Chapter 251 Quest Lock Part 2 (1/2)

Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 2)

Ye Ci brought Blossom to the and handed the problematic individual to Timely Rain. She then instructed him to offer a contract with a long term and high pay to Blossom. As he was a person who was afraid of debt, Blossom’s contract would have the highest penalty in case of a breach of said contract.

It would take Blossom years before he realised the shameless of Gongzi You’s actions. By that time however, he was already at the point of no return, and could only remain in Upwards Ho!.

Of course, this was something that would happen in a very far future.

With the necessary arrangements done, Ye Ci immediately headed to the Lesser Demon Sanctuary. The Black Iron Dwarves should be done with their exploration, and it was time to reap what Ye Ci had sown. She summoned Ol’ Four as soon as she arrived at her destination, and headed straight to the Mithril ore vein.

The Lesser Demon Sanctuary was devoid of the presence of players as usual. Ye Ci could feel the heat as she walked on the hot sand. The entire place was shrouded in a thick smoke, and there was the smell of sulphur in the air.

Ye Ci dismounted from Ol’ Four when she was 200 yards away from the ore vein and cast Hawkeye at the ore vein’s direction. What she found was something that she did not wish to see: A group of players surrounded the Black Iron Dwarves as they busied themselves around the Mithril ore vein.

Despite the vision granted by Hawkeye, it was impossible for Ye Ci to listen in on any of the players’ conversations. This was why Ye Ci immediately entered stealth and began closing in on the players. She found a hiding spot behind a large piece of rock 20 yards away from the players and began observing their movements.

The party of players had a balanced composition of Warriors, Knights, Rogues, Hunters, mages and healers. There was, however, no dungeons in the map. The only possible place of interest was a mine in the Black Canyon. This was why their presence in the map was a mystery to Ye Ci.

Even Ye Ci will have a moment of panic as she saw the players around the Black Iron Dwarves. Have they discovered the Mithril ore vein?

Ye Ci spotted the guild emblem on the chest of one of the players as he turned around. They were members of Bloody Steel.

So the saying of “destiny will make enemies meet” is true then.

Ye Ci was able to calm herself down despite her worries. She must have a better picture of the situation before she could act. Things might end up badly if she acted rashly.

She then crept closer to the party, and her movement was immediately noticed by a Rogue in the party, who turned around to find nothing but thin air.

“What is it?” asked the party’s Sorcerer.

“It’s nothing. I must’ve been the wind. The mist here is thick, and it messes with my Perception.” replied the Rogue when he was sure that nobody was around.

The Sorcerer nodded and turned to face the Cleric, “Hidden Dragon, have you found it?”

“That’s strange… All of them replied with ‘I have nothing to say to you’ when I tried to initiate a conversation.” the Cleric with the name Hidden Dragon scratched his head in confusion.

“Say, have you perhaps remembered it wrong?” said the Warrior of the party who was armed with a broadsword, “You said that it was something that you came across months ago, and you’ve only had a short glance. What if you’re mistaken?”

“No way…” Hidden Dragon was puzzled, “I can still remember that there was a Dwarf with the name ‘Jasmine’ in the camp. Why is she here now? This can’t be normal… Besides, she’s not even responding to me now. Something’s not right.” Hidden Dragon was someone who was very sensitive to each and every NPCs and the hidden aspect of any quests. Even if he did not have a full grasp of the situation, his instincts were telling him that something was amiss.

“I was expecting some sort of hidden quest, but it turns out to be nothing…” the Hunter grumbled with dissatisfaction clear in his voice.

Hidden Dragon’s face reddened. It was apparent that his confidence was starting to crumble. Alright, alright,” said another Cleric in the party, “There’s a lvl50 map nearby, why don’t we go farm some monsters?” he then turned around and spoke to Hidden Dragon, “Don’t drag us all in a wild goose chase like this. Do you think that we’re all idling our time away like you? You do that again, and we’ll kick you out of the party.”

The Cleric’s words caused Hidden Dragon to lower his head in shame as he stood silently. Even after the departure of his party members, he was still attempting to initiate a conversation with Jasmine. Without the completion of the prologue quest, there was no way Jasmine would respond to Hidden Dragon. The man finally gave up after a few more tries and left in the direction of his party members.

Ye Ci remained hidden behind the rock. She cast Hawkeye after the players left to make sure that not a single one of them remained before walking up to the Black Iron Dwarves.

She was immediately greeted warmly by Ha’er, “Oh, look who’s here?” the Dwarf had even set aside his instruments as he walked up to Ye Ci, “My dear friend, I have some news for you!”

“Dear Mr.Ha’er, I’m sure it’s something good judging from your expression. I’m all ears.” Ye Ci was already an expert when it came to dealing with NPCs. Even when her interpersonal skills in real life were almost non-existent, she had her own way of interacting with the NPCs in game. She was able to worm her way into being an NPC’s friend after a short conversation with the NPC.

The NPC Jasmine was like a child who had just left her home and was filled with curiosity. Du Du, on the other hand, was a coward who would get easily excited during a happy occasion, but could easily get depressed if things went wrong. Despite his tendency to be negative, Du Du was afraid of Jasmine and Ha’er, who was a mining fanatic that loved everything about mining.

Ye Ci had to deal with the three different NPCs in different ways to maximize her benefits.

“It’s about the ore vein! I’m so excited! I have to tell you about it!” Ha’er’s laughter was thunderous. A question appeared in Ye Ci’s HUD: Do you want Ha’er to tell you about his discovery?