NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
As you can tell from playing the game,
Quests play a very important role in RPGs.
They can provide experience points, advanced items, changes in NPC relationships, and skill acquisition, among other things.
Moreover, they also serve as guides that connect characters and the storyline in the game.
And in this respect, the VR RPG game “Demon’s Saga” was no different.
To put it bluntly, this game didn’t have much of a storyline at all.
The only goal provided throughout the game was to defeat the sealed demons scattered around the world.
Players are thrown into this vast world with that singular goal in mind.
To make matters worse, it’s been nearly half a year since the game opened and not a single demon has shown its face.
As a result, players are left fumbling about wondering what to do in the game.
In such a situation, the only thing that provides them with knowledge of the world and its settings is the existence of quests.
Of course, since the NPCs’ AI changes in real-time, there’s no such thing as a duplicate quest.
While similar quests can appear under the title of repeat quests… that’s about it.
When one player takes a quest, that quest is permanently gone.
This means quests are rare items in the game.
So how on earth are players supposed to learn about the game’s story with these limited quests?
Moreover, where can one even obtain quests in the first place?
Fortunately, the game developers provided an answer for that.
+
[There are two ways to obtain quests]
The first is by receiving missions from the Adventurers’ Guild bulletin board.
There are many troubles scattered throughout the Guild, so you can almost always get quests there.
However, most of these missions are consumable, so it’s rare for them to be related to the main storyline.
The second is by obtaining quests from NPCs.
NPCs occasionally throw out quests. Although many are trivial, the chance of getting quests related to the main storyline is higher than from the Guild.
In terms of relevance to the main storyline, they can be classified into two categories.
First, if the quest itself is related to the main storyline.
Second, if the NPC themselves is related to the main storyline.
This has been GM Gaia.
May everyone have a fun time in “Demon’s Saga.”
+
What exactly the developers mean by “main storyline” is still unclear.
They’ve always been a secretive game company. It could relate to demons or be quests that significantly impact the game’s lore.
In any case, what’s important here is that quests given by NPCs are considered valuable.
This is why Yoo Chaerin’s sudden outburst was completely expected.
“Quest, Quest!”
That precious quest had come to her!
But not only that. Judging by the fact that the quest was merely an errand, it clearly wasn’t a part of the main storyline. After all, how much influence could an errand possibly have on the world?
This left only one possibility.
[Wow lol there’s a quest popping up here]
[What? So does that mean they’re an important NPC?]
[No, no, it’s still uncertain. It could just be coincidence.]
[We’ve been let down before, so let’s not get our hopes up.]
[But come on, just judging by the face alone, they look important lol]
“?”
The only one tilting their head in confusion was Yor, who had yet to read the official documents.
Thanks to “Player’s Eye,” Chaerin knew a quest had popped up for her.
But what did that actually mean? Was that really so important?
Yor, in fact, was still unaware of how the quest even came to be.
Just speaking casually, a quest popped up.
“…Quest?”
“Ah, ah! It’s nothing at all!”
Feeling uncomfortable having information she didn’t know, Yor quickly changed the subject.
There would surely be a chance to ask about it later.
“So, will you go and get it done?”
“Of course! I’ll be back in no time!”
With that, Yor was able to delegate her tasks to Chaerin.
She felt a little bad, but well. She would certainly provide some compensation.
“Oh, make sure to turn off the stream when you leave.”
“Ah, yes!”
Yor made sure to disguise the path back to her house.
*
“Let’s see… tissues, soap, cloth, fabric… bread and holy water…”
Upon arriving in the city, Yoo Chaerin immediately turned on her stream.
Since she had given advance notice that she’d turn it on as soon as she left the forest, viewers quickly joined in.
The current viewer count was an impressive 4,300. Even after parting from Yor, that was quite a number.
It seemed people flocked in because of the quest news.
Viewers took a look at the long list Yor had written and commented.
[Looks like they’re moving house.]
[They could totally set up a new place now.]
[What’s with all those requests? With that alone, they could live for months.]
[No wonder a quest popped up lol]
Yoo Chaerin found herself agreeing with the viewers.
As they said, Yor’s list was indeed quite long.
Thank goodness she was handed the payment amount, or else she could have lost quite a lot of gold.
Looking at that list, Chaerin could infer quite a few things.
With such a long list at once, it seemed like he rarely ventured outside the forest.
Of course, it could also just be that he found it bothersome… but at least she felt there had to be some reason he was reluctant to go to the city. She just didn’t know what that reason was yet.
Among the items on the list, bread was one of the things Yor particularly requested.
It had to be a pastry filled with strawberry jam, according to him. Given his living situation, it made sense that he would crave such a treat.
‘But what’s up with the holy water?’
If there was one item that was completely baffling, it was the holy water listed at the very end.
Moreover, the quantity requested was “as much as possible, depending on the money.”
What on earth could he possibly need that for? No matter how much she pondered, it made no sense.
Holy water, as we commonly know, is an item created by clergy.
It’s made by pouring divine power into pure water.
Only intermediate-level priests can produce it after dedicating significant time and effort, so it’s quite pricey.
Because of this, it’s also low in circulation in the market.
Its usage is even more ambiguous.
It reportedly weakens the power of evil-type enemies and deals additional damage, but so far, evil-type enemies have rarely appeared in “Demon’s Saga.”
Honestly, since demons themselves haven’t even shown up yet, what more could she expect?
Thus, holy water became a bit of a game item treated like an albatross.
Had someone purchased holy water, they’d be met with “game noob” comments, after all.
[So our Yor oppa was also a game noob…]
[To that guy, this place is reality, you know?]
[But really, why is he buying so much holy water?]
[Maybe there’s a demon sealed nearby? lol]
“…Hmm.”
She was slightly curious but didn’t dwell on it too much. What mattered now was completing the quest. At the very least, she needed to return to the Forbidden Forest before evening.
With that thought, she continued her shopping.
*
Next time, she definitely needed to utilize delivery services.
“Phew… I gathered everything here. Ha… Ha…”
After sending her on the errand, I waited for several hours.
Finally, I received the items from her.
Upon opening the inventory, she started unloading the items.
I helped, but with so many items, it was inevitable that my stamina would run low.
Watching her, I thought to myself.
‘Guess there really is an inventory system.’
That’s pretty standard for games. Nothing surprising there.
In this world alone, spatial pockets are widely known.
You could think of it as a variation of that.
[Looks like the shopkeeper is about to die lol]
[Ah, I’m going to do loading and unloading here too fu*king hell]
[You fool lol]
[Unloading now]
[You should do some unloading too]
Since we had entered the cave, the stream was still live.
As long as we didn’t show the path to the cave, streaming itself was allowed.
Having decided to expose part of my existence, I could manage this much.
“Ugh, it’s so hot… I’ve been moving around too much and now I’m sweating.”
As I was lost in those thoughts, she casually opened her outerwear.
Revealing the plump chest that had been pressed inside it.
For some reason, under her coat, she was only wearing a brown tank top.
Perhaps that’s why her cleavage was completely visible. It seemed to glisten slightly, likely from sweat.
Clearing my throat, I asked her.
“Ahem, um… what happened to your armor? Why are you just in a tank top under your outerwear?”
“Huh? Ah.”
She momentarily glanced at herself and scratched her head, seeming shy.
“To be honest, I always take off all my gear when I come here in case I might die. Hehe…”
“…”
So that’s why.
I was starting to understand the feelings I’d had earlier.
They probably felt a similar sensation when they were in my shoes.
However, the bigger problem was that, right now, almost I was the only one feeling embarrassed about it.
[You look like such a coward lol]
[Check out that sweat lol]
[Put on some clothes; it’s unpleasant to look at.]
The chatroom was as calm as ever.
Every time I faced such moments, I felt the world had changed.
“…Hold on. I’ll go get your reward.”
Although it was quite a decent sight, I quickly headed to the storage, not wanting to expose my reddening face.
Though I may have looked like a beggar for living in the woods, I had some savings.
After all, it was a world filled with dangerous monsters, and their corpses turned into money.
And I eliminate those monsters regularly.
‘A few will do, I guess.’
“Here, take this.”
Thinking that, I tossed a few items her way.
“Eh? Eh??”
Her eyes widened in surprise.