Chapter 57 – Special Quest

Su Mo thought about various possibilities, which pointed him to a conclusion that he almost did not dare to believe.

A special quest!

Moreover, it was a true special quest, one that was related to the current expansion pack. It was possible that it was even better than the special quest that Omnipresent Brightness had triggered.

However, why would a special quest appear in a place like this and be connected to an insignificant Baron?

It was impossible for a special quest to be easily triggered, or else anyone would be able to do it. A single phase of the quest gave 17% EXP. Unless the developers did not want people to play anymore, they could not make them too difficult to trigger either. If no one triggered the special quests for a few years, people would lose interest.

Under normal circumstances, an expansion would last for at most one year and at least one or two months.

As such, designing special quests was incredibly important to games.

The game had many special quests. Some were simultaneous ones and could progress the plotline, while others started from different places and circumstances. At the end, they would all gather at a common conclusion.

What about the one he had encountered?

Su Mo was a smart person, but he could not figure it out.

He only felt that this game was becoming more and more interesting.

No matter what, he would continue with this and could not allow any problems to occur. If there were ten or so phases, he would be able to rocket to Level 30.

Su Mo asked around and quickly found Greta's mother.

Not all NPCs in the town had a purpose. The developers wanted to make this map into a real world, so most NPCs all had their own backgrounds and stories.

Greta's mother was an old lady in her 50s or 60s. Her husband had been one of Baron Bary's soldiers, and he had died at the border. As such, Baron Bary gave her financial support and Greta a high-paying job.

Su Mo chatted with the old lady for a bit and found that she felt great gratitude and respect for Baron Bary's family.

"Did you know that your daughter was already dead? Baron Bary fed her to his demon-blood-stained daughter." 

Su Mo did not say this, as it was too cruel.

Finally, through Greta's mother, Su Mo confirmed that Baron Bary's daughter had gone to Bary Manor in Purmo.

That was Lady Cathy Bary's mother's dowry when she married into the Bary family. Lady Cathy Bary would stay there for some time every year, sometimes for a long time, sometimes for a short time. Greta's mother did not suspect anything.

As such, Su Mo once again came to Bary Manor in Purmo Village.

Bary Manor, which he had once slaughtered his way through, had been restored to its original appearance, and the old gatekeeper looked at Su Mo warily.

"I would like to see Lady Cathy Bary; I have news from Baron Bary," Su Mo said as he looked at the old man. Before the old man could respond, he stabbed his short sword into the old man's throat.

No matter if it was his words or his actions, they were essentially the same as last time.

3%!

The poor old gatekeeper. Even after respawning, he could not remember how he had been tricked and killed last time.

Following this, Su Mo, who had upgraded his level and equipment since last time, easily killed Cathy Bary again. He walked out of the hall into the garden. There were corpses everywhere, and they were the servants and subordinates of Lady Cathy Bary. Now that Lady Cathy Bary was dead, there was no reason for them to stand around anymore.

Dead people could not speak; then what did Tie Dan look like?

Su Mo felt quite stumped. There were more than ten corpses here; who knew which one was Tie Dan.

Fortunately, the system did not make things difficult for him. When he passed by one of the corpses, the system notified him that he had completed [Missing Tie Dan], after which he had obtained an EXP reward.

3%!

3% was a bit too little, far too little.

After having tasted 17% from last time, Su Mo wondered how the system had enough face to give him 3%.

Didn't it feel embarrassed?

In actuality, this was just the follow-up of the quest; after making inquiries into Bary Manor in Purmo Village, he had already completed the quest.

Su Mo looked at this corpse and felt a bit troubled; he couldn't carry a corpse around. After all, this corpse looked terrible, and it was rotting, stinking, and had maggots in it. Ordinary players' faces would become green after seeing it.

Su Mo found some firewood and lit a fire, and he placed the corpse on it.

He wasn't roasting it, he was burning it.

Only ashes would be left, and he put the ashes into a wine pot from the manor before leaving this abandoned manor.

If he guessed correctly, after he completed this quest, Lady Cathy Bary would not appear here anymore, nor would that old gatekeeper who he had dealt with with one stab each time.

These people and this place only existed for the special quest.

Su Mo went back to the old farmer who had given out the quest and placed the pot in front of him.

"Your son has already passed away."

The old farmer looked at the beautifully-crafted pot in shock before looking at Su Mo. His gaze passed between the two of them a few times before resting on the pot.

He could not believe that this was true.

His hand shook and his mouth trembled. His entire body seemed to shake, as if winter had come ahead of time.

The old farmer did not ask how his son had died or whose hands he had died at.

He did not cry and beg Su Mo to take revenge for his son either.

Su Mo sat for a while before getting up and leaving this tattered house, and he left this village, which he did not know the name of from the start.

This was just a game.

Su Mo once again came to Baron Bary's castle. Two soldiers held spears blocked in front of him.

"I'm looking for Butler Santos. If he doesn't want to meet me, just tell him I'm from Purmo."

The soldiers looked at each other, and in the end they went to find Master Santos.

"Tie Dan…"

"What Tie Dan? I'm looking for Baron Bary; I'm sure he'll want to see me."

"Young man, many things are not the way you think they are. You don't know what you're doing," Butler Santos said with a lowered voice. He was an elderly man, and he had white hair and a beard that were neatly groomed. He also had a kindly look.

"Should I directly visit Count Dracula?" Su Mo had already investigated Baron Bary's superior.

Count Dracula was one of the eight big shots of the Long Island Federation. He had risen up from being a killer and wandering mercenary, and after going through many years of battles, he had become a Count who had over 1,000 kilometers of territory.

In most people's eyes, Count Dracula was incredibly bloodthirsty.

His territory bordered Kelo Kingdom, and it was not too far from Nosa Kingdom. His territory was the core strength of the freedom federation's frontline against the Magic Assembly and Papacy.

Butler Santos looked choked, and he savagely glared at Su Mo before going to report to Baron Bary.

This involved matters far above his station, and it was not something he could decide on as a butler.

Baron Bary received Su Mo in his dining room.

According to the Eastern Continent's traditions, greeting guests in the dining room was a very affectionate gesture. It was a pity that Su Mo did not invite Su Mo to share lunch with him.

Su Mo did not care; he was just a bit rueful.

Back when he had gone to kill Lady Cathy Bary before, the pretty young woman had also been eating, but what she had been eating was a servant's arm.