Quest

Blackriver City. As usual, many people were roaming the streets. Whether they were adventurers, merchants, soldiers or peasants, everyone was going about their business.

Amongst all these people, three people stood out because of their attire. They were wearing unusual outfits, but it was certain that with their weapons and armor, they were adventurers.

This small group was quite simple, consisting of two girls and one young man.

"Nicky... Do you have any ideas of things we could do? Ever since we hit level thirty, I've been bored out of my mind..."

"Lena, why don't you stop sticking to Nick like that?"

"What? Do you have a problem with that?"

"Lena, Iris, stop bickering. We're a group, we need to stick together!"

Lena clung more tightly to her friend.

"Okay, okay... Sorry! I'll try to stick you as much as possible!"

Iris ignored Lena's behavior and turned to Nick.

"Still, she's right. Do you have any idea what we could do?"

Nick thought for a few seconds before answering her:

"If I'm not mistaken, the alchemist at the end of the street is offering a quest for players of level thirty and above. Perhaps we should check it out."

"Good idea. Let's go."

"Yeah, Nicky, you always have great ideas! It's amazing how you know everything!"

Iris shook her head, while Nick smiled slightly.

The group of three went towards a small shop: "Emilia's herbalism shop". They entered without hesitation; a voice rang in their ears:

"Hello, welcome to Emilia's herbalism shop! What can I do for you?"

Nick was the first to speak:

"Hi, do you need help with a job?"

Emilia smiled at the young man:

"You're just in time, adventurer! I was just looking for someone to..."

"Skip!"

Emilia was slightly annoyed, but she continued:

"I absolutely need these..."

"Skip! Very well I will take care of that task. Have a nice day!"

"Thank you very much, adventurer. Have a nice day and a nice trip!"

The adventurers left the shop. Annoyed, Emilia struck her fist on her desk.

"Wouldn't this be a case of atony?"

...

"So, Nicky, what kind of quest is this?"

Nick took a small notebook out of his bag. He opened it to a certain page:

"Collect ten dragon breaths near the dragon cave."

"Waah, dragon cave, seriously?"

"Iris, you know?" Nick asked.

"Yes. It is an open dungeon. The final boss is a level fifty fire dragon."

"Fifty? Really? That's huge! We better not fall on it."

"Don't worry, with Nicky by our side, nothing can happen to us!"

"Haha, you're overestimating me a bit too much, I'm only level thirty-four. A level fifty dragon is way too much for me! Otherwise, Iris, where can we find this cave?"

"It's fifteen kilometers to the east. We'll have to cross the river to get there."

"Mmh... that shouldn't be too much of a problem with your magic. Well, let's go."

...

"So this is the dragon cave? From the outside, it looks like an ordinary cave!"

"And yet, this is one of the highest level dungeons at the moment."

"And so, Nicky, where do we go from here?"

"No idea, the quest text is pretty vague about it. Let's look around a bit, maybe we'll find some around, or maybe at the very least we'll find some clues."

"Nick's right, let's split up to cover more ground."

So the three young adventurers separated. Nick searched near the cave, Iris to the east and Lena to the west. Time passed quickly. They found many things: abandoned equipment, empty potions, some miscellaneous resources. Unfortunately for them, no trace of the "dragon's breath".

"We've been looking for two hours already, and no luck."

"What if it's inside?"

"Iris, don't make jokes like that. It's not funny! We're talking about a level 50 dungeon here!"

"Lena, maybe she's right. This is the only place we haven't searched yet. But I have to admit, going into that dungeon scares me a little."

"What if we go back to the NPC? Maybe she has more information. It would be nice if we don't 'skip' the quest dialogue this time too."

...

"Hello, welcome to..."

"Skip."

"Emilia, you asked us to get you some dragon breath."

"Indeed, I absolutely must have these..."

"Skip."

Emilia's eyes darkened. This was the fourth time she had been cut off. It was too much for her. She hated it when the adventurers were not listening to what she was saying.

"Nick, what did we say about dialogue?"

"It's okay, it's okay! Don't worry, I got it. Emilia, where can we find these dragon breaths?"

Although it wasn't quite what she wanted, she answered the adventurer anyway.

"Adventurer, you can find these flowers in the Dragon Cave area."

Nick ticked a little, before resuming:

"Have you no more precise indications? We have searched everywhere, but these flowers cannot be found."

Emilia became definitely irritated. She did not understand why the adventurers were all so stubborn. They interrupt speeches unceasingly, did not listen to anything, then they were surprised that some information was missed by them.

She couldn't stand such people.

"Adventurer... These... Flowers... Find... Deep in the cave."

Although it was complicated, she was able to articulate words, finally expressing her will clearly for the first time.

The young adventurers paled when they heard this. They regrouped.

"So we must go to the bottom of the cave... It's a rather dangerous quest."

"Nicky, if you go, I'll go. After all, this is a level thirty quest. There's no way we'll have to fight that dragon."

"I guess you're right, let's go."

The three young people left the shop. Only Iris said a goodbye, to which Emilia answered.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to leave you."

"Iris? You're not coming with us?"

"No, I'm a little tired, I'm going to disconnect. See you later."

"Okay, it's your choice, don't come complaining later if you don't get any reward!"

Iris left the group, and separated from the two others. But she did not disconnect herself as she had previously said. No, on the contrary, she returned to see Emilia.

"Hello, Emilia."

"Hello, welcome to Emilia's herbalist shop. What can I do for you?"

The glance of Emilia was always as dark. But it was also possible to notice on her face a certain surprise. She didn't expect to see one of the three idiot adventurers again anytime soon.

"Emilia, do you have a job for me?"

"You're just in time, adventurer! I was just looking for someone to bring me some dragon's breath! These are the little mushrooms that can be found at the entrance of some caves trodden by dragons. Fortunately, a dragon settled not far from here a while ago, which makes it easier to get supplies, although sometimes I have to call on adventurers like you. But you see, I need these mushrooms by tomorrow to complete an order. Be careful, these resources can only be found at night, when the dragon is fully awake and its power at its peak!"

Iris was shocked by Emilia's revelations. Even if it was a simple quest dialogue. They had completely misunderstood this quest.

"Thank you, Emilia, I'll get those mushrooms to you as soon as possible. Have a nice day."

Emilia stared at the girl, who was leaving.

"You…Not... Like others... Not arrogant... Have a nice day and a nice trip!"

Iris still couldn't believe it. It reminded her how important quest dialogues were. Images of Lena and Nick came to mind again, but she quickly forgot them. She had joined their group two weeks before, because she was tired of playing alone. However, she quickly regretted joining them. Finally free, she didn't care about their fate, deciding to play solo again.

...

Facing the cave.

"Nicky, I'm a little scared."

Lena stuck to her ally's arm with all her might.

"Don't worry, Lena. It's unlikely we'll have to face a dragon. The quest wouldn't have sent us there otherwise..."

They entered the cave and walked for many minutes. Finally, they came to a huge room at the end of the cave. As they explored the various corners, a roar was heard. The howling did not stop for several dozen seconds, during which time the two adventurers had to cover their ears because the scream was so powerful.

"Nicky, is that the dragon?"

"No, impossible..."

There, in the gloom, two small stars appeared. They moved slightly, then began to move. They moved closer to the two young men. When the stars were close enough, they realized that they were attached to a reptile skull, which was itself connected to a long neck that was lost in the darkness.

That was the last thing Nick and Lena saw, for the next second they died, burned by the dragon's breath.

That night, when Iris arrived at the entrance of the cave, many luminescent mushrooms had appeared. She picked ten of them, not even one more. This is how she successfully accomplished Emilia's quest, for which she will be graciously rewarded with basic potions and gold coins.