Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 460: It Has Special Effects
After circling back for a long time, the merchant caravan finally returned to the main road leading to Pine City. However, their overall appearance was now extremely wretched. They looked less like a merchant caravan and more like a group of refugees fleeing a famine.
Pine City was more than just a little smaller than Winter City.
The city walls were only fifteen zhang high, and the stone used in their construction was a dull, earthy yellow. The specific material was unknown, and the walls themselves lacked any imposing grandeur. They were also pockmarked and uneven. From a distance, the entire city gave off an impression of desolation and decay.
However, the defensive strength of Pine City was still quite good.
On the city walls, a defending soldier stood every two meters. The equipment they wore was all standard issue from Winter City. Cold, face-covering helms hid their features, making them appear mysterious and powerful.
Of course, this was from the perspective of ordinary people.
From the perspective of (Player Name) (M), it was a different story.
[Militiaman A – Level 9]
[Militiaman B – Level 11]
[Militia Captain C – Level 13]
…
Everyone on the city walls was a militiaman.
Only a knight was guarding the vicinity of the city gate.
Although the knight’s level was not much higher than the militiamen, the inherent value of the two professions was vastly different. A militiaman in their twenties might not have as high overall stats as a knight squire under level ten. This showed that Pine City’s defenses were merely a paper tiger; the militia’s imposing presence was solely due to the standard Winter City equipment.
Getting closer and closer to Pine City.
(Player Name) (M)’s spirits also became increasingly elevated.
Suddenly, he felt a strong gaze and, upon a slight turn of his head, saw two people hidden in cloaks on a distant tower, watching them. Above their heads, two golden IDs sparkled.
[Nobody Does Human Things (M)]
[Yu Ci]
Well now.
It seemed they had run into the main group!
(Player Name) (M) quickly averted his gaze.
At this moment, he couldn’t afford to show any undue expression. That Platyr person was extremely shrewd! Although they hadn’t turned their heads to stare at him, the surrounding companions would invariably cast glances his way. To put it plainly, the Candy Super Sweet Mercenary Group was only being tentatively trusted.
At the same time, on the city walls.
“My goodness, pay attention, this man’s name is (Player Name) (M)~”
Yu Ci said strangely in a low voice.
“Now, he doesn’t seem to have noticed us yet. We can just slowly approach him to capture him. This kind of (Player Name) (M) tastes delicious, and can be eaten after removing the head. Its protein content is six times that of maggots!”
Nobody Does Human Things: “…”
Compared to Yu Ci, who was acting delirious next to him.
Nobody Does Human Things noticed more details. First, (Player Name) (M) had definitely seen them, but even so, he remained obediently within the merchant caravan, his expression blank.
There must be some secret to this!
If it were anyone else, he and Yu Ci might only be able to watch from the tower, but (Player Name) (M) was a player, just like them!
Nobody Does Human Things directly sent him a private message.
[Nobody Does Human Things: (Player Name), long time no see. Did you complete the King of Winter’s mission? Also, what’s the situation now? It feels like you’re doing some kind of mission?]
(Player Name) (M), who was in the merchant caravan, felt his eyelids twitch.
A lace-patterned e-envelope unfolded in his field of vision.
It contained Nobody Does Human Things’ private message.
The System is awesome! But when did Nobody Does Human Things’ taste become so perverse? (Player Name) (M) chuckled inwardly, and at the same time, replied seriously:
[The King of Winter’s mission is complete, but on the way back, we encountered a group of merchants selling standard Winter City equipment. I’ve already infiltrated them. I suspect it’s a hidden mission, but it hasn’t been triggered yet… By the way, why are you guys here in Pine City?]
Click to send.
He had just said the mission hadn’t been triggered.
[Ding] [Ding] [Ding] [Ding]…
The long-silent mission system suddenly erupted, followed by a barrage of mission prompts that swept across his screen, making (Player Name) (M) exclaim in shock.
On the tower of Pine City’s wall.
Nobody Does Human Things was also stunned.
[Congratulations on contacting a key figure]
[Epic Multi-Stage Quest – Phase 1 Completed]
[Epic Multi-Stage Quest – Phase 2 Triggered]
[Quest Description: Upon arriving at Pine City, after much investigation, you found no leads. By chance, you killed a Templar Knight and obtained some important information. It seems a group of suspicious individuals are about to arrive at Pine City. You then staked out near the city gate of Pine City and discovered that an old acquaintance had already infiltrated this suspicious group in advance.]
[Mission Objective: Cooperate with your old acquaintance from the inside to thoroughly investigate the secret of the lost standard equipment.]
[Mission Completion Condition: Understand the chain of events and expose the true identity of the core figure of the incident (the next phase of the quest can only be unlocked after completing this objective).]
Every player received these system prompts.
But the next one was a bombshell.
[As Nobody Does Human Things is the first player to complete Phase 1 of the quest, all rewards obtained during the final settlement of the overall quest will be increased by 20%, and you can claim a rare-grade mount (with special effects) from the King of Winter.]
…
…
“Whoosh!”
The entire Pine City erupted.
All the players desperately searching for clues beat their chests in regret.
In a tavern, a player who was flirting with the barmaid was deeply shaken by the news. He lost control of his strength and almost crushed the giant magic lamp in his hand. In the affluent district north of Pine City, a dozen players were squatting next to an eighty-year-old woman, waiting for her to reveal the clue they had been anticipating for so long. Suddenly, their expressions changed, and they slapped the old woman. The players cursed her as a liar and attacked her as a mob. In a certain street, Holy Cross Badge, who was teasing a child, had his smile freeze. He shoved the fist-sized lollipop into the loli’s mouth and left angrily, leaving the little loli stunned and crying, unable to pull the lollipop out for a long time.
The private message window for Nobody Does Human Things kept ringing.
He didn’t even need to look to know that they were all cursing him.
The 20% increase in rewards wasn’t that significant at first.
A 20% increase on five copper coins only made it six copper coins.
Receiving a rare-grade mount was also not a big deal.
The Venom Dragon NPCs in Winter City were all rare-grade mounts and could be ridden at any time with just a piece of roasted beef or a dragon picture. They really didn’t care about mounts.
What they cared about were those three words: “with special effects.”
Special effects were the romance of the players.
Strength might not be essential, but special effects had to be full-on.
Otherwise, why would they install magic lamps on their heavy tower shields or have dwarves carve runes of shining spells onto their greatswords?
Wasn’t it all to become the most dazzling one in the crowd?
