On the 11th of October, it was a foggy day in Hightown.
The air was cool and damp, the fog was thick, and visibility was limited.
It was a very cool morning, and the fog hung low while the sky was covered by a blanket of gray clouds.
Splash—as the windows opened, townsfolk carrying buckets tossed out cleaning water onto the streets.
It was water that they used to clean yesterday’s share of dirty clothes, and thus, the water had an ugly greenish tint.
The water flowed down the cobblestone streets, carrying with it the remnants of dirt and grime from the previous day’s chores until they finally dropped down to the sewer system.
Thud—suddenly, a carriage rolled down the street, its wheels bouncing up and down.
A green cover was slung over the carriage, hiding whatever was below it.
However, because of the bounciness, the cover slightly moved, revealing a rotting arm.
After several townspeople saw that, they silently drew crosses on their chests, praying under their breath.
After a short while, the carriage arrived at the town’s small graveyard, where an entourage from Yatagarasu had gathered alongside a dark-haired priest.
They silently drew crosses on their chests.
The carriage driver hopped off and removed the green cover, revealing a pile of over twenty corpses!
“We managed to find these unfortunate souls in the rubble of some of the buildings in Yatagarasu. There are still hundreds, even thousands, of corpses that we haven’t yet discovered.”
The priest nodded and looked at the people from Yatagarasu, who had woken up earlier for this.
“Search the corpses and see if you recognize any of them.”
They nodded and covered their noses with their sleeves before cautiously approaching the pile.
The priest drew a cross on his chest and whispered a prayer under his breath.
After opening his eyes, he turned to the carriage driver and asked. “Have these corpses been salted?”
“As far as I know, they did.” The carriage driver said. “They are professionals at handling deceased bodies.”
“Good.” The priest nodded. “We don’t want them to rise from death, now do we?”
He then looked toward the sky and sighed. “I wonder what has happened with the world. Now, a crescent moon appears every single night.”
“It also brought some trouble to my men.” The carriage driver said. “Before they had a chance to salt the corpses, they stood up and killed them. Luckily, we managed to find the corpses next morning before they reached any civilization.”
“When did that happen?” The priest asked curiously.
“The day after the first crescent moon appeared.” The carriage driver sighed. “We expected it to be a normal night, but then a crescent moon appeared. Before we could do anything, the corpses stood up and began killing.”
“Nooo!” At the carriage, a bushy-bearded man fell to his knees and started crying while holding the hand of one of the corpses.
“Sigh.” The priest sighed at the sight. “All of them had prepared to find out that one of their loved ones was at least dead, but when they finally received confirmation, they got devastated.”
“Maybe living in ignorance is a blessing in itself.” The carriage driver said.
“But facing the truth head-on is the only way to heal.” The priest replied.
“Perhaps…” The carriage driver rummaged through his pocket, took out a cigarette, and lit it up before placing it on his lips.
“That thing will kill you one day.” The priest pointed at the cigarette.
“Haha.” The carriage driver took a long drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “This and alcohol are my only salvation from my occupation. It helps me forget the horrors I witness every day.”
“You could visit a church and talk to the god.” The priest said.
“No offense, but I am not a religious type.” The carriage driver said and placed the cigarette on his lips. “I prefer doing something about it myself and not asking for help from a higher power.”
“That is understandable.” The priest nodded, and saw the people from Yatagarasu leaving the carriage after checking out all the corpses.
It seemed that the bushy-bearded man was the only one to find a loved one, which made the priest relieved but also sad.
“If you change your mind, the church’s doors are always open to children of God.” The priest said with a gentle smile, then led the people from Yatagarasu back to the church.
The carriage driver dropped the cigarette, stomped it out, and walked over to the carriage.
As he looked at the corpses, he rubbed his chin, which was covered in stubble, contemplating something.
He then shrugged his shoulders and left to take a long shower, thinking that someone else would take care of the corpses.
The graveyard’s eerie atmosphere was amplified by the fog; it was like some horrors awaited behind the veil of gray smoke.
Ding, ding—the nearby church’s bells then rang in a haunting melody that sent chills down the spines of anyone within earshot.
No one in the vicinity of the graveyard stayed behind to linger.
It was very clear that something sinister and otherworldly was happening amidst the veil of gray smoke.
For years to come, the 11th of October would be remembered as the day of death because of the things that happened on this particular day.
…
After a long night of traveling, another steam locomotive arrived at the station, sending clouds of black smoke into the cloudy, foggy sky.
Passengers flocked into the streets of Hightown as soon as the doors opened, startled by the eerie atmosphere that the thick fog had created.
They could barely make out their surroundings as they navigated through the foggy streets.
At the back of the crowd, Holly and Allison left the steam locomotive, eager to explore the mysterious town that lay before them.
“It’s very foggy; I can barely see in front of me.” Allison said and sneakily grabbed Holly by her hand.
“What are you doing?” Holly looked at her with a twitching eyebrow.
“I don’t want to lose you in the crowd, hehe.” Allison giggled and pointed forward. “Let’s go check out the Quest Building!”
Holly rolled her eyes and followed after the excited Allison.
They were stunned by the number of people that had gathered in Hightown.
It was not only the number of NPCs, but there were even more players, flocking every part of the town.
The town was clearly not built to house so many people; therefore, many were under shelters, shuddering because of the cold air.
After a while, Holly and Allison arrived at the Quest Buildings, where a big crowd of players had gathered.
“Can you queue for me?” Allison rubbed her legs and shyly smiled. “I have to visit reality for the bathroom.”
“Go.” Holly said with a sigh and went to join a line.
Allison fast-walked out of the building, trying to find a place to put temporary spawn.
She then glanced sideways and saw a public board.
It was situated right beside the Quest Building. 𝒪𝗏𝓛xt.𝑪𝗈
It seemed like the Quest Building was also a Mission and Bounty Building, where one could get different kinds of missions and receive rewards for completing them.
She curiously approached the public board and saw that it was only a bounty board.
As she was about to ignore it and move onward, she saw a slightly familiar face.
She only remembered the face slightly because of the pictures Holly had shown her and because of the incident on the rooftop, which was still very vivid in her mind.
“Huh… Ambrose.” Allison took the bounty from the public board and squinted her eyes. “He is… Jesse, isn’t he?”
“I swear I have heard this name somewhere; I can’t just recall where.” She frowned and returned to the Quest Building.
She saw Holly standing on the line, her arms folded lazily, while a few players sent suggestive looks in her direction, attracted by her beauty.
“Holly!”
“That was fast.” Holly turned to Allison. “Did you accidentally piss your pants or what?”
“No, dummy.” Allison walked to her and put the wanted poster in front of her face. “Doesn’t he look familiar to you?”
Holly took the poster, as it was too close to her face, and then looked at it silently.
It didn’t take long for her eyebrow to jump in surprise.
“Jesse…”
“I knew it was your brother!” Allison laughed. “Your brother is a very wanted man, it seems. Why don’t you make a deal with him? You will ‘capture’ him and get the reward, then split the money.
“You would get 10,000 silvers, which is 1000 crowns. That is a lot of money!”
“You would get banned for that.” Holly said. “Otherwise, everyone would do it. A perfect infinite money hack.”
“I suppose you are right…” Allison sighed and then smiled. “Do you think your brother is here? Maybe we can trick him and capture him for the bounty.”
Holly looked at her before tearing apart the wanted poster.
“Ahh, what are you doing?” Allison pouted.
“We are here for the quest, nothing else.” Holly looked away from her “You think we alone would be enough to take him down? Trick or not, did you not remember what happened on the rooftop?”
“Oh, right…” Allison sighed. “I suppose there ain’t an easy way to earn money.”