Chapter 18: Hidden Quest 3

"Did you find him?" a young girl standing close to a water fountain, with an arrow crossed around her, waved at a gloomy boy dressed in black from top to bottom.

"Nope, the servants said he went out early with a friend to the fair," he replied, walking next to a chubby-looking boy the same age as both of them.

"Umm… well… maybe I guess we'll run into him at the fair," the chubby kid suggested, shyly facing the ground.

"Yeah, let's hurry. The others might already be there," the girl with the arrow complained, facing the gloomy kid.

"Whatever. Why do I have to attend again?" he replied, not feeling up for the event.

"Because we all promised to meet up using any big events like this one as an excuse to share information, dummy," a female voice sounded behind the girl with the arrow, who had on a cloak which covered her face very well.

"Is that you, Freya… mmm mmmm?" the chubby kid exclaimed in surprise but had his mouth covered by the gloomy kid so as not to draw any attention.

"Keep it down, Cedric, you numb skull. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and the priestess." the gloomy kid caution.

"Oh… rr… right," Cedric replied, facing down.

"Well, if it isn't the priestess herself. How long have you been hiding behind me? Even Asher seems to be in character too," the arrow girl said, almost mockingly. "Protecting the priestess is an honor," she tried imitating Asher's gloomy voice while hardening her expression, but eventually broke into laughter.

"Stop it, Evelina. You know how much I hate that title," she sighed.

"I know, it's just fun teasing you with it," Evelina giggled.

"Who are we waiting for, Asher?" Freya inquired from the gloomy kid.

"Finn, but it seems like he already left without us so we should hurry too," Asher sighed as he explained the situation.

"That cheapskate good-for-nothing bastard made us wait here for nothing. Just wait till I get my hands on him," Evelina clenched her fists, remembering how waiting by the water fountain was his idea.

"It's alright, Lina. Let's just go. I really don't want another scolding for being late," Asher slowly patted her head to calm her down.

"Oh, her? That's true. Let's go. I'll race you there," Evelina replied, running off.

"Huh? You want to race an assassin? Let's see about that," Asher smirked as he ran off in her direction, leaving Cedric with Freya.

"Idiots," Freya sighed, walking in their direction. "Let's go," she said to Cedric without turning to face him.

*****

At the cave, Jett dashed through the space he had cleared with {Hell Fire}, leaving the four larger fireflies defenseless right in front of him. The fireflies quickly reformed their formation, trapping him inside.

"Too bad I don't have an AOE attack skill," Jett sighed. "Now let's test the older one."

[Spellblade Storm A]

[Directs user's Mana to their weapon to increase damage and combat prowess by 10% for 10 seconds.

Summon weapons imbued with any spell of choice. The number of weapons the user can control depends on their intelligence.]

With this skill, he conjured 20 swords, each imbued with a distinct spell, to cover him from all angles as the fireflies began their assault. He attempted to launch one of the swords at the larger fireflies, but they were fast enough to dodge.

"Dammed pests, just die," Jett smirked as he leaped towards them, activating another skill.

[Ricochet Strike]

Bouncing from every direction with even greater speed than before, he cut them down before the first effect of [Spellblade Storm] wore off, leaving only the conjured swords floating around him.

Notifications appeared for both Jett and Finn, who was still locked in battle with the humanoid monster. Despite the low visibility, they could both clearly see the messages.

[Obtained Fire Elemental Firefly]

[Obtained Water Elemental Firefly]

[Obtained Earth Elemental Firefly]

[Obtained Wind Elemental Firefly]

[Remaining 4/5]

[Completion Rate 27.78%]

"Umm, a little help?" Finn yelled, still barely holding on.

"Be right there," Jett yelled back. "I don't have any MP left, can't even use Quick Heal," he muttered to himself while looking at his stats, wondering how he was going to get past the swarm of fireflies continuously attacking him.

"If I was stronger, I would've driven my spear right through you," Finn complained, speaking to the monster which took no heed.

"Driven? Drive? Aha" An idea struck Jett. "Finn, you're a genius," he exclaimed.

"Huh?" Finn didn't understand what he was talking about. To him, nothing mattered more than surviving.

"Alright, I'll release 10 swords so I can increase my concentration. Then, I'll join the blades so their tips touch while pointing forward like so," Jett strategized, executing his plan while evading the attacking fireflies. "Now spin!" he yelled, forcing the swords to rotate in a drill-like manner.

"Go!" he commanded, sending the makeshift drill right through the swarm, creating a brief chance to escape. "I'm coming, Finn," Jett yelled as he made his way to where Finn and the monster were, with the swarm hot on his heels. But the closer he got, the less they tried to attack.

"I wonder what would happen if I gave it too much Mana," Jett pondered as he rushed the monster, stabbing it with all the swords he had conjured, while diving to push himself and Finn away. Luckily, they fell into a hole.

"What are you doing? Get off me," Finn tried to push Jett off his body.

"3... 2... 1..." He ignored Finn and started counting down. Once he reached the last count, the monster began emitting loud noises as though it was in pain, then immediately exploded with a massive shockwave, covering the area.

[Obtained Light Elemental Firefly]

[Mission Complete]

[Completion Rate 33.33%]

[Contribution 80%]

[Rewards]

[Sacred Ring Option]

[E-grade beast core]

[10 all-round stat increase]

[Skill: Night Vision D]

[Skill: Light Blessing B]

[Scroll, ink, and quill x1]

[??? Spear: ???]

[Final Strike Reward]

[10 Stat points]

[Skill: Killer Instinct C]

The messages started popping up in front of Jett and Finn, who were both nearly passed out, though Finn's was a bit different.

[Obtained Light Elemental Firefly]

[Mission Complete]

[Completion Rate 33.33%]

[Contribution 20%]

[Rewards]

[Sacred Ring Option]

[Lyk poison x1]

[3 all-round stat increase]

[Skill: Night Vision]

[Skill: Light Blessing]

[Light Essence]

"We... did... it. We actually... survived," Finn said, feeling tired and out of breath.

[Returning to the CURSED SHOP]

*****

Within seconds, they found themselves back in the shop, and the shopkeeper was still there.

"You survived? I might really be free of this curse," the old man laughed, finding his situation amusing. He had been stuck there for hundreds of years, and the first people to try saving him were two kids.

"Let's rest a bit. I might not make it if we continue," Finn suggested as they lay down on the floor, utterly defeated.

"Get up. I promised not to waste any time, remember?" Jett reminded him as he inserted the silver key into the silver door. "This mission works faster if we're both tired. This time, I'll be relying on luck."

Jett took a deep breath as he hesitated, but eventually walked in.

"Damn this maniac," Finn mumbled, but eventually gave in and followed.

*****

[Number of Participants: 2]

[Switching Quest Objective…]

"Why is this different from the last one?" Finn asked as they both looked at the translucent screen loading before them.

"I honestly don't know," Jett sighed. "I was originally going to do this solo because I already knew how to beat it, but it's different now." He combed his hair as he tried to think. "Maxed out luck, do your thing."

He closed his eyes, not knowing what to expect, as the screen stopped loading.

[Quest Objective: Kill your ally]

[Reward: Force Contract Knowledge]

*

*

*

Somebody has to die

I can't wait (˘･_･˘)