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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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‘Did it work?’
The Abandoned One in front of Kang Seol was trembling with emotion, as if struck by lightning, at the words that he would help him. Kang Seol nodded and came out of the hut.
This was another device of the Eternal World, also known as a side quest or hidden quest. It often activated within an adventure and greatly influenced the main flow of the adventure.
The Abandoned One side quest was different from other side quests.
‘It gives an assistant as a reward.’
An assistant.
The piece sometimes encountered NPCs during adventures and made them assistants. Assistants would help the piece actively or passively, depending on their favorability.
Assistants also had grades, and the grade of the Abandoned One that Kang Seol remembered was very high. That was why he was using his precious time to help the Abandoned One.
Kang Seol was planning to turn the current crisis around with this side quest. After accepting the side quest, he checked the time limit for the main adventure. It was just past 3 PM.
If he delayed even a little, the sun would set, and he might not be able to get the item he wanted. So, feeling rushed, he climbed the mountain even faster.
After some time, the warmth of the day had disappeared. The sun was still out, but darkness would soon come with the sunset.
‘I don’t have time until the next day… Anyway, I think I’ve found the location.’
He had to defeat the Rock Tusk leaders by noon the next day. So, he only had now to fulfill the Abandoned One’s request. Kang Seol reached the cliff after many hardships.
– It’s not here.
– It’s not here.
– Uh… I don’t see any mushrooms or whatever?
– He’s trying so hard, so hard. What is he doing? There’s already no time.
– lol, don’t get all worked up. Even the youngest of the 5 brothers, Makgata, is getting his 5-man party wiped out. How is he supposed to solo that? lol
– It’s because it’s a waste, a waste! Sigh, with this physique and this judgment, he’s going to die here…
The onlookers, feeling sorry for him, were muttering things he couldn’t hear. Their worries weren’t that strange.
In fact, near the cliff Kang Seol had reached, there wasn’t a single blade of grass, except for a single tree that had barely managed to grow through the cliff.
Had he come to the wrong place?
At that moment.
A choice appeared before Kang Seol, who was quietly looking down from the cliff.
Wait.
Search the vicinity.
Go back and tell the Abandoned One the truth.
[Requires: Biology 1] Check if the environment is suitable for mushroom growth.
…
Kang Seol glanced at the message and sat down.
‘Excuse me’ donated 100 madness!
“I’m sorry, but where did my air conditioner remote go?”
– Why are you asking that here? lol
– Ah, he doesn’t know this lol
– I just came, and he still hasn’t even infiltrated the tribe? The game is really over.
Unlike the worries of many, Kang Seol was looking at the sky with a calm expression. He was now in a brief reverie.
‘I was wondering why I had such a strong sense of déjà vu…’
It wasn’t about this space. It was about this situation, this adventure.
‘My first piece also did this adventure…’
Among the countless adventures in the Eternal World, there were some that only appeared in the early stages of the game, from adventures 1 to 10. The Five Fraternal Brothers was one of them, and Snowman’s first character had also experienced this adventure.
‘And he died…’
Kang Seol had poured a lot of affection into his first character. He didn’t know then that the dream would continue for 17 years, so he had done his best every moment.
That effort was the same not only in the adventure but also in the rest area. And so, the first character he had raised with only passion and no knowledge had died while doing the Five Fraternal Brothers, to be precise, the ‘Abandoned One’ side quest.
He had foolishly fallen to his death while trying to obtain the Corpse Finger Mushroom that grew on the cliff. Perhaps it was natural. A caster with low agility and strength had tried to harvest a mushroom while hanging on a steep cliff.
Even with a strong will to live, he couldn’t have survived. It was Kang Seol’s fault for choosing the wrong option. The young Kang Seol at that time was so shocked that he had shed a torrent of tears when he woke up from the dream.
At that young age, it was so sad that his piece had died because of his mistake, that his piece could no longer advance. He still felt a pang in his chest just thinking about it. Even though he had grown a lot compared to then, and his heart had hardened just as much.
That was probably why he had never forgotten the information about the Corpse Finger Mushroom. While he was lost in thought, the air began to cool. The sun was slowly setting, and soon the sky was painted with the colors of the sunset, like a watercolor painting.
And then, the sound he had been waiting for began to be heard.
Crumble…
– Uh, huh?
– What’s that sound?
– Something… something is happening…
The reason why Kang Seol had been waiting patiently without doing anything was soon revealed.
Crumble, crumble, crumble…
Something was sprouting from the cliff. Long mushrooms were growing from a place where there had been nothing, as if life were being born. However, the appearance of the mushrooms was quite grotesque, so it wasn’t a beautiful sight.
A black body and a head that looked like a human fingernail. This mushroom, called the Corpse Finger Mushroom because its five stems were one body, only appeared at the twilight hour, when the sun was setting.
‘Now!’
Kang Seol activated the Shadow Summoner’s basic ability, Shadow Hand.
Swoosh…
Two black arms extended from his shoulders. The interesting thing about this Shadow Hand was that it had some physical force.
‘Of course, it’s not a very good ability other than that.’
As a basic ability, it was all it had. It was often used to subdue monsters before the first successful summon. Kang Seol was lucky that the Forgotten Moon Ruin, a trap adventure, was his first adventure, so he hadn’t had to use it.
‘Like… like holding an egg.’
– Shadow Hand! They say it’s really hard to control.
– What’s it like?
– The description says it feels like you suddenly have a tail.
– Ugh… but what are you going to do with that?
He adapted to the strange sensation and slowly lowered the black hands. It was his first time, so he might fail, but if it was too risky, he could use Karuna.
Slide…
The Shadow Hand crawled down the cliff very naturally. And after fumbling a few times, it was able to grab the mushroom.
Squeeze…
Kang Seol, who had pulled up the mushroom that had been plucked out with a pop!, smiled faintly.
– Doctor Octopus! You were here!
– It’s disgusting!
– Why is he so good at it for the first time;;
– Why is he so good lol
However, just as he was about to get up with the mushroom in his hand…
Flash!
Something flashed in the corner of his vision.
“Light?”
Kang Seol immediately recognized where the light was reflected from. It was the tree on the cliff that he had ignored earlier.
‘What is that?’
The object that reflected the light was hanging from the tree, barely holding on. Kang Seol used the Shadow Hand again to pull this object up.
Slide…
Grab!
Kang Seol, who had easily grabbed the object and pulled it up. He immediately recognized what the object was.
“A watch… a pocket watch?”
It was a pocket watch that could be used as a necklace. The transparent glass of the pocket watch was slightly cracked. As Kang Seol was getting interested in this strange object, a message appeared.
The eagle crest engraved on the surface of the pocket watch suggests that it has a story. Perhaps someone in the free city of Congoli knows about this pocket watch.
‘This is also a side quest?’
– Uh… so that watch is… hmm… not here?
– The quest isn’t even in the setting book?
– This is ridiculous;
– What, is it a bug?
The free city of Congoli was a city located near the jagged mountain. In other words, he would find out after this adventure was over. Kang Seol decided not to worry about something he couldn’t solve right away.
Rustle.
Kang Seol, who had put the watch in his pocket, left the place.
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“Can I trust him…”
The Abandoned One muttered. Talking to himself was a daily routine for this troll. A cursed body. The tribe, and even his mother, had given up on him, but he had not given up on himself. They didn’t know. They had abandoned him because they didn’t know.
That’s what he thought. Ignorance was not a sin, but wrongdoing was born from ignorance. The ‘Abandoned One’ had searched through the belongings of the merchants who had been hunted down by the tribe and abandoned.
The Rock Tusk trolls had taken most of the intact items, but there was always one thing they never touched. It was books. He had brought them to his shelter and read them. At first, he couldn’t read the books, which were filled with unknown characters.
But as he taught himself shamanism using the shamanistic book his mother had left behind, he was naturally able to read the books. It was because there was also a shamanistic spell that helped with language acquisition.
He had grown up like that. As time passed, he craved knowledge and understood more and more. And he also learned that the disease he was suffering from was an endemic disease of the jagged mountain and that there was a cure.
‘Corpse Finger Mushroom.’
Yes… if only he had that mushroom. But he couldn’t get it. He wasn’t strong enough to hang on a cliff and get the mushroom, and there was no one who would get it for him.
He was a loner. As he was just stamping his feet, Kang Seol, a human, had appeared. Compared to other trolls, he had less aversion to humans. This was also because he had learned their culture and history through books.
Kang Seol, who had come to see him, had left, saying he would get the mushroom for him after listening to his story.
“He won’t get it… there’s no way…”
The Abandoned One hated false hope. How much time had he wasted in the hope that he would one day be cured? False hope was more cruel than despair. But why was he hoping for his return? He now realized that faith was not born from ignorance, but from a wish.
Rustle.
“…Huh?”
Rustle.
Rustle.
The sound of twigs breaking underfoot. The Abandoned One used all his senses to catch the sound. Soon, someone appeared from that direction. It was Kang Seol.
“…”
The Abandoned One frowned. Kang Seol’s face was covered in wounds. His disease had spread in that short time. The endemic disease was frightening. He probably hadn’t even been able to go to the cliff.
But then, Kang Seol grinned and took something out of his pocket. He had never seen it before, but he knew what it was. It was the Corpse Finger Mushroom he had longed for.
Thud…
The Abandoned One fell to his knees and cried.
“Thank you… thank you, stranger. I am saved.”
After a long time, Kang Seol helped him up. He entered the hut with the Abandoned One. And he briefly explained his future plans to him, who was expressing his gratitude.
The Abandoned One listened quietly to his story, thought for a moment, and then answered, “I understand. I will do my best to help you.”
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