New Quest!

The 'Hell-Beards' went silent. They cut off their communication with the outside world. They didn't announce about the new boss to the world. It was, of course, by the order of their new boss.

They were researching the formula of the mana cell, which was, of course, successful, at least in theory.

Then they poured all their money and time into developing a prototype which came as a success too. Since everything went smoothly and all, they poured their personal savings into the product, as the guild now doesn't have money to sustain itself and fund the project.

Desmond wasn't a miser. He knows about the bigger picture. He willingly spent the fortune his father had left him. It was a win-win situation since he was going to make millions more than he spent.

As of now, the Hellbeards only have about 50 or so members in it. The majority of it comprised technicians and executives. Combat heroes were very few. But since the guild was trying to gain a fortune, the people now in it were in for a jackpot. They can always hire heroes with enough money.

For outsiders, the Hellbeard guild pretty much was done. They stopped all of their work; they stopped hiring new personnel even their stocks were at an all-time low. This wasn't unnoticed by the reporters.

For the next few days, the Hellbeard guild was on a small column of the daily newspaper. There were several articles about it too on the news channel. Several wealthy people came to buy the guild but were rejected by executives.

Even though Desmond was at the funeral of his dad, nobody seems to make the connection. There were only a few people who knew about the real identity of the hero Rock-Hopper. So, again, it was a win-win for Desmond, as he wished to be anonymous, at least for now.

As for our trashy hero, he was now mountain climbing. The academy won't start until two weeks. They still need to sort out various things. So, for the time being, he decided to acquire some herbs that can aid him to rank up, and, of course, as you can guess, he knows the location.

Some extremely lucky lad had found the medicinal herb by accident. He was stranded on the mountain without any food or anything to survive on, with hungry wild beasts on his trail.

He ate the herb, not knowing it was a rare herb as he was extremely hungry, hungry to the point where he would eat anything that remotely felt edible. After ingesting the herb, he miraculously recovered. All his vitals were brimming with health. He didn't feel hungry anymore, nor he felt tired even after running days without any rest. That running ended on a highway side where he was saved by a passing car.

It is said he didn't drink or eat for an entire month nor he felt the need to do it, hell; he didn't even shit for an entire month. Doctors found no damage of any sort to his body. They even said he is in his best condition.

[So it's a drug?]

"Nope, it is an herb."

[But it is a drug, right?]

"...Think what you want." He kicked a rock on the floor.

The mountain was huge with large trees and boulders and greens everywhere. The atmosphere was damp. Sunlight barely penetrated through the large trees covering the mountain. There was constant chirping and growling throughout the green. Desmond felt so many eyes on him yet he hasn't encountered a single living being. It was a very depressing mood.

The mountain had a name, which he forgot. He saw the news on the T.V. They had explained the place too but since it was almost 4 years ago he forgot about the name. He could always use the map but didn't feel like he want to check it. He knew the rough outline of the place and that was enough for him.

[So the guy who was supposed to get the herb will die?]

"Uh...yep." He monotonously said.

[And you don't feel anything?]

"Why would I feel anything to some random guy?" Desmond again kicked a rock, but this time it didn't move an inch but made a cracking sound all over the place.

Desmond stood his ground. Absolutely still. He knew something was wrong.

[Don't move! Something is wrong with the surface of the ground.] The system alarmed him.

"I know! By the way, you can scan things?" He asked while being in a tight situation like this.

[Yeah... news for me too.] System's embarrassed sound entered his mind.

Desmond slowly lifted his left leg. "Can you tell where the end of the crack is?"

[Three meters from... any of your direction. The ground is fragile; the crack starts from you to a radius of three meters.]

"Alright." He slowly planted his leg in front of him. Slowly and steadily, he started to walk to the end of the three meters.

"What's inside the crack?"

[Pit. I can't measure the height as of now, but it is quite large.]

"Mhmm." The three meters felt like a thousand kilometers to him.

After the arduous and at most careful and seemingly thousand steps, Desmond finally managed to exit the cracked ground.

"Pheww." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Where the hell did that come from?"

[Wasn't this in your previous memory?]

"No, I don't remember reading about something like that. And that too a large 'pit.'"

[I can't scan too much of the area as of now. There might be skills available for that which you should buy.]

"...Right. Let's get going. I've got a bad feeling about the pit."

[You scared, pussy cat.]

"Man, sometimes I wish you were a human so that I could physically beat the living shit out of you."

[If I was a human, then chances are you would lick my boot the first time you see me."

"...Fuck you!"

[See, you're already lusting over me.]

"Blechh." Desmond acted vomiting and turned to leave the area, but suddenly he heard a familiar sound.

*Ding*

"A quest!" He almost screamed in pure joy. It's been over some weeks since he got a proper quest from the system. All he got was the daily missions for the past couple of weeks.

[Side quest: Investigate the pit]

[Time: --]

[Penalty: None]

[Reward: The moonlight herb]

"..."

[...]

[Ah well, isn't that exciting, princess?]