Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 25 An Absurd Quest (Part 2)

“I’m a woman. This will not work on me. Like I said, I’m looking for a way to leave this place. I don’t care about anything else.” Ye Ci pursed her lips.

The Mermaid was not happy with Ye Ci’s words. She shot her a glare, “Fine! If you can fix my harp, I’ll get you out of here.”

Ye Ci’s eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the harp. Even if I can acquire the materials to repair the harp, is there someone who can fix it on this damn island? and she immediately voiced out her concern to the Mermaid.

The Mermaid nodded after a brief moment of thought, “You’re right. There’s nothing but some very ugly creatures here. You won’t be able to find someone who can fix my harp.”

And the mermaid continued, “Alright then, there’s a person named Dalufar living by the Kalidar Volcano, and he has a harp. If you can bring me the harp, I’ll get you out of this place.”

“The Kalidar Volcano?” Ye Ci was confused. What is this place?

The Mermaid chuckled when she noticed the confusion on Ye Ci’s face, and pointed at something behind her. Ye Ci shifted her gaze to the direction, and saw a towering mountain covered with lush green plants. It looked nothing like what Ye Ci expected a volcano to be. “That mountain is the Kalidar Volcano?”

“Of course. It has always been known as such ever since my birth.”

“But it doesn’t look like one.” Ye Ci immediately voiced out her doubt. She was never able to treat the Mermaid with respect.

Ye Ci could clearly see the bewilderment on the Mermaid’s face as she pursed her lips and continued after a short moment, “Anyways, that mountain right there is the Kalidor Volcano, and you’ll find a guy named Dalufar there. The only thing you need to do is to bring me his harp.”

Just then, a system notification appeared in Ye Ci’s view.

You have triggered the quest “The Mermaid’s Harp.” Would you like to accept the quest?

“Yes”

No shit! I won’t be able to leave this damned island if I don’t accept the quest!

“Alright, I’ll be awaiting your good news.” the Mermaid stood up and walked towards the sea with awkward steps before gracefully jumping into the water with a loud splash.

What an absurd quest.

All the NPCs in Fate are unique, but they’re all driven by logic. This Mermaid seems to be the odd one out! Even the quest that she gave out was absurd! If I was not the one who ran into the Mermaid… If I did not react the way I did… Will the quest be triggered? thought Ye Ci to herself.

Of course, Ye Ci knew that it was not the time to ponder upon such matters. She stared up at the Kalidar Volcano. Even if the volcano seemed to be inactive at first glance, Ye Ci knew that it would not be easy to locate Dalufar. After all, a quest from a lvl120 NPC was never easy.

I have no other choice. Ye Ci took in a deep breath, I have to search for the harp.

The Western Continent.

Genesis guild.

Silent Hymn stared at Absalom, “So… Have you thought of unlocking the quest lock?”

Absalom creased his eyebrows. He was slightly hesitant about the topic, “Have you heard about the thing that is going on in the Eastern Continent?”

“Yup. I’ve seen it in the forums. Even if it’s not a very hot topic, but people are already starting to grow suspicious. I’m not sure how long the mining fever in the Eastern Continent will stop.” Silent Hymn nodded. He could understand the reason behind Absalom’s hesitance. Gongzi You has always been cautious and prudent. She will never allow herself to attract so many unwanted attention as she carried out the quest. So… If even such a blunder can happen to her, will the same thing happen to Genesis as well?

“Have you heard of anything from the Song of Angels?” Absalom creased his eyebrows as he read through the forum thread about the mining fever in the Eastern Continent.

“Not yet.” Silent Hymn shook his head. Of course, it did not mean that they would remain silent for long. As the only guild in the Western Continent that could stand toe to toe with Genesis, it was impossible for the Song of Angels to not take note of such an important event in the Eastern Continent. Since the knowledge of such a thing was known to them, they would naturally be able to guess that a similar ore vein existed in the Western Continent.

The focus of all four continents were focused on the mining operations of the Black Iron Dwarves. Some of the guilds might have started to search for clues, while others were interested in finding out what was being mined by the Black Iron Dwarves before they act.

“How many days has it been since the mining fever in the Eastern Continent started?” Absalom’s expression was dark as he spoke to Silent Hymn.

“It’s been nine days.” came the answer.

“What have they dug up so far?” Absalom knew that Mithril would never be discovered as long as Gongzi You did not unlock the quest. But what if someone was able to dig up high grade ores? This will definitely prompt more players to continue their mining in the area!

“Nobody has released any information about their findings yet. In any case, we all know that many of the players involved are just blindly following the trend. I have a feeling that the area will be mined clean if the existence of something precious there is not disproved.”

“Silent Hymn, I want you to go talk to Smoldering Iron.” Absalom spoke up after a long moment of silence.

“You want me to talk to Smoldering Iron?” Silent Hymn was baffled. Smoldering Iron was a friend of the Genesis guild who had been playing in many games with the guild as a life player. They were able to maintain a good friendship even when they did not meet often in the game.

Smoldering Iron was a lone wolf with no guilds. Most of the ores gathered by him, however, was sold to Genesis, which considered him as an honorary member.

He was also the only Grandmaster tier Miner in the Western Continent and in the world of Fate. He was in the possession of a Legendary tier shovel that could increase the drop rate of rare ores and minerals, and was the idol of the Miners in Fate.

“What for?”

“Get him to transfer his account to the Eastern Continent and start mining in that area. Get him to post whatever he found on the forums as well.”

Absalom took in a deep breath, “And get the word out that he’s heading to the Eastern Continent so that people will know that even this Grandmaster Miner is interested in the area.”

“Smoldering Iron’s posts in the forums will completely cool the mining fever down. Why are you helping Gongzi You out?” Silent Hymn knew that even if Gongzi You played a great role in Genesis’s discovery of the Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent, she was still a player from an opposing faction. They were bound to cross swords in the future, and it would be wise to not get too involved with the girl.

“I’m not helping Gongzi You. I am helping myself out here.” Absalom stared at Silent Hymn, “If this farce in the Eastern Continent do not die down, something similar might start in our continent as well. We won’t be able to unlock our own quest. I can’t afford to drag this on, for Golden Era is coming.”

“You’re right.” sighed Silent Hymn, “There’s no long-lasting friendship, nor is there everlasting rivalry. There is only profit and benefits.”

“By the way, have you found out which guild is Axia Mist in?”

“Axia Mist?” Silent Hymn was slightly stunned, “You’ll never believe where he’s at right now.” and a grin appeared on his face.

“He’s a good player. It’s easy for him to join one of the major guilds. Could he be in the Wolf Pack?” said Absalom, he’s one of the best Rogues in our guild. He definitely be able to make the cut.

“Nope. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in the Wolf Pack or Tang Dynasty, but…” Silent Hymn continued with a smile, “He went to Upwards Ho!.”

“What?” Absalom was momentarily stunned, “Now that’s a surprise.”

“Now isn’t that interesting?”

“Indeed.” Absalom stood up and gazed out of the window, his thoughts unfathomable. “Do you think he will agree to be our informant?” he finally spoke up after a long moment.

“I don’t think so. Axia Mist is a loyal person. Think about it, why would he decide to go over to the Eastern Continent? Why did he make the decision to join Upwards Ho!? It might work out if it’s just a coincidence, but what if it’s not?”

Absalom took in a deep breath, “We can get Fleeting Time to talk to him. If he refuses, we’ll have to find someone else.”

“Why are you so interested in Upwards Ho!?”

“I’m not interested in the guild, but the Mithril they hold. I don’t thin Upwards Ho! will be able to defend their mine with their current strength. If they can’t defend it, we can defend it for them.”

“Ahh… So this was why you agree to cooperate with Gongzi You?”

“Yes, it’s one of the reasons.” a smile appeared on Absalom’s face, “Of course, I’m sure that Gongzi You had already taken this into consideration before making the decision. Even with Golden Era as our common enemy, she will never allow me to have a favorable deal. I will of course react in kind.

“Your actions are not befitting of your usual self who was someone who would treat members of the fairer sex tenderly.” Silent Hymn shook his head.

“It depends on who I am dealing with.” said Absalom as he headed for the door.

“Why not this one then?”

“Do you think it’ll be easy to deal with a girl who has caught the attention of Fleeting Time?” snorted Absalom, “She’ll be climbing on to me head if I was not being ruthless.”

“Where are you going?” asked Silent Hymn as Absalom walked out of the guild conference room.

“To look for the guy who can deal with her.”

The Kalidar Volcano had definitely remained inactive for a very long time. Ye Ci could easily tell from the lush forest around that volcano that the place had not seen an eruption for quite some time. She navigated through the forest, and was able to reach the volcanic crater after battles after battles against monsters ranging from lvl60 to lvl70. She knew that it locating the NPC in such a dense forest was not an easy task.

As Ye Ci studied her surroundings, looking for a relatively smoother path to Dalufar, she noticed something peculiar.

She was in a forest, and one would expect the forest floor to be covered by fallen leaves, dried twigs, and moss. These things were indeed present on the ground, but to the eyes of a keen observer, it was obvious that there were traces of activity in the area.

This was definitely not an easier path.

As a Huntress, Ye Ci was skilled in setting up traps, and these traps were not trouble for her. She cast Detection and found herself surrounded by traps that were scattered across the forest floor. Ol’ Four had not triggered a single one of them?

Is this because of my luck?

The existence of traps signified the presence of sentient life forms. She knew not if they were humanoid monsters of quest-giving NPCs, but it was obvious that they hunt for animals in the forest as a source of food. 99% of the humanoid NPCs found in the wild were always hostile, while the other 1% of their brethren were NPCs that were giving out quests.

From the number of traps scattered in the forest, Ye Ci could tell that the area was resided by more than one humanoid life forms. The process of setting up a physical trap was very draining on a character’s stamina, and even Ye Ci herself would need to spend a lot of time and Stamina to set up a medium-tier trap. If only one person was responsible for setting up these traps, just how long did it take for him or her to set them all up?

This was why Ye Ci was sure that there was definitely more than one humanoid life forms in the area.

Life in Fate was an accurate portrayal of life in the real world. This meant that the NPCs in Fate had their own lifestyles just like people from the real world. The NPCs had the need to sleep, eat, and procreate. Some of them might need help from the players, and their requests were handed out in the form of quests.

NPCs living in the city and in the wilderness had their own lifestyle.From the perspective of a player, some of the NPCs might be opponents that had to be defeated, but even the players could not deny that they NPCs were “alive” just like them.

With her 10 years of experience in Fate, Ye Ci could tell that there was a tribe nearby. Are they hostile humanoid monsters or are they neutral NPCs? This was a question that Ye Ci had no answer to.