The Great Thief

By the time Lu Li arrived, Sesame Rice Ball had already accepted the quest following his instructions.

The quest wasn’t difficult to trigger – anyone could do it as everyone would eventually have to specialize. However, the difficulty of the quest varied from player to player.

For someone like Hachi Chan, the quest would probably be as simple as delivering a Basic Healing Potion.

Unfortunately, Hachi Chan wasn’t free to help Sesame Rice Ball right now. Her Fairy Dragon could be ridden and she had apparently discovered a way to speed up the remaining process.

Her luck was the source of much envy; even Lu Li admired her for it.

Even in his previous life, he barely knew a handful of players who had a flying mount, and half of them were Druids. Currently, the game had only been running for three months, and she was about to gain a flying mount. However, she was probably one of the best players to give a flying mount to without breaking game balance.

Regardless, it was likely that the game company wouldn’t pay much attention to her anyway.

”What kind of quest is it?’ Lu Li asked. He hoped that the quest triggered by Sesame Rice Ball wouldn’t be too difficult.

”I need to go into Darkshire and find Madame Eva. She has a task for me. I think this is just an errand, so it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Sesame Rice Ball said happily.

”Oh… maybe,” Lu Li sighed woefully as he held his forehead.

”Dammit, it’s not just an errand at all!” he cursed inwardly.

Darkshire was located within the Twilight Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms. Lu Li had come here for a quest and had dealt with the Night Watchmen of the town. Many players from Ruling Sword had joined this small camp, to the point where it could even be said that this small camp was owned by them.

Madame Eva was a strange woman. She lived in the wild and always thought that someone was out to get her.

The owner of the tavern had told Lu Li about her just before Lu Li left the town.

The Twilight Forest had always been shrouded by a blue mist. As the sun shone over this massive forest, a tiny amount of dust could always be seen floating about in the air.

The rainy season meant there was always a dampness in the atmosphere. There hadn’t been a sunny day in the area for a while.

It seemed like it had just rained not too long ago, as the road was very muddy. This was a bad thing about virtual reality; Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball had to physically trudge through the mud while monsters would occasionally come looking for trouble.

Their destination was an abandoned camp that was situated high-up where it was difficult for monsters to reach.

Lu Li grabbed onto Sesame Rice Ball and knocked the door a few times with the handle of his dagger. A green mist appeared as Sesame Rice Ball took a few steps backwards. Suddenly, he lost a third of his HP.

”What a ruthless trap,” Sesame Rice Ball cursed as he took a deep breath.

This kind of trap was rather devious. No wonder Madame Eva could live alone here in the wilderness.

After the wooden door opened, a woman who looked to be about 40-50 years of age came out and introduced herself. After they had explained why they were there, she invited them in.

The house had been built by the soldiers that were stationed here. It was completely made of stone and looked quite sturdy.

However, the green moss on the walls made this ’home’ look more like a haunted house. It was hard to imagine why Madame Eva had decided to leave the safe town and live here.

”Have you come to help me?” Madame Eva asked.

”Yes, we have received a quest which mentioned that you had run into some troubles,” Sesame Rice Ball responded. It was his quest after all.

Madame Eva was silent for some time before saying, ”I am an astrologer. I hope you will accept and believe in my divination.”

”Uh… okay,” Sesame Rice Ball a little unsure.

The techniques of divination were once commonplace during the era of the trolls, but now, so few players knew about them that they were basically seen as a sham. If it weren’t for this quest, Sesame Rice Ball probably wouldn’t have agreed.

”A few years ago when my husband died in the war against the Undead, I moved here with my granddaughter in hopes of forgetting those memories,” Madame Eva said with a bit of embarrassment in her voice, then took in a deep breath and continued, ”But recently, I feel that my granddaughter has gotten restless. Now, she finds herself in a crisis…”

”What? Where is your granddaughter right now?’ Sesame Rice Ball asked curiously as he looked around.

”I have sent her to a safe place. Please do not interrupt me. I used my cards of divination and saw that Death had its sights on my granddaughter. So, after further investigation I found a hint of what could be causing this terrible thing. A name had formed in my mine; it was Stalvan,” Madame Eva explained.

”Do you know this Stalvan?” Sesame Rice Ball couldn’t help but ask.

”I’ve never heard of this person before, and my granddaughter doesn’t know him either. The people in the town don’t like me, but you can go to the clerk, Daltry, and ask for the records of the townspeople,” After saying this, Madame Eva remained silent. She was a mysterious woman who had given a confusing quest.

Sesame Rice Ball and Lu Li returned to Darkshire where Lu Li greeted the guards. After hearing about Lu Li’s arrival, the enthusiastic guards took him directly to the main administrative hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Daltry buried among a pile of books and documents.

He looked up and saw Lu Li coming in before quickly stepping out from behind the table to pay respects to him.

”Sir, it’s been a long time.”

”What’s going on?’ Sesame Rice Ball was a little confused as to why Lu Li had this kind of relationship with the NPCs.

”I joined in on their hunting quests last time,” Lu Li briefly explained.

”Your companion worked with our Commander Althea to fight the mighty Mor’Ladim,” the clerk said with a smile. ”I didn’t participate in that battle, but everything you’ve done has spread throughout the town. Thank you everything you’ve done for the Night’s Watchmen. As an elf who watched from afar, please accept the respects of this humble non-combatant.”

After saying all that, the clerk greeted Lu Li once again.

”I didn’t really do much. This is a bit awkward.”

Lu Li was a little embarrassed to just accept this. That night, the one who truly faced Mor’Ladim was Commander Althea of the Night’s Watchmen. The final crucial decision was made by Sarah, daughter of Mor’Ladim before he was corrupted. Lu Li had only just participated in the fight itself.

After finally exchanging the formalities, Lu Li told him the reason why they were here.