Chapter 84: The Quests 2

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Quests 2

"Elemental Manipulation would greatly expand your offensive and defensive options. You would no longer need to rely on your sword alone when your mana runs low. Monster Creation and Control would bring you closer to properly using your Dungeon Master authority over monsters. It would allow you to build instead of just destroying. Lesser Corruption Resistance could protect you against something we still don’t fully understand. And what you do not understand can kill you faster than what you do."

Arin frowned. "So basically, they’re all good."

"Yes."

"You’re terrible at helping me choose."

"I gave you information. The choice is yours."

Arin chuckled despite himself. "There she is."

Arene ignored him and Arin turned towards the forest. The trees to the north were charred at the edges. To the west, the canopy was so thick you couldn’t see ten meters in. To the south, the light didn’t seem to penetrate properly at all. Three quests, three objectives, and three rewards that would all take him in different directions.

While Arin knew what he wanted, he was still interested in what others thought. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Arin looked back at the screen. "Can I accept all three?"

"No."

"Can I get the quests without accepting them?"

Arene hesitated. "Possibly."

"Possibly?"

"These are System quests. You may encounter the objectives naturally, but accepting a quest formally allows the system to track your progress, to guide you, and to grant you the reward upon completion. If you do not accept it, you may still do the work, but the System may not recognize it."

Arin nodded. "So I can decide later?"

"Yes."

"Then why show them to me now?"

Arene’s voice was laced with amusement. "Because the System wants you to know what is available. And because you have been idle for exactly one morning, which for you is a record."

Arin stared at the screen. "That’s annoyingly vague."

"It is."

Arin closed the window. The forest air felt cooler now. "Fine, I’ll think about it."

The System vanished and Arin started walking again, his boots crunching on the ash-dusted path. After a minute, he stopped.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Why are there three quests now? All at once? Usually it’s one or two."

Arene answered immediately. "Because you completed your previous quest."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it. Your performance during the Chimera attack exceeded the requirements for the scout rescue. The System is acknowledging your growth. You are being offered branching paths."

Arin was confused. "I thought quests were going to be about Dungeon Master stuff. Like, building my dungeon, claiming territory."

"Some will be."

"Some?"

"Your previous quest was not. It was about saving people. You are still an adventurer, Arin. You have goals outside of the dungeon."

"That’s true..."

"You help people. You explore. You fight monsters. The System recognizes what you do."

Arin smiled a little. "So I can still get normal quests. Even though you’re a Dungeon Master."

"Being a Dungeon Master doesn’t erase everything else you are."

Arin stopped walking and the sentence sunk in. He’d spent so long thinking about what this title meant, what Caelan wanted from him, what Dungeon Sovereign was, that he sometimes forgot who he had been before earning it. Still an adventurer, still Arin. The guy who took on goblin extermination quests for a few silver.

He turned around and looked back at the settlement. He could hear the sounds of the elves working. The distant call for more wood, for help with a roof. Life going on, and Arin smiled.

"Maybe I should take the easiest one. Forest Cleanup sounds straightforward."

Arene immediately replied, "You’re not doing that."

Arin laughed. "Why not?"

"Because I know you. You will look at ’Corrupted Territory’ and you will not be able to leave it alone."

"That’s unfair."

"It’s accurate."

Arin scratched the back of his head. "Fine then, let’s look at them properly." He reopened the window and the three quests were still there, glowing patiently.

[Forest Cleanup]

[Monster Threat]

[Corrupted Territory]

Arin carefully read the objectives again. The first entailed cleansing the forest to the north, the second was about getting rid of a specific monster in the west, and the third required him to investigate the source of corruption in the south. Three directions, three completely different problems, and Arin turned towards the tree line, feeling that old familiar pull in his chest.

"We’re surrounded by quests," he said.

Arene chuckled. "You sound happy."

"I’m an adventurer. What did you expect?" He closed the window and his expression became more serious. "I’ll take one at a time. That’s probably wise. And I’ll decide after I learn more. Maybe ask Eldran what he knows about the south."

"Also wise."

Arin smiled. "You know, you’re starting to sound like Eldran."

"That’s an insult."

Arin laughed and turned back towards the settlement, already making a mental list of who to talk to. Then, something appeared out of the corner of his eye. Not a sound, not a movement in the trees. A notification.

A fourth notification.

Arin paused, his smile fading. "What?"

A new window appeared, darker than the other three. The border flickered like a bad flame.

[Additional Quest Available]

Arin’s smile vanished completely and Arene fell silent, which scared him more than anything else.

Arin opened the window, his hand slightly trembling, but just as the objective was about to appear, the window flickered and disappeared. It didn’t fade. It was pulled, like something had yanked it away from him.

Arin looked around, confused, his Dungeon Sense flaring out on instinct. The forest was empty. The settlement was still busy behind him.

"What was that?"

Arene’s voice was quiet. Too quiet. "I don’t know."

Arin frowned. "You didn’t see it?"

"I saw the notification. I felt it appear. But I could not read its contents. The System blocked me."

"Then why did it disappear?"

"I don’t know."

Arin turned towards the forest and the feeling of his nightmare returned for a fraction of a second. Not fear, just unease. A cold draft that had nothing to do with the morning air. He opened his hand and his Dungeon Master Mark glowed slightly, reacting to something he couldn’t see.

Arene spoke up, her voice tense.

"Arin."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever that quest was..."

She trailed off.

"It wasn’t one of the three I detected. It was not part of the System’s standard offer. It came from somewhere else."

Arin’s expression darkened, his fist clenching around the faint light of his mark.

"So there was a fourth quest."

"Yes."

"And the System hid it? Or something else hid it from the System?"

"I don’t know if it was hidden," Arene said. "I only know that it was not supposed to be seen. Or not supposed to be seen yet."

Arin stared up at the sky, where the mist was finally burning away. Three clear paths in front of him, and now a fourth shadow that only showed itself for a second.

"Then I guess we’ll have to find out."

Arin turned towards the settlement, his earlier calm completely gone. The three quests remained open in his System log, waiting for his choice, but Arin now had more questions than answers.

What kind of quest appeared for only a second...

and what kind of quest was it that even Arene couldn’t see the objective for?