The Resident Mage's Quest
Arthur watched the new notification and couldn't help but smile.
'Right on time.' He thought.
>Quest Updated<
——
Quest: 1. Deliver The Village Head's letter. [completed]
2. Listen to the Resident Mage's orders.
Info: The Resident Mage has certain suspicions. Help him clarify them and find the truth.
Grade: Common
Difficulty: Normal
Reward:???
——
So far all the chain quests were going in the order that Arthur had read about. Though he was still curious about what was about to come. After all, the users in the past had kept certain bits of information hidden.
Even the truth behind the Dire Rat Infestation wasn't revealed properly. They had simply shown the method to obtain the quest and progress it.
This was an important method to keep the information limited on future quests as well as other quests. After all, if one knew all the details about a quest and revealed them, there was a chance other users could make use of it and take advantage of it.
For people who acted as information brokers, this was a big no no and helped them maintain their monopoly over the information.
"Hmm… There's no doubt about it." The expression of the Mage became darker and his hands faintly glowed with mana.
"What's the issue Sir Mage?" Arthur asked.
"Something that I've dreaded for years has finally happened. The dark hands of an old foe are reaching out for their lost fortune again." The Resident Mage said mysteriously.
Arthur kept a serious expression too but internally he was thinking hard. With how many events that had happened in the future, he tried to see which one matched the best with the Mage's words.
"Tell me, young adventurer." The Mage spoke, pulling Arthur's attention. "Do you have what it takes to uncover vile schemes?" he asked.
"I do!" Arthur said decisively.
"GOOD! Since you've already cleared the sewers of the infestation and have shown your skill, I think you will be up for this." The Resident Mage replied before taking out a scroll.
The scroll seemed to be made out of sheepskin and had dark brown marks on it, probably from the natural weathering. It was clear that the scroll was very old.
'This is it! The First Key!' Arthur's eyes lit up.
The Mage opened the scroll, revealing a map on it. One could see a small village in the center of it. A forest at the south of it with a distant lake as well as mountains surrounding it from the east and west.
There was also a forest to the north, but it was a lot denser than the south. But the most interesting part was the designs that were drawn on it. It looked like they were indicating an old structure of some kind.
"I need you to go to this place." The Mage pointed to the ruins. "It is not a place that is easily discovered and is hidden within the northern forest." He stated.
Hearing this, Arthur had a curious question. "Sir Mage, have you not tried going there?"
"If I could I have gone a long time ago. But I am bound to this village and cannot leave." The Mage answered much to Arthur's surprise.
'Is he a location limited NPC?' Arthur wondered.
There were many such NPC's in several games and were common. They would only exist in a particular location or were bound to it and could not leave it for the most part.
The best example of this was the guards of a settlement. The other residents could leave if they had a reason, but the guards would mostly stay within the settlement or its periphery.
'It might not be that simple for the Resident Mage though…' Arthur reckoned but then responded to the old man. "I understand, Sir Mage. I shall then go to the ruins. Am I supposed to look for something or someone?" he inquired.
"Yes… Look for anything that is 'unnatural' and bring it to me." The Resident Mage said vaguely.
Arthur narrowed his eyes as this wasn't really a clear answer. Still he didn't question it further and simply nodded his head in acceptance.
"Very well, I shall do it!" Arthur answered.
And as soon as he did that, the notification popped up once more.
>Quest Updated<
——
Quest: 1. Deliver The Village Head's letter. [Completed]
2. Listen to the Resident Mage's orders. [Completed]
3. Explore the ruins in the northern forest and uncover any secrets within.
Info: The Resident Mage has asked you to seek out the ruins in the north. There is a lot more to them than he lets on. Explore well and find the secrets that hide within it.
Grade: Uncommon
Difficulty: Intermediate
Reward:???
——
'The quest increased in both grade and difficulty huh… That was to be expected.' Arthur was not discouraged, but was instead excited.
He knew that while difficult quests would be dangerous, they were also the ones that brought the most benefits.
'Plus I have more than one thing I need to do in the Northern Forest anyways.' Arthur thought before taking the sheepskin map. "I shall take my leave then, Sir Mage." He spoke.
"Mmhmm, take this with you too." The Mage handed back the monster core to Arthur. "This is tainted but can still be useful for you in the right situation."
"I'll take note of that." Having said that, Arthur took his leave and directly headed to the northern forest. Thankfully the Resident Mage's house was quite close to the northern gate, allowing him to reach it within a couple of minutes.
The guards there gave him an inquisitive look but then the effect of Arthur's new title showed its wonders.
"AH! It's the new adventurer I just heard about." One of the guard's spoke.
"Hello, I'm Arzhur." He replied politely.
The better he behaved with the NPC's the better it would be for him. Many players would soon learn the consequence of being rude or offensive to the NPC's thinking that Morpheus Online was like other games.