Chapter 31
Hidden Quest.
People were excited about a quest involving hostility with the Assassins’ Guild.
– Ooo…
– I never dreamed that players would become targets for assassination.
– Hahaha, now all the stuff you’ve done is coming back to you.
– But the leader hasn’t assassinated anyone, right?
– For real, hahaha. Just beat everyone up.
Seojun turned his head to assess the situation.
He was currently being carried by someone to an unknown location.
The golden hair sticking out from under the hood fluttered, and Seojun quickly recognized who was carrying him.
In such an important moment, the only blonde NPC who would appear was her.
“Christina?”
Seojun tried to start a conversation.
“Unknown. Yes, it’s me.”
She was panting heavily.
Looking around, Seojun noticed they had run a long distance from the abandoned factory to District 4 while carrying him.
– Sis! I trusted you!
– Sorry, our leader is a bit heavy, isn’t he?
– Haha, sorry about that.
“After the Queen died, Arthur said you betrayed and joined the other side.”
Christina spoke as she entered a building.
She sat Seojun in a chair and began bandaging her injured leg.
“But I couldn’t believe it. I knew why you were fighting so fiercely against the Calamity guys from the West.”
It was about the protagonist’s background.
The protagonist had a past where they lost family due to the Calamity faction.
“So, I followed Arthur and overheard your conversation. I found out the whole story. Damn, I can’t believe that bastard has been deceiving us all this time.”
She had been in the building during the cutscene when the protagonist was talking to Arthur.
Seojun’s gaze shifted to her arm.
Her clothes were torn from the explosion, revealing red, swollen skin.
It was an injury from escaping the explosion.
She was injured because she was on a lower floor and didn’t have enough time.
“Now, Arthur will gather his brothers to eliminate you. It won’t take long for your location to be exposed. There are no blind spots in Altheon.”
Christina wrapped the bandages tightly around him.
Even then, Seojun’s body still didn’t function properly.
“Well, shouldn’t you avoid them then?”
“Yeah. I’ll stay hidden.”
– How ruthless.
– Run now! Hahaha.
– Honestly, there’s no other choice.
– Just be thankful she saved you.
Once the first aid was done, Seojun regained control of his body.
“Because I need to expose Arthur’s wrongdoings. He probably doesn’t know my true identity yet. If we don’t seize this opportunity, Altheon will fall completely into his hands. More people will suffer. I’m sorry.”
So she made the most rational judgment.
It was a choice for Altheon, not for herself.
“Then go quickly.”
Seojun stood up and tried running.
“First aid is essentially a penalty, everyone.”
His movements were uncomfortable, and running was difficult.
It was a quest that could only progress by capturing all the rulers through an unstoppable effort.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Hurry up.”
Seojun gave a kind smile.
“Alright. Unknown, I really hope you survive. If you can use the Calamity guys… if you can just hold out for a week…”
– A week?
– The quest was clearly stated one day.
– How do you use the Calamity?
Christina stopped speaking, looked at the ceiling, and shouted.
“Damn it, Johan, stop! He’s…”
Seojun looked up to see a man named Johan falling from the ceiling, aiming his sword at Seojun.
Seojun had somewhat anticipated Johan’s identity, so he easily prepared himself.
He had detected subtle changes in the surrounding sounds when Christina was bandaging him and was on guard.
Seojun grabbed Johan’s arm and threw him to the ground.
Crash!
– Whoa, when their eyes met, it was really creepy.
– Totally surprised! Hahaha.
– As expected, the leader is countering the assassination.
– Whoa!
And leisurely drew his sword, aiming it at the assassin’s neck.
Clang!
An unwelcome sound was made.
In an instant, Christina had stopped him.
The clear sound of metal clashing echoed.
“What’s going on?”
Seojun asked.
As Christina explained why she stopped him, Johan, who had fallen, got up and charged at Seojun, who easily tripped him and pinned him down.
He then knocked Johan unconscious.
He didn’t strike the sword.
He was curious why Christina had stopped him.
But Christina’s expression was filled with surprise and admiration.
“How did you… so easily… Johan is a master-level assassin.”
Master-level was a rank given only to the most skilled assassins in the guild.
Usually, there are fewer than five in a branch.
“With that level of skill… Damn. Unknown.”
Christina bit her lip and stared at him.
“Do you think you can survive? Our branch has a total of 47 members.”
47 members.
Seojun responded confidently.
Although he wasn’t worried about dying due to his skills, he had a more reliable assurance.
“Well, I’m a user, so I can’t die anyway.”
– Yeah, try killing him! Hahaha. If you die, just redo it!
– Re-game! Hahaha!
– It’s cute how surprised the leader is by your skills.
– Really, it’s so pretty.
“If you’re that confident… can I ask one more thing?”
Somehow, communication was working.
“What is it?”
Another quest, perhaps?
It seemed he had satisfied the conditions by showing his skills.
Seojun’s guess was correct.
But this time, the quest was somewhat different in direction.
[Affinity Quest – Mercy]
[Johan is a master-level assassin, yet you subdued him so easily. With that level of skill…
It’s an impertinent request, but I have no choice. The other brothers are currently deceived by Arthur.
So…
If you survive…
Quest Clear Condition: ‘Survival’ – Do not kill a single member during the quest.
Quest Clear Reward: Christina’s Affection Level Increased to Love.]
In the Dawn of the Assassins, there was an affinity system for NPCs with significant roles.
You could raise this affinity level by giving special gifts, performing specific actions, or completing affinity quests, with Love being the highest level.
Christina looked down, feeling guilty about making such a request, and avoided Seojun’s gaze.
“Please, show mercy to my comrades and don’t kill them. They’re all deceived by Arthur. If you fulfill this request…”
Christina paused.
She slowly raised her head, met Seojun’s eyes, and spoke.
Her beautiful voice was clearly heard.
“I’ll give you everything.”
– Whoa
– What… what the heck
– What is this!!!!
– Looking for party members to catch the leader (1/9999999999) – Damn, I need to catch the leader.
– It’s really tough to raise Christina’s affection. Why is the leader getting it so easily?
– First to reach the Love level, hahaha.
Seojun pressed the accept button for the quest.
“Oh. This quest actually has rewards. Well then, I’ll do it.”
Normally, it was expected that there would be a reward.
“Thank you, Unknown. Really. Please survive.”
Christina approached shyly.
Then, with a determined expression, she bowed, took Seojun’s hand, lightly kissed the back of it, and left.
“Hm, isn’t it usually the man who gives a hand-kiss?”
Seojun awkwardly commented and turned to the chat window, startled.
– How dare she kiss my sister’s lips???
– Is my sister looking at the face? Is my sister looking at the face? Is my sister looking at the face? Is my sister looking at the face?
– Am I turning dark? Am I turning dark? Am I turning dark? Am I turning dark? Am I turning dark?
– Quit the quest now! Quit the quest now! Quit the quest now!
– If I can’t have her, then no one can.
– How do you hack the capsule, everyone? Seriously.
– Burn the back of your hand right away!
“Uh. Everyone, calm down.”
Why are they so excited?
– Would you calm down if you were in my place?
– Kill Johan now for 100,000 won hahaha.
– You’re handsome, so just give up even in the game…
“I don’t want to. But… someone is here.”
Seojun held his sword firmly and looked around.
Someone had already intruded.
The background noise subtly changed, and the airflow shifted. In that moment, a person emerged from the shadow on the wall.
“Die.”
Seojun swung his sword to check if he could parry.
Clang!
With a clear, bright sound, the sword made contact and created ripples in the air.
At the same time, the assassin was knocked down.
It was a successful parry.
“This is much easier.”
But then, the air shifted again.
Swoosh!
A dagger flew from outside, aiming at his ankle.
Seojun jumped slightly to avoid the attack.
However, his jumping power was weakened due to the bandaged left foot, and the dagger grazed him, reducing his HP a bit.
Thud.
As the dagger embedded itself in the floor.
“You traitor!”
“Dog of the Calamity!”
Two assassins attacked Seojun from opposite directions.
Seojun’s eyes quickly scanned the battlefield and made a decision.
To overturn the disadvantage of his movements.
Thunk!
Seojun moved towards the oncoming enemy, clashing swords to remove them from the battlefield, and then dealt with the enemy coming from behind.
The assassin’s weapon and the symbol of the guild, the assassination sword, glinted in the sunlight coming through the window.
And that was all.
“Grrk!”
Seojun’s sword moved freely, neutralizing the enemies.
In an instant, three more assassins were incapacitated.
“Your position has been exposed. Let’s move.”
Seojun struck the incapacitated enemies’ heads to put them all into a faint state and moved away.
As expected of District 4, the streets were bright and crowded.
Seojun naturally blended into the crowd.
The best place to hide sand is the desert.
But it was pointless.
“There’s no malice. I’ll bear your death.”
It was an ordinary-looking person in a typical street.
Such a person had waited for an opportunity to get close to Seojun and suddenly attempted an assassination.
A flashbang exploded.
Fortunately, Seojun responded by turning his head properly.
And where he turned, another assassin with chains was standing.
Whoosh!
The chains, moving like a snake, were shot at Seojun.
At the same time, a dagger flew from the second floor.
– Am I the only one creeped out?
– It feels so powerless.
– Wow. Do they even use skills?
– Are they attacking in a cowardly group!!!!
He couldn’t escape due to his foot.
Skills were blocked.
The only remaining choice was to fend them off.
Seojun first dealt with the dagger that reached him first.
Then, he avoided the chains, grabbed them, and pulled them towards him.
The assassin who had thrown the flashbang drew his assassination sword and charged.
Seojun dodged sideways, causing the assassin who had used the chains to collide with the charging assassin.
“Grrk!”
– Wow
– What is this…
– It’s truly impressive.
– Hahaha, the assassins are getting a taste of unstoppable power and losing their minds.
Nearby NPCs gathered and murmured.
Seojun quickly incapacitated the assassins and escaped the area.
“I don’t see the one from the second floor. They must have disappeared.”
Disguise? Or did they just vanish?
Another dagger flew towards him.
Seojun, thanks to his past life’s memories, recognized the feeling well.
When the enemies were closing in on his position in real-time during the battle, he experienced this sensation.
“This seems like it would be annoying if it lasted all day.”
A day in the game was much shorter than 24 hours in reality, but it was still an hour.
Swoosh!
Seojun caught the flying dagger with his right hand and said.
“I’ll have to catch them all.”
His eyes began to shine.
