“Eh…?”
[Chain Quest Activated!]
Difficulty: Second Order
Reward: 10,000 SP + Lucky Wheel!
Objective: Discover the origin of the Twisted Man!
Location: Harmia Island
Description: To deepen your game’s storyline, you’ll need to uncover more about the Twisted Man. Head to the location where it was first seen. There, you might find clues about its origin and the truth behind its existence.
Time Limit: 4 days.
The quest notification came as expected. This didn’t surprise me very much as I had already expected it to come.
But then..
Ding!
The second notification popped up, and my thoughts blanked.
[Continuation Quest Activated]
Difficulty: Third Order
Reward: 40,000 SP
Objective: Expose the cult and its plans.
Location: N/A
Description: The cult has now set its target on you. You must be careful not to get caught by them. Only death awaits if you get caught by them. Find a way around the situation and expose them.
Time Limit: 2 months.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the second quest notification, alongside the reward, I didn’t know how to react. I had already been aware of the fact that there was a chance that this quest would complete as well, but now that it actually completed, I didn’t know how to react.
Especially when I saw the reward that came with the quest completion.
A whopping 40,000 SP, which added to the 10,000 SP from the first quest, meant that I had made an overall of 50,000 SP.
This was…
’500,000$.’
How could one expect me to remain calm after taking into consideration just how much money I had made?
Even the Section Chief, who sat next to me, appeared to notice the changes in me as he looked at me strangely.
“Are you okay?”
“….Yes.”
No, I actually wasn’t.
But it wasn’t like I could just tell him the reason why.
Taking a couple of quick and steady breaths, I managed to calm myself down before leaning against the back of the seat and closing my eyes.
’Okay, this is a little unexpected, but this is actually good for me. With the new SP, I can buy a lot of things. But what should I spend the SP on?’
My first thought fell on the shop items. With the difficulty of the quests increasing, buying an appropriate item would help me out a lot in dangerous situations.
The greatest example was the most recent situation.
Things would’ve been a lot easier for me had I gotten an item like the invisible cloak. With it, I would’ve been able to find all of the information that I needed without any danger.
’Well, there’s no guarantee that the old lady wouldn’t have found me, but life would’ve been so much easier for me.’
This was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw all the SP that I suddenly received.
And I really was planning on buying a new item because of it.
But then… I stopped myself.
I was suddenly reminded of the fact that SP wasn’t just used to buy items. I could use SP to buy software for my game. Thinking about my current project, I found myself opening my eyes once again.
That’s…
It was just unfortunate that my thoughts weren’t able to make it far.
Ding!
Just as the previous notifications came abruptly, so did the new ones.
[The Guild has now learned crucial and important information regarding the Twisted Man and the cult.]
[Your contributions were anything but small. Unfortunately, despite the death of the old lady, the cult was still able to learn information about you and your involvement. The cult has now become even more aware of your presence. Especially with Mirelle’s presence.]
[Thread carefully]
[Continuation Quest Activated]
Difficulty: Fourth Order
Reward: 210,000 SP
Objective: Locate the main branch of the cult.
Location: N/A
Description: The cult and you can no longer co-exist. Locate their hideout in Malovia and find out more about the architect, alongside their doctrine. Best be careful, as the cult will now actively look for you. They have eyes and ears everywhere!
Time Limit: 6 months.
“…”
Staring at the new window, I didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t like I didn’t expect it.
I did in fact see it coming.
…But it was just that I didn’t expect the quest to escalate to the fourth order while at the same time needing me to locate their main branch. How in the world was I even going to find the branch?
I didn’t even know where to start.
This sounded like a massive headache, and it probably showed as the Section Chief raised his brow.
“Are you sure you’re not okay? You don’t look okay?”
“About that…”
I raised my head to look at him.
“…I actually do feel sick.”
Like, very sick.
*
The journey back to Malovia Island wasn’t very long. It took a lot less time than when I left.
’I guess these are the perks of flying with a private jet.’
With that being said, the moment we landed, we were escorted by a bunch of people in black suits into a small room where we were questioned before getting released. By the time we returned back to the Guild, it was quite late in the night.
“Huaam.”
With the Section Chief letting out a tired yawn, he looked at me and scratched his already messy hair.
“I’ve yet to get a single ounce of sleep because of you, and I still need to handle quite a lot of things once I go back. I probably won’t get much sleep today. Four hours if I’m lucky.”
“Oh.”
That was about my average.
“In any case, go get some rest. The Guild will most likely question you tomorrow about the situation. Just answer them like you answered me, and you should be fin-huam.”
With another yawn, tears formed at the corner of the Section Chief’s face as he shook his head and dismissively waved his hand at me.
“Alright, I guess this is my cue to leave. Just don’t forget what I said. Oh, and…”
Suddenly pausing, he looked at me.
“You owe me one.”
He proceeded to leave right after that.
Staring at his departing back as he entered the Guild, I stood still for a moment before alternating my gaze between the Guild and the direction of the dorms. I was really tired as well. I also didn’t get much sleep.
But…
’I don’t really have much time.’
Thinking about the new quests and the dangers that I had gone through, I knew that every second mattered.
I also got some sleep on the plane.
As of right now, I had one priority, and one priority only.
Finishing my new game.
That was why, after a few more seconds of hesitation, I sighed and headed back to the Guild.
“Game. Game. Game…”
Mumbling to myself, I entered my office and started working.
With the sudden experience, I no longer needed to worry about the writing, as I had a lot of inspiration. Everything went smoothly from that point forward.
For the next two weeks, I focused entirely on the game.
The only times I came out of the office were when I needed coffee or when I needed to go to the bathroom. I didn’t even bother going out to sleep or eat. I just had Kyle send me the food over.
I was like some sort of homeless freak inside of the Guild, with everyone avoiding me for the subsequent days.
But it didn’t matter to me.
The only thing that mattered to me was the game, and…
Tak!
“Done.”
I was now finally done with it.