eye of Truth had snagged him the hidden quest easy as pie.
'Eye of Truth is straight broken.'
Broken didn't even cover it.
Always blew his mind, no matter how many times it saved his ass.
-But Master...
"Yeah?"
-......Isn't this place kinda crowded? Atmosphere feels off, too.
-Lizaliza...
Jihard and Eliza scanned their surroundings, asking cautiously.
They weren't wrong.
Murmur murmur—
The path here'd been dead empty, but the cave entrance crawled with people.
Weird as hell, considering full moon was prime avoidance time.
Even accounting for folks forced to clear anyway, this many? No way.
Made sense, though.
"These aren't all here for the dungeon."
Their goal wasn't the dungeon.
Ninety percent of this crowd was after something else.
-Huh? Then what?
-Liza?
-Mm.
Jihard and Eliza tilting their heads. Charlie letting out a baffled hum.
But they'd figure it out soon enough.
"Ah, f*ck! Brown again!"
"Naisa!!!"
"Hey hey, pray first, dumbass. That's why we're here."
"Oh shit, right. Thanks, man. Yellow pulls, dinner's on me."
"You got it, punk."
One guy howling like he'd been possessed by the Shit Dragon. Another dropping to his knees, rage-sobbing.
And groups praying to the full moon outside the cave.
Do-hyun snuck a glance at the bizarre spectacle—only to find himself already praying to the moon right alongside them.
-Ah.
Jihard nodded.
-So that's the weird vibe.
No wonder the atmosphere felt oddly familiar.