...…
Shin did not immediately log out of the game just like he originally planned. Since he still had little time on his hands before his usual wake-up schedule, he wanted to check on the information that Akailu had given him. He wanted to investigate the NPC that was giving a series of miscellaneous quests to players despite being on a high-level map.
Due to Uno clearing his Promotion Quest and triggering quite a few contents within the game, he had to make haste and find a way to train the rest of the members of their Adventurer Team as soon as possible.
Given the clues that he had left behind during his past battles, it would not be hard to guess how he had cleared his promotion quest. Sooner or later, those top guilds and powerful organizations within the game would find a way to unlock the secret methods like the 'Reality Manifestation' and 'Hyperactive Immersion'.
Shin did not waste any time as he quickly headed to the coordinates that Akailu had sent. He wanted to see if the NPC that the latter had mentioned was one of the so-called Mysterious Instructors meant to test the 'Potential' Stat of the players, or if they were somehow connected to each other.
After rushing from the Holy City, Shin arrived at a small village in the middle of a high-level map. It seemed to be an ordinary NPC Village with very few residents. The players visiting this place were very few too, so it would not be a surprise for that NPC to be unnoticed.
Shin followed the instructions that Akailu had given and found the NPC that he was looking for.
From a single glance, this NPC seemed to be a regular one, which was no different from the residents of this virtual world. This NPC was neither named nor a special one, so it was not a surprise that no player bothered to initiate a conversation with them.
Walking forward, Shin walked toward the NPC and initiated a conversation. "Good Morning, Sir."
The NPC looked like a simple vendor of apples with a personal stall. The apples that he was selling seemed to be fresh and of good quality, but it was quite strange that no one was buying from him even a fellow NPC.
The man did not even bother to look at Shin and continued to read the stack of papers in his hands, which seemed to be a version of the newspaper in this world.
"Ten silver for each big apple while the smaller ones cost three silver each," said the NPC to Shin.
Shin immediately understood why no one was buying. These apples were very expensive!
But that was not his purpose in coming here. He came here to investigate if this NPC was a Mysterious Instructor or somewhat related to them, so he used his True Sight Skill.
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[NPC Name]: Apple Vendor
Profession: Small Merchant
Level: 103
Details: A person who sells apples.
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Seeing that simple set of information, Shin could not help but frown deeply. But that quickly disappeared as he asked. "Aren't these apples a little too expensive?"
It was at this moment when the apple vendor glanced at Shin and raised his brow. "Oh~! So, it is an Otherworldly Individual this time."
He then put down the newspaper in his hands and continued. "Why are you people so stingy? From what I have heard, you can earn money easily just by asking for some mission from the Adventurer Guild or accepting commissions from the Mercenary Guild."
After that, he pointed at the apples that he was selling before continuing. "The price that I have for these apples may be a little expensive. But I tell you, they are worth the price."
"Not only they can fill your stomach when you are hungry, but they also have magical effects that can enhance your powers."
Shin was rather suspicious when he heard those words, so he used his 'True Sight' Skill and found that the apples were no different from ordinary apples. They did not have the special properties that this vendor had mentioned. 'Isn't it just a scam?'
Seeing the doubtful look from Shin's eyes, the apple vendor continued. "If you don't believe me, then you can leave. Don't bother with my business."
Shin felt that this was not going according to his plan, so he quickly went straight to the point. "Sir, how about you give me some tasks? I will help you finish them, and you can give me some of these magical apples in return?"
The apple vendor gave Shin an odd look before looking at him from head to toe. After checking on the set of equipment that the latter had and the strange cloak that covered them, the NPC could not help but become a little suspicious. "Given your equipment, I can't say that you are not like those poor adventurers who can't make any money. What is your true purpose?"
Shin smiled bitterly and shook his head. "There is nothing, Sir. I just find it strange that no one is buying anything from your stall despite the good quality of these apples."
The apple vendor snorted. "They are just too blind to recognize the true value of these apples."
He then paused before turning to Shin. "Alright! Since you are insisting, I will give you a task. Finish it and I will give you one of these apples."
*Ding*
The familiar notification sound rang in Shin's ears when he heard that. He then listened to the instructions of the apple vendor.
"There is a cliff at the southeast corner of the forest. Head over there and you will find a kite entangled on a branch on that cliff."
"My nephew was playing with that kite when the string snapped. He became sad and somewhat depressed due to it."
"I tried to look for the kite and found it there. Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to climb that cliff, so I can't get it."
"Help me retrieve that kite and I will give you an apple just like you want."
Shin nodded his head and agreed to help despite finding the quest quite strange. These kinds of quests were supposed to be found in the Beginner's Village or Low-level maps where new players started.
It was very strange to get such an errand quest from a place like this where powerful monsters could be found.
He now knew why there were no players bothered to converge with this NPC and asked for some quests, the tasks that he was giving were very odd and uninteresting for players of his level.
Regardless, Shin still ran the errand as this was the exact reason why he was here.
lightsΝοvel.cοm If he wanted their Adventurer Team to be ahead of the rest, he needed to find a way for the rest of their members to find their respective secret methods.
Arthur quickly sent him some curses when the system dropped the world announcement and informed everyone that he was the first player to clear the tier 3 class promotion quest. The others sent him their congratulations while others were asking how he did it.
But what made him move so urgently was the message that Molton had sent. He heard from the latter that the gaming company had released some information on how to find the Mysterious Instructors. Even though the information was so vague and not very clear, there were still clues, nevertheless.
If the guilds had some decently smart people, they would find those clues and look for these Mysterious Instructors.
This was the main reason why Shin did not immediately head to the Church of the Sun and Moon for the official promotion of his class and receive the corresponding blessings.
Shin took quite some time to reach the quest's location. It was because he had encountered some problems along the way.
Aside from the monsters that kept on appearing from time to time and pouncing at him with certain rhythm and pattern, there were also some traps that blocked his path.
Most of those traps were man-made, but some were natural traps made by nature like sinkholes, swamp quagmire, and such.
He and to be careful when advancing, due to all of these. He also had to move strategically to make sure that would not fall into those traps and be attacked by the group of monsters while he was immobilized.
After retrieving the kite and giving it to the apple vendor, the NPC seemed to have liked his job and gave him another errand quest.
This time, it was to look for a missing cat that ran in the forest.
For this quest, his tracking skills were put to the test. There was also pursuit and similar skills that required him to use during certain moments.
When he captured the naughty cat and returned it to its owner, he was immediately given a follow-up quest.
Shin continued to run these errand quests without complaint. Most of them were very easy for him, so he barely spent any effort.
Harvesting some rare herbs, mining some unique ores, looking for a special fish, catching a mutated boar, saving a kidnapped child, and such – these errands quest continued to be given to him, making Shin quite exhausted; not physically, but mentally.
The quest looked quite simple on the surface, but Shin found that most of them were targeting a specific skill of the players.
By running these quests repeatedly, Shin found some odd habits that he had not noticed up until now. This made him fix them before they could even become a flaw and weakness in future battles.
At the same time, he also found that the errand quests were helping him improve at a slow but steady pace.
If it were other players, then they would not notice it, but for Shin who was very familiar with himself and an expert, he was able to notice these things.
He had also found out that the errand quests were like exercises that could help the players awaken something within them or let them enter a special state after 'graduating' from all these practices.
It was quite vague for Shin and the progress seemed to be very unnoticeable. But that was because he was already aware of these special states. He even mastered one of them – or to be more specific, he had already mastered a better version of these special states.
"They may be a little inferior to the secret methods and hidden mechanics of the game, but they are still better than nothing, nevertheless," mumbled Shin as he completed another errand quest.
This could really be a key for the players with less talent to enter the special states of battle.
When Shin returned to the spot where the stall of the apple vendor was located, he failed to see the NPC.
The stall had disappeared along with the vendor!
"Eh!?"
Shin was a little surprised because of it, but he did not lose his cool since he somehow expected it to happen. "Do I already have finished all the errands? But this is still not enough to make someone master the secret method. It is far from being enough."
Shin was mumbling to himself when an NPC lady walked out from her house across the street, where the apple stall was previously located.
When she saw Shin, her eyes suddenly brightened and greeted him. "Oh! You are the young hero who helped me find my little prince (the cat from the second errand quest)!"
Shin slightly nodded his head to greet her. Then he saw her walk toward him and took out an envelope from the pocket of her apron.
She handed the letter to Shin as she said. "That apple vendor says he will leave the village and return to his hometown. He wants me to give this letter to you."
"He says that he will not be able to pay you for the tasks that he has given you, but he also said that you can find him if you follow the instructions from this letter."
The lady was about to turn around and leave when she suddenly recalled something. "Ah! He also mentioned that you are already beyond being qualified for the test, so he said that you can recommend someone if you want."
After that, she left and returned to her house, after watering the plants outside.
In the meantime, Shin looked at the letter in his hand and turned it. At the back of the envelope, he saw the words 'Recommendation for Special Instruction.'
With those words, Shin no longer had to guess what this letter was for. It was already clear that it was the thing that he was looking for.
With this, he could now proceed with the next part of their plans.
...
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