Chapter 28 - Episode 28: Hidden Quests.

I open my friend list and private message Ivonna.

[TR: Hey, thank you for the gift. I really like it.

II: Oh, she gave it to you already?

TR: Yeah. She said that she has a gift for me, but turns out it was yours. That girl, really...

II: Hahaha, she said it to me as well. She wants to pretend that the gift is from her, and I said okay.

TR: If she's doing something funny. Don't hesitate to scold her. She likes to do that often.

II: Okay, understood. :)

TR: How's the godly quest item is going? You still don't have any clue?

II: Yeah, it's harder than I thought. I've been asking my clanmates about the diary, but none of them knows.

TR: Well then, good luck with that.

II: Do you perhaps know where it the diary is at?

TR: Of course. :)

II: I shouldn't have asked you that, huh?

TR: Do you want a clue?

II: No need. I'll try it on my own. You already gave it to me, so it's wrong to ask for a favor from you again.

TR: Alright then. I'll do some quest now. I'll talk to you later. Bye!

II: Okay, Bye!]

-

I walk back inside the bar. I'm standing in front of the bartender. He looks at me.

"You're back for another drink, Trevor? It's bad for your health."

I'm smiling and leaning towards the wooden pillar.

"The moon is Illuminating very nicely today."

The bartender is chuckling.

"It's still in the middle of the day, Trevor. What are you talk..."

The bartender just realized something. He looks at me. I grab the recommendation letter from Avriel and show it to him. He raises his eyebrow and pointing his eyes towards a wooden hutch. All the NPCs that were having a conversation are now staring at me silently with killing intentions. All the NPCs here are not a customer, but they're the underlings that swear their loyalty to Jariel until the last drop of their blood. I walk towards the wooden hutch and it slides open. A narrow path to the underground with nothing but darkness.

"He's in a bad mood today. So don't die."

The bartender is smiling at me. I chuckle and nod.

I walked inside the dark and narrow path to the underground. There was nothing but silence. My footsteps were so loud and clear. I equipped my daggers and drank the lucky potion just in case. I heard the sound of steel rubbing with another steel. A sword was lifted from its sheath. I stopped moving and stood there for quite a while. I grabbed the recommendation letter from my inventory and lifted it.

"I brought you something important."

I felt a breath on my nape and a hand took the letter from my hand. I just realized there's a dagger an inch from my throat. My heart was pounding and I never thought that I could be this nervous towards an NPC that is not even real, and this is a game, not reality. He lowered his dagger and walked past me. I followed him from behind.

I have no idea where I am at since this scenario is different from back then because it wasn't dark like this and he was friendlier. Then I hear a flickering sound coming from in front of me. A fire from a matchstick makes me be able to see his face. Scars on his face and one of his eyes are closed with a huge scar on that eye. He lights his cigarette and sits down.

I hear a rustling sound and a crackling sound from the tobacco being burned. I believe he's reading the letter while smoking in a pitch-black room. He has a skill called [Moon Eye], so he's able to read and see everything in pitch black. As expected, the master of Avriel, Mask of the Moon. Jariel, Eyes of the Moon. Then he flicks the cigarette and hits something behind me. A lantern is lit from his cigarette, and now I can see the room and his face clearly.

Jariel looks at me with the letter in his hand.

"Interesting. I haven't heard from her since I left Eluna Empire, and now she found a kid with an interesting talent. As expected of my daughter, she can find a diamond in the rough."

Jariel allows me to sit and then I sit in front of him. He's tapping his finger on the table and looks at me for quite a while. Then he stands up and goes to the back. He's searching for something on the messy desk. He grabs a small bottle and walks back. He grabs the dagger and cuts his own wrist. He pours the blood into the bottle.

He gives the bottle to me.

"Give this to Avriel."

[Bottle of Jariel's Blood obtained.]

-

[Bottle of Jariel's Blood: Jariel's blood specifically for proof of his existence to Avriel. Do not drink it!]

I grab the bottle and look at him. He raises his eyebrow with confusion. When I'm about to drink his blood, a screen appears in front of me.

[Would you like to disable your sense of taste? Y/N]

...

...

...

[No]

...

...

...

[Warning!]

[This might give you an unpleasant experience. Are you sure? Y/N]

...

...

...

[Yes]

I chug the bottle of blood down to my throat. Jariel is laughing with disbelief. A thick and a bit of salty taste that makes my whole body shivers. Some of the blood is still on my gum and ceiling. The blood is also stuck in my throat. Every time I'm gulping, I can taste and smell his blood.

[Congratulations! Unique Active Skill: [Moon Eyes Lv. Max] has been learned.]

-

[Moon Eyes: The player is able to see in pitch black as if it is in the middle of the day. Cost 10 stamina per second when activated.]

Jariel writes a letter and gives it to me.

[Father's letter to his daughter]

[Jariel missed his daughter so much that he cannot bear it any longer. Avriel thought that her master, and at the same time his father is dead. Give this letter to Avriel. Give the bottle of his blood as proof. If failed, Eluna Empire's best assassins will hunt you down and you are forbidden to enter Eluna Empire.]

[Reward: None]

"Give this to Avriel. I don't think she would believe you when you give this letter to her. I told you to give my blood to her as proof, but you drank all of it."

I smile and chuckle.

"I don't think that your blood is necessary. I have my own way to convince her."

Jariel sits down and looks at me.

"I'm interested in you, kid. Can I ask you a favor?"

I nod with an agreement.

[Jariel's Dream]

[Bring Avriel to Fjel town to meet Jariel.]

[Reward:???]

[Failed: No Penalty]

[Accept the quest? Y/N]

...

...

...

[Yes]

Jariel nods and is pointing his dagger towards me jokingly.

"Now leave!"

I raised both of my hands and then left. I could hear Jariel is chuckling on my way out of the room. The bartender was looking at me and smiled. Then I left the bar and went outside the town.

I'm at the far north part of No Man's Land. There's a small wooden house in the middle of nowhere at the edge of a cliff, and I can see a cloud of smoke coming from the chimney. A man is standing on the cliff and staring in the distance. He lost his right arm and left leg. He notices there's someone behind him.

"Leave! Or else!"

I'm standing still until he looks at me. He sighs deeply and turns around. He's wearing an eyepatch on his right eye.

"I said leave!"

He's squinting his eyes and humming. He then approaches me.

"You... you might be the right person I have been looking for."

This conversation can be triggered when a player has a minimum of 100 on all their stats. Also, if they're not in the Aarus or Eluna Empires factions. If those requirements didn't meet, he's going to teleport them to somewhere far away randomly.

He walks towards his house and looks at me.

"Come in, hurry up."

I follow him into his house. He sits on a wooden chair and uses his magic to make tea. I sit in front of him. He's squinting his eyes again and leans towards me.

"There's a perfect job for you."

[Krestan's Long Lost Limbs]

[He despised the three sovereignty. He lost his right arm, left leg, and right eye. It is said that Krestan can reattached limbs by using his power and a potion he created through alchemy he learned. Find his right arm that has been preserved in the Aarus Empire, his left leg in the Eluna Empire, and lastly his right eye in the Alliance Kingdoms. You will be granted one wish by him if you succeeded.]

[Reward: Optional]

[Failed: Cannot retake the quest]

...

...

...

[The quest has been accepted automatically.]

Krestan shows me a potion.

"I already made the solution. So I will be waiting for you here."

[2399hr 59m 59sec until the solution get expired and the quest will be count as failed when that happened.]

I have 100 days in-game time to complete this quest. This will be the hardest quest for now. But, if I did Jariel's quest first and succeeded, I'll be able to get Krestan's left leg with Avriel's help. I also can get information related to Krestan's right arm and right eye whereabouts from Avriel.

I'm leaving Krestan's house since I don't want to waste any time and it's time to go back to Sarkh Village.