Hidden branch

Riding on a donkey, traversing through the constant flow of people.

Initially, I visited the aboriginal shops, spending several gold coins to purchase over a hundred mount stones. Subsequently, Jiang Han utilized a teleportation formation, arriving at the nearest town to his destination, then headed towards the direction of the Dark Camp.

After a journey of over twenty minutes, he reached his destination—a level three town, Tianhai Town, which had been occupied by the Dark Camp during the recent activities.

Choosing a level three town as a temporary base!

This was a reminder from his mentor Sheryl, and naturally, he wouldn't take it lightly.

Due to the recent siege that had taken place just a few days ago, Tianhai Town appeared slightly dilapidated. However, perhaps due to the leniency of the current town mayor, the daily lives of the townspeople were not greatly affected. Children still played on the streets, and adults conversed, unlike other towns occupied by the Dark Camp, which were often somber.

Without pausing, he arrived at the entrance of the mayor's mansion.

"Excuse me, the mayor's mansion is off-limits to ordinary individuals," a soldier at the entrance immediately intervened, but with a calm tone.

Scouting skills were universal; both aboriginals and adventurers possessed them. Confronting a formidable individual with a panel full of question marks in front of them was a reckless act.

Jiang Han smiled and said, "I've come to seek refuge in Tianhai Town. Kindly inform the mayor."

Seek refuge?

The two soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them holstered his weapon, saying, "Please wait here; I will inform the mayor."

"Very well," Jiang Han nodded. "I appreciate it."

As the soldier went to report, Jiang Han curiously asked another gatekeeper, "Brother, weren't you originally soldiers of the Bright Camp?"

Not that the Dark Camp had no human soldiers, but throughout his journey, Jiang Han had seen very few NPCs or monsters belonging to the Dark Camp.

"Well..."

The gatekeeper awkwardly smiled. "We switched from light to dark. The current mayor used to be a local of Tianhai Town, so he doesn't give us a hard time."

Hearing this, Jiang Han suddenly understood.

In no time, a burly man walked out of the mansion. He appeared joyful, hurriedly approaching as if eager to meet Jiang Han. "Brother, I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

"The town I attacked was accidentally destroyed, and with no place to stay, I ran here for refuge. I hope you don't mind," Jiang Han explained.

This burly man with the title of mayor was none other than Fiege!

They had a brief encounter in the Divine Demon Treasury. Jiang Han had wisely followed his advice, abandoning the scroll replication and choosing the intelligent path of concealing his hidden profession.

To express gratitude to Jiang Han, Fiege had promised wholeheartedly to help whenever he faced trouble in Tianhai Town.

Now, in the spirit of basic trust between individuals, Jiang Han had arrived.

"No problem at all, no need to be so polite," Fiege waved his hand and then revealed a solemn expression. "Actually... you've arrived at the perfect time!"

"..."

His sudden statement gave Jiang Han an ominous feeling.

I arrived at the perfect time?

Could it be, brother, that the game system is afraid I'm idle and has already calculated my arrival using big data, starting to arrange things for me?

"In my opinion, you are more suitable to be the mayor of Tianhai Town than I am. How about... you take the position of mayor?" Fiege asked in a low voice.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Do you accept the abdication of Mayor Fiege, becoming the mayor of Tianhai Town?

"I f***ing... decline!"

Jiang Han was agitated, almost wanting to curse the system's mother, hastily choosing to refuse.

Become the mayor?

Afraid that the pressure during siege activities wasn't enough for me, huh?

"You're not willing?" the burly man looked puzzled. "Brother, I genuinely want to entrust the town to you, and Tianhai Town is well-managed under my rule. You just need to maintain the current state of affairs."

"I can't afford it!" Jiang Han quickly declined. "I am just Jiang Han, and I hope Brother Fiege can understand. Provoking top-tier experts is already enough for me. If I become the mayor, I might end up being forced into the role of the final boss. Who knows what powerful figures might emerge."

"This..."

Fiege felt helpless for a moment.

"Brother, if you want me to be the mayor, is there any particular reason, or... something unspeakable?" Jiang Han intentionally inquired.

In reality, what he truly wanted to ask was whether the system arranged this because of me. However, that would be too direct, so he chose a more tactful approach.

"Yes," Fiege hesitated, nodded, then looked at the nearby gatekeepers. "Let's talk inside the mansion."

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Congratulations! You have triggered the hidden subplot quest [Rescue]!

"?!"

Hearing the system notification, Jiang Han's heart skipped a beat.

System, I love you so much, and you're treating me like this?

Honestly, he wasn't afraid of doing plot quests. It was just that triggering a hidden subplot quest with a casual remark seemed incredible, as if someone had dug a pit and was waiting for him to jump in.

That feeling...

How should I put it, it's quite subtle.

...

Arriving in the empty hall, Fiege spoke with seriousness, "Jiang Han, I know about your past."

"Oh?"

Jiang Han feigned surprise, not interrupting, waiting for him to continue.

On the current continent of Tianheng, he was considered a "celebrity," generously rewarded by the Bright Camp, eagerly hunted by adventurers. Some people knowing about his past in the game wasn't surprising.

"Once upon a time, you were also a member of the Bright Camp. However, due to a strained relationship with the aboriginals and an unresolved huge debt, you ultimately betrayed the Bright Camp and sought refuge with the undead mage Daniel," Fiege recounted his "glorious deeds," "So, in a mysterious way, I feel that you can better understand my predicament."

"How so?" Jiang Han inquired.

"In fact, this matter has some connection to you," Fiege took a deep breath, speaking solemnly, "In the Battle of the Dark City, you were saved by Sheryl in the end, but your mentor, the undead mage Daniel, still met a tragic end. After killing Daniel, a total of nine undead mages have perished to this day. The Holy See finally gathered the beads formed after their deaths."

"..."

The atmosphere shifted.

A moment of silence.

At this moment, Jiang Han's resistance to the unexpected subplot quest vanished without a trace.

This subplot unexpectedly involved undead mages and the Holy See!

"It is said that undead mages are formed by the dispersal of the power of a peerless expert who called himself an explorer after his death. There are a total of nine, and gathering the beads formed after their deaths may have the chance to break the restrictions of the rules

, allowing beings of a higher dimension to descend upon the Tianheng continent," Fiege's expression was filled with seriousness as he continued, "The purpose of the Holy See collecting the beads is to bring down one of the gods they worship to the mortal realm."

"Explorer?" Jiang Han pondered upon hearing this.

Since Daniel was part of the explorer's power, according to Luo Yi's explanation, the final battle inside the Divine Demon Tower shouldn't have been against Daniel but against the original explorer?

"What does it mean to break the restrictions of the rules?" Jiang Han asked.

Collecting beads has a chance to break the rules?

What rules, game rules?

What happens after breaking them?

For a moment, Jiang Han's thoughts ran wild, feeling that the setting of "Eternal" was not just absurd but also fantastical.