Publish Task

After a while, Dawei decided to go AFK for some instant noodles. He left his character gazing at the prince's dark little cabin while casually browsing the game's official website on his second monitor.

He wasn't idling—he was observing. There was no point in running around aimlessly looking for clues that didn't exist. He might as well wait to see what kind of event the prince would trigger.

According to the official site, Mercenary World broke away from traditional game design. It didn't handhold. But all the classic gameplay mechanics still existed—quests, combat, factions, crafting—if players could uncover them.

"'Let players find the experience themselves,' huh..." Dawei muttered, chewing noodles. "So basically, you replaced beginner guides with a treasure hunt. Nice."

He scanned through the top forum threads. As expected, the hot topic was still the nine players who had acquired god-level skills—and which former leaderboard legends were expected to become the tenth.

Other threads were less flattering.

Dozens of players were venting their frustration about failing their god-level missions and becoming stuck. With zero equipment, no levels, and no skills, many were now "Three No" players—a meme the devs had spun into marketing.

"Three No Products: Leading the Next Gaming Revolution."

Dawei snorted. "Revolution? More like mass unemployment."

As the time slipped past midnight, the game world remained quiet.

He leaned back in his chair. "Is that all there is to the prince? Dude's acting like a tragic romance novel, stuck in his emo cabin. Maybe he's just filler."

Still, something didn't sit right. Mercenary World had taught him not to assume anything. Just because it looked like nothing was happening didn't mean the script wasn't about to flip.

Suddenly—wind.

He looked back at the screen. A sharp gust rustled the treetops. A black shadow streaked across the sky, cutting through the mist like a blade.

Dawei's heart skipped.

"Vampire Count?" he whispered.

The silhouette dove toward the ground like a silent predator. Dawei squinted—not the Count. The ID above the figure's head flashed deep purple:

[Jilice]

The cabin door burst open.

The prince—Montico—stormed out, cloak billowing. "Get out of here!"

Jilice laughed coldly. "Montico, my dear prince. The master has summoned you. I've come to bring you home."

Dawei blinked.

Montico?!

His mouth fell open.

What the actual hell?!

"That guy... the prince... he's the werewolf?!"

Dawei clutched his hair, the noodles forgotten. "I've been hunting that dude for two days! Two days! Sleeping in dirt, eating virtual grass—just to realize the guy I had tea with was the target?!"

He nearly uninstalled right then and there.

But no—he caught himself. "No, no, no—brother isn't stupid. I just... didn't have the info. This is what happens when you get tossed into a god-tier quest with no tutorial!"

Montico growled, his tone trembling with fury. "I will never return to that monster! He's nothing but a parasite who cloaks cruelty in elegance!"

System Prompt:Player has obtained new information: [Vampire Count - Hindlow]

Dawei blinked. So the Count's name is Hindlow… that's good intel.

Montico's voice shook with rage. "You think you can drag me back, you walking leech?! Send Hindlow himself!"

Jilice's smirk sharpened. "He would have, but why dirty his hands for a mutt like you?"

System Prompt:Player has obtained new information: [Vampire Count - Relationship: Romantic Involvement]

Dawei stared at the screen. "...Wow. Even the Vampire Count has a love life. Meanwhile, I'm solo-running a cursed forest with no gear and dead nerves. Life's not fair."

Montico stood firm. "You're no match for me!"

Jilice sneered. "It's not a full moon, mutt. You can't transform. You're powerless."

In one motion, Jilice unfurled a massive flesh-colored wing, launching into the sky. He dove like a falcon, snagging Montico in one swift motion, and vanished into the night.

"Wait... what?! That's it?!" Dawei leaned forward. "You were all bark, Montico! I thought you were going to bust out a secret artifact or something! You didn't even scratch him!"

His HUD didn't show a quest update. No mission failed. No progress logged. Just silence.

"Negative... damn... rating."

He sat back and lit another cigarette, brain whirring. "Okay. So let's list what we've learned."

The prince was Montico, the werewolf from the great sage's quest.

He was being hunted by Jilice, servant of the vampire count Hindlow.

Montico had ties to Hindlow—possibly a past relationship gone wrong.

Despite all this, the god-tier mission hasn't failed.

He rubbed his temples. "So… Montico was hiding from both the Count and Dioise. Jilice captures him. Dioise can't catch him. Which means I definitely can't either."

Dawei teleported back to Dioise's cabin, auto-hung by the system. He lay in the great sage's bed, staring at the wooden ceiling, piecing everything together.

"It can't be a beginner's quest," he muttered. "Not when it involves vampires, werewolves, a sage, a city guardian, and a triple-headed dragon."

Then a wild theory crept in.

"What if... the three-headed dragon was summoned?"

Dakazal was cursed. Hindlow plagued it. But it had guardians, so the Count couldn't act directly. What if—he summoned the dragons to do his dirty work?

The dragons raze the city. The Count weakens its defenses. Meanwhile, Montico flees, pursued by both sides.

"This whole thing isn't a hunt… it's a political war," Dawei muttered.

And he was smack in the middle.

It would take at least six hours to return to Dioise in real-time travel. For now, Dawei closed his eyes and whispered:

"Please, system. At least let me keep the buff for surviving this ridiculous plot twist."

He grinned faintly.

"Brother isn't just doing a god-level mission anymore… he's rewriting the lore."