Episode 155
155. Holy Empire
◀ ROUND 10 ▶
<Main Quest>
└Complete at least 1 sub-quest in 10 hours in the fantasy world
<Sub Quest>
└???? many
[All areas]
└Participants: 550,528
└Achievers: 0/137,632
[Applicable area C3-ESKA001]
└Participants: 2,760
└Achiever: 0/690
The players who confirmed the quest were nervous.
“Complete at least one subquest?”
“In a fantasy world you went to before?”
“I see that there is more than one, so I guess there are more than one?”
“Then doesn’t that mean that the quest is complete if you beat just one out of many?”
“Then it’s too easy?”
For a moment I thought it was easy.
People soon changed their minds.
‘It can’t be this easy.’
Especially since the angel threatened that it would be difficult.
“Probably each sub-quest will be very difficult.”
Did you hear that murmur?
Angel Nell let out a laugh that was almost like a mockery.
[The sub-quest is not difficult, humans. There are differences in difficulty, but most of them are easy to conquer on your own. Don’t be too scared.]
“Well, then what part is difficult… … .”
[When I said it was difficult, I wasn’t talking about the quest itself. It meant that it wouldn’t be easy to get through the round. This is because the achiever positions will be filled in the order of those who have completed the most quests.]
“ah… … .”
Line up in the order in which you have won as many quests as possible.
Those words were nothing but words that incited competition between them.
I have no idea how many I need to complete to get into the stable range.
Of course, not everyone knew.
At least the people who heard Ryumin’s prophecy had no anxiety on their faces.
Because I heard the cutoff line.
‘You must complete at least 4 sub-quests to enter the top 25%. ‘To get into the top 3 in that section, you have to break 7.’
To get to first place, you had to complete 10 quests to be considered safe.
Of course, Ryumin was planning to complete 10 in this round.
[I think you have roughly guessed it, but let me explain. In this round, you have a 10-hour time limit to freely roam the fantasy world and complete sub-quests located throughout the world. As you can see, you must complete at least one sub-quest to be considered successful in the main quest, and you can complete as many more as you want until time runs out.]
“10 hours is quite a long mission, right?”
[You will have to move diligently. The time limit is 10 hours, but you will pass it in the order in which you complete the most quests. Please do at least one. Of course, if you don’t complete even one, it disappears immediately.]
“under… … “Is this going to explode?”
“I guess I’ll have to work hard on the quest.”
There is a time limit, but there is no limit to the number of quests completed?
Naturally, competitive spirit was bound to come into play.
‘You’ll be anxious because you don’t know how many quests you have to complete. You’ll be nervous and tired. But there is a difference between difficult and difficult.’
The reason Ryu Min said that round 10 was difficult was not simply because the competition was fierce.
‘The sub-quests are really difficult.’
There are also quests that are as easy as the angel’s words.
However, there are very few of them, only one in ten.
Five out of ten quests are difficult to complete alone.
The remaining four barely managed to wake up.
The angel who said it was easy was a lie.
‘So completing 4 tasks in 10 hours is also a good thing. ‘If it’s the current level of players.’
Ryumin wasn’t worried about the difficulty level.
‘Compared to the Tower of Trials, this is nothing more than a piece of cake.’
It will probably be more difficult to break through the 60th floor of the Tower of Trials than completing 10 sub-quests in 10 hours.
[Once you have completed a quest, you cannot attempt it again. Of course, other players can challenge you. I hope you keep that in mind and move on. If you have any questions, please let me know.]
“Could you tell me the difficulty level of each quest?”
I raised my hand curiously and asked a question, but what came back was a scratch.
[I can’t believe the first question is such a stupid question. I want to explode my head.]
“… … .”
[It wouldn’t be fun if I told you that. Anyone have any other questions?]
“Is it possible that I might give up midway through the quest because it’s too difficult?”
[That’s a good question. You can give up. If you look at the quest progress window, there is a quit button. Just press that. You can try again. Unless you succeeded in the quest.]
“Oh, I guess it’s worth doing then?”
“If a difficult quest comes up, you can just give up.”
[Instead, we will not return your time. And you can only give up midway once per quest. There is only one chance to try the same quest again.]
“ah… … .”
Players who had planned to try several times showed that they were not happy about it.
[Well, now that the explanation is over, let’s proceed with the round!]
When Nell spread her wings, the same message appeared before everyone’s eyes.
[Please touch one of the following regions to start.]
└ 1. Albitz Kingdom
└ 2. Kingdom of Braham
└ 3. Holy Empire
└ 4. Elsorium
[If you do not make a selection within the time limit, you will be selected randomly.]
[Time remaining until selection ends: 00:00:59]
The players were confused when they were suddenly asked to choose a starting area.
The player with indecision was in a panic, moving his fingers back and forth in the air.
However, there were people who were calm rather than panicked.
Ryumin and his party, who had heard the prophecy in advance, did the same.
‘Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are for humans, and number 4 is for the elves.’
Since Ryumin had a good reputation among the elves, he would be treated as extreme poverty if he went to Elsorium.
But he ruled out number 4.
‘It’s not time yet. There are many opportunities to meet elves in the future.’
Above all, Ryu Min’s interest was elsewhere in this round.
It wasn’t a side quest.
‘Number 3, I’m going to the Holy Empire.’
Before making his choice, Ryu Min looked at Min Ju-ri.
It was because she wanted to get a buff, but she was already rushing around to people.
“Get your buff before you leave! Black Scythe too!”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t know which one to choose, but let’s all do our best!”
Still, Min Joo-ri gave a buff and cheered, saying that her face had brightened up a bit.
‘Then shall we go?’
Ryumin’s finger tapped the air.
* * *
There are five kingdoms and one empire in the fantasy continent.
Among them, two kingdoms are the Albitz and Braham kingdoms.
The remaining three are weak kingdoms and are not considered starting points.
And, befitting the name of the Empire, it is a large city, Holy Empire.
The Holy Empire, a religious group that worships gods, boasts a scale so large that neighboring kingdoms are at war with each other.
‘It’s not called the Empire for nothing.’
The castle walls are so high that it makes you feel dizzy, making you wonder if it’s an empire, the numerous buildings and temples within them, and the people moving around in a hurry.
It all felt so vivid that I couldn’t tell if it was real or not.
‘Killing the Archbishop in round 8 has made my reputation hostile, but there’s nothing to worry about. ‘As long as you don’t reveal the title, that’s it.’
Ryumin admired the surrounding scenery without any title.
If you reveal it for no reason, the guards will see you and try to catch you.
‘It’s good if you catch it. They’ll just try to kill you on the spot.’
There’s no way Ryumin could die, but he doesn’t like being bothered by flies.
This was the reason why the title was not revealed.
When Ryumin looks around, he sees people wearing familiar clothes.
They are players.
Perhaps it is a characteristic of entering a fantasy world, but as expected, the nickname is not visible.
‘It’s better if you don’t see the nickname. ‘Because it’s easier to act alone.’
Ryumin transformed into a roast yak in a place where people could not see.
Even if you happen to know someone, it becomes annoying if you run into them.
[Starting location: Holy Empire]
[Ongoing subquest: None]
[Completed subquest: None]
[Time remaining until round end: 09:58:21]
Looking at the quest progress window, the time limit is running out.
The real round begins.
Normally, he would have to run around looking for quests, but Ryumin was relaxed.
Even if I did it slowly, I was confident that I could easily achieve about 10 of them.
‘What’s important now is not the side quest.’
Ryumin’s steps headed towards the central square of the Holy Empire.
While waiting for someone in front of a statue of an angel, he soon came across a familiar face.
“master!”
Yamti, who knew the face of the roast yak, came running over with a happy face.
“It’s a little late.”
“sorry. “It’s so big that you need to know where the central square is.”
“It would be simple if you asked that tidying guard.”
“ah! If I ask, will you answer?”
“I won’t answer. Unless your reputation is hostile.”
Ryumin had promised in advance to meet Yamti in the Holy Empire.
It was because he needed her charm to enter the temple.
“egg plant.”
“Where are you going?”
“Temple.”
“Why in the temple?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
“sorry.”
Yamti lowered his head sullenly.
I didn’t feel the need to explain because I was a slave who always did what I was told, but now that I think about it, I think it would be okay to at least tell him what I was going to do.
“I am acting with you for one reason only.”
“Because you need someone to charm?”
“okay. Inside the largest temple of the Holy Empire, there is an altar where oracles are received. Of course, it’s a place that no one can enter. But if there is a rune of fascination, the story is different.”
“Ah, you’re saying you need me to go to the altar where the oracle is given.”
“yes.”
“But will NPCs also be charmed? I’ve never used it before… … .”
“It takes.”
Is that all?
‘I can read your thoughts. Just like a real person.’
It could be a real person.
People like us who exist in another dimension.
However, we cannot abandon the assumption that it is an NPC.
‘What if each entity is an AI whose thoughts are well-programmed?’
It can be seen as a virtual human, or NPC, created for survival games.
‘There’s no way that technology isn’t there to transfer and resurrect the souls of 1.8 billion people.’
Because of this, Ryumin gave up judging this or that.
I decided to move only for growth and survival until round 20.
Now was the stepping stone for that.
“But why do you go to the altar where the oracle is located?”
“What are you going for?”
The corners of Ryumin’s mouth went up as if twisting.
“To kill an angel.”
