Chapter 90
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Unmasking the Cultists
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Not long after, the manager approached.
"You ordered the Moonlight Sonata?"
"Yes."
"It's such a rare liquor that we can't bring it here. Would you mind following me for a moment?"
Jeong Hoon nodded.
The manager opened a door at the back of the tavern.
A long hallway stretched out before them, with a shimmering portal at the end.
A few guild members were waiting in the hallway.
They were chatting among themselves, but subtly keeping an eye on this side.
Ready to subdue any suspicious character immediately.
Level 210.
A level that could easily overpower most players.
What a bunch of pricks. Hey, they won't bring it. I oughta shove it right in their eyeballs.
Muk-ho grumbled, but they couldn't hear him.
"Then, have a pleasant time."
A portal connected to the Information Guild.
As soon as they stepped onto it, the portal swallowed them whole.
Their vision went dark, then brightened again.
"A back alley...?"
Ha-jin looked around.
It was a typical back alley you could find anywhere.
"We'll serve you here."
The spot the manager led them to was a three-story building.
This was the Information Guild's outpost.
Of course, they didn't enter the building itself.
Since Jeong Hoon and Ha-jin were complete outsiders, a man loitering in the alley quietly approached them.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Bruno
-Level: 175
-Job: Information Guild Member
He was a member of the Information Guild.
"Huh? Bruno, what brings you here?"
The manager greeted him like an acquaintance.
"Oh, just some business."
"I see."
"Are these guests? If so, I'll guide them. Why don't you head back?"
"Hmm? No need. It's fine."
As the manager started to say something, Jeong Hoon cut in smoothly, as if he'd been waiting.
"I'm fine with it."
"...Alright then. If that's what you say."
Since the guest was okay with it, the manager backed off without protest.
Once the manager returned through the portal, Bruno approached Jeong Hoon.
"So, what information are you after?"
"Can you tell me the origin of this note?"
Jeong Hoon handed him the note he'd received from Camel.
"Ah, this note."
It had been distributed in bulk, so Bruno naturally knew about it.
"I'll pay generously."
"Then, can I take something other than payment?"
An exclamation mark appeared over the man's head.
It meant the first quest stage was complete.
You have completed the quest.
You can now proceed to the next quest.
But Jeong Hoon didn't accept that quest.
'The end of this note quest is a total bust.'
Instead of any real gain, the temple would just lift entry restrictions as a thank-you for their trouble.
That's why no one bothered with it.
But the real honey pot started now.
Jeong Hoon struck Bruno's abdomen with the Myeongwang Fist Technique.
"Gahk!"
A change occurred.
The mask is removed.
You have met the hidden condition.
You can now identify the marks of the heretical zealots.
Along with the message about the mask being removed, the NPC's info began to change.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Bruno
-Level: 175
-Job: Heretical Zealot
His job, once Information Guild Member, was now Heretical Zealot.
"What the hell?!"
Ha-jin, watching from behind, jumped in surprise.
"I had a hunch... and it was right."
Capturing the true culprit behind the notes.
That was the key to this honey pot.
An old, abandoned house.
A place that should feel devoid of human warmth echoed with signs of life.
"What's the current situation?"
"Yes. The temple seems to be focusing on hunting down the culprit, sensing the crisis."
"It's working better than expected."
"Bruno says a flood of notes is pouring into the Information Guild."
"Kukuku. Perfect."
The notes were nonsense, but the temple couldn't ignore them.
A temple served the gods.
They couldn't overlook a threat to destroy such a sacred placethey'd hunt the culprit by any means.
"It's about time to use this."
The man pulled out a black crystal.
"Is this the gem infused with Lord Tenebris's aura...?"
These were devotees of Tenebris, not Psyche.
In simple terms, a cult.
They believed Tenebris was the one true god, usurped by Psyche through war, and that Tenebris must reclaim his rightful place.
No scriptures, and only eleven years since they began proselytizingthe Psyche Temple had branded them heretics.
"We move when Bruno gives the signal."
Bruno was both an Information Guild member and a Tenebris devotee.
They'd even tested with notes months ago for this plan.
A plan that had to succeed.
"Th-this is the place..."
They were waiting for Bruno's signal when his voice came from outside.
"Yeah?"
But Bruno wasn't alone.
"Damn it, we're made!"
"Hide!"
They scrambled to conceal themselves, but Bruno had already betrayed them completely.
"There's a hiding spot here."
Thanks to his helpful guidance, all the remnants in the shack were captured.
"Wow... what kind of nonsense is this?"
Ha-jin stuck out his tongue.
It was his first time assaulting an NPC.
And the job title changed, along with the quest.
"This has gotta have some insane rewards, right?"
"Tell me about it."
It wasn't a normal quest anymoreit had upgraded to Epic.
No more trash rewards like people said.
Whatever it was, it'd exceed imagination.
Epic Quest: Purging Some Heretics (12)
-Restriction: Heretic Devotee condition lifted
-Reward: ??
-Description: Hand over the heretical remnants to the temple.
There were only six remnants right in front of them.
Far too few to have distributed that many notes.
"Where are the rest? You can't tell me just six people spread all those notes."
Jeong Hoon questioned the bound Bruno.
"I-I don't know..."
"You don't know? You're an Information Guild member. How could you not?"
Bruno was an Apostle of Darkness, hiding his identity while working in the Information Guild.
A info handler like him not knowing something?
"I-I'm telling the truth! These grunts here were just ordered to attack the temple."
The six bound together beside him went berserk at Bruno's tail-cutting confession.
"Bruno!"
"You're just gonna spill it like that?!"
"Lord Tenebris's wrath will fall upon you!"
Jeong Hoon's gaze turned to the black crystal.
Explosion Stone
-Inject mana, and after a set time, it explodes in a 10m radius.
-Ignores holy power.
No real Tenebris powerjust a plain bomb.
As Bruno said, they were mere examples aimed at the temple.
'Tenebris, huh...'
When New World became reality, Jeong Hoon had visited various temples during his growth.
He'd never heard of Tenebris.
Meaning everything they spouted was bullshit.
That's why you shouldn't deal with cults.
Jeong Hoon dragged them to the temple.
"What are these guys? They look like a mess."
Camel, guarding the temple, glanced at the ragged bunch.
"The culprits behind the notes."
"The culprits?"
Camel narrowed his eyes at the word.
"Yes. And they had this."
Jeong Hoon handed over the Explosion Stone, twisting Camel's face in fury.
An Explosion Stone that ignored holy power.
Clearly meant to harm the temple.
"Huh? Isn't that Bruno?"
Camel recognized him.
Bruno was Information Guild, but he'd shown up at the temple often lately, getting acquainted with Camel.
"Yes. One of the note distributors."
"No way... really?"
Camel couldn't believe it.
UnderstandablyBruno had brought useful info to the temple and even prayed there.
"Yes. I've got video too."
Ha-jin pulled out the auto-recording camera and showed it.
With Jeong Hoon peeling off his mask and the job changing, Bruno no longer looked innocent to Camel.
"I see..."
Bruno couldn't lift his head.
He wanted to argue, but feared another beating from Jeong Hoon if he spoke.
'Fuck... if I had to get caught, it had to be this bad.'
Bruno had planned to just relay the situation and bail.
Being in the Information Guild made him essential to Tenebris followers.
He never expected an outsider to uncover his identity.
This wasn't in the plan.
"...I'm deeply disappointed in you."
Camel left those words, called holy knights, and dragged the heretics to the underground prison.
You have completed the quest.
Temple entry restriction lifted.
You can now proceed to the next quest.
Turning over Bruno and the remnants completed the first quest.
"Darkest under the lamp... truly grateful."
A new question mark blinked over Camel's head.
Epic Quest: Purging Some Heretics (22)
-Restriction: Epic Quest: Purging Some Heretics (12) complete
-Reward: ??
-Description: Root out the 5 heretics hiding in Merhen Capital.
The number of heretics would exceed imagination.
Rooting out 5 was simple.
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest immediately.
"We're still hunting suspects, but it's not easy. One more favorcould you root out just 5 suspected heretics?"
"Yes."
"Thank you!"
Heretic Devotees 05
As they left the temple, Ha-jin asked Jeong Hoon.
"Got a special way to spot them?"
"Yeah. Once you take the quest, marks appear on NPCs. The system guides you right to them."
A total freebie quest.
"Look, one's marked over there."
Passing the weapon shop after leaving the temple, a mark for heretic floated over a local browsing weapons.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Payrun
-Level: 104
-Job: Local Resident
But the job was Local Resident.
Without the mark, they'd have walked right past.
"Let's grab him."
Jeong Hoon approached and swiftly subdued him with Myeongwang Fist Technique.
"Gahk!"
His job changed.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Payrun
-Level: 104
-Job: Heretical Zealot
Just like with Bruno.
"Wow, it triggers just from touching them?"
"Yeah. Gotta haul them straight to the temple like this."
"...How do you know all this?"
"It's in the welcome message. Says if marks appear, subdue them yourself."
No need to hide it.
This quest style was common knowledge now.
"Oh, right."
Ha-jin scratched his head sheepishly.
After that, it was a breeze.
They nabbed one more at the weapon shop, then three more heretical devotees wandering the streets.
Heretic Devotees 55
Exactly five, handed over to the temple.
"Damn! We hid perfectlyhow'd you know?!"
"This can't be...!"
The rooted-out ones wailed in injustice as they were dragged to the underground prison.
You have completed the quest.
Level up.
All stats 1.
Bonus stat 1 granted.
Quest completion gave enough EXP for a level-up.
"Whoa! I leveled up 3 times!"
Not just oncethree whole levels.
Ha-jin hit 164, Jeong Hoon 159.
Not for nothing a hidden quest.
"This is a real honey pot, right?"
"Totally! Views are gonna explode."
Edit and upload the video to Nutube, and everyone would flock to Merhen Temple for the quest.
Levels were that hard to gain.
"But it doesn't feel over yet?"
Jeong Hoon pointed at Camel.
A red question mark blinked over Camel's head.
"Huh? For real? Even a hidden one..."
"...Hey, let's stop recording from here."
"Why?"
"Feels too serious. Let's keep this to ourselves."
"...Okay."
Ha-jin put away the camera as Jeong Hoon wanted.