Chapter 46: An Unwanted Quest

Waving back at Choi Kang Hae Yoon, who was moving away, Paul clutched his head and let out a groan as soon as he was completely out of sight.

It had only been a few days in game time, and just one day in real time, since Khan had come out of the dungeon, but it seemed the story had already spread among some players.

1. Incidents and Accidents Always Come at Once.

The news Choi Kang Hae Yoon had delivered was information that Paul desperately needed right now.

A fight between the temples.

In a way, it wasn’t that uncommon.

There were many gods in <Arcana Chronicles>, and it wasn’t as if all of them got along.

Therefore, the numerous main quests that had been carried out in the past were mainly about the fights between gods of different alignments.

It’s no exaggeration to say that they had all fought at least once.

Gods are largely divided into three alignments: good, evil, and neutral.

Depending on which alignment of god a player believes in, their class, skills, and even quests are often influenced.

Because of that, players would often choose the god with the more advantageous abilities for them.

As mentioned before, he had heard that the conflict between the gods had already ended.

But if there was a reason for the gods to fight again now, he could only think that it was related to the King of the Forgotten… in other words, the God of Death and the God of Light.

Come to think of it, Rasis had never appeared as the ‘main’ character in the main story yet.

Since he had started <Arcana Chronicles> late, he would often hear about the incidents and accidents that had already passed from others.

If not that, a bard he met on the street would tell him.

Also, in the case of the main quest, which could be called the main framework of <Arcana Chronicles>, it was made available for viewing in the libraries of each kingdom to help new players understand.

All the records were composed of videos, so it was sometimes fun to watch them like a movie.

Returning to the main point, Rasis was a special NPC in many ways.

Perhaps because of that, there was relatively little information known to the public compared to her recognition.

She was both the most famous god in <Arcana Chronicles> and the most veiled being.

Many players were wandering around looking for stories about Rasis, but the information was extremely limited.

There was a rumor that only rankers had received related quests, and because of that, some information was blocked at the ranker level, so there were no stories released to the public.

In addition, there was a rumor that beta testers knew facts that others didn’t.

Of course, that too was just a ‘rumor’.

But after hearing what Choi Kang Hae Yoon had said a little while ago, he thought that such rumors might not be entirely wrong.

The fact that the temple was calling players directly because of their contribution meant that that man’s level was also quite high.

Besides, Choi Kang Hae Yoon knew a story that hadn’t been released to the public yet.

“This is troublesome.”

“Is it troublesome?”

“Yeees… in many ways…?”

Paul waddled along, dragging Khan behind him.

This was because Khan had no intention of letting go.

Well, it probably looked ridiculous, but Paul, whose mind was already complicated with other things, didn’t think that far.

The two, who had come down to the lower floor of the temple, were giggled at by passing people.

Regardless, Paul just walked, looking for the exit, thinking that getting out of the temple was his priority.

There was what Choi Kang Hae Yoon had said a little while ago, and above all, hadn’t he confirmed that a ‘meddler’ who wanted to drag Khan back into the dungeon would appear?

He didn’t think it would be the Temple of Light, but… since there were many players who served two gods, this place was not entirely safe either.

In the main quest of <Arcana Chronicles>, many people proceed with the story, each with their own beliefs, within a large framework.

No matter how much Paul ran down the path he thought was the right answer, there would always be someone somewhere who chose the opposite option.

Not everyone makes the same choice.

They could have made a choice that was more beneficial to them, and there were not a few cases where they deliberately caused trouble just for fun.

Besides, the quest Paul was on was not a simple quest.

Was it because he had received it as a unique quest when he first got it?

It could be called a kind of sub-quest that was directly linked to the main quest.

But what would happen if he failed this quest…?

He couldn’t be sure yet, but he had a rough idea.

Even if he failed the quest, the main quest would surely continue in a different direction.

Didn’t Rasis also say something with that nuance?

That if Paul gave up the quest, there was already someone to replace him.

“This is why I didn’t participate in the main quest…”

Paul grumbled.

He really couldn’t understand how he had skipped all the steps and been forced to participate in the main quest just like that, for doing what?

If he thought about it differently, the path he was on now could be seen as a shortcut, a hidden route, but, well?

Paul pouted his lips.

‘It’s a problem even if you’re lucky. Is my peaceful game life over here…?’

Paul grew increasingly gloomy, feeling as if his peaceful game life was bidding farewell.

He had just planned to travel with Khan and have fun, but Khan was a much more important NPC than he had thought.

Well, since he was so important, wouldn’t they have made his customization an out-of-this-world face…?

He calmly organized his thoughts.

First, let’s get out of the temple and then think.

He had to rest and make a plan.

Yes, he had to go eat Hwion’s famous dessert!

As he turned the corner, pretending to be nonchalant, he grabbed Khan’s hand and ran.

The sound of the two’s footsteps echoed loudly as they crossed the marble lobby of the temple.

At that sight, passing believer NPCs were surprised and shouted, “You shouldn’t run!”

“I’m sorryyyy!”

Paul slowed his pace, dragging out the end of his words.

It was also because the exit was right in front of him.

At that moment, Paul’s ears twitched briefly.

There were only the two of them in the empty lobby.

So even a small noise caught Paul’s ear.

Just as he thought, ‘Footsteps?’, Khan suddenly turned his body and swung his hand towards an empty temple pillar.

─ Companion ‘Khan’ has detected ‘Stealth’!

─ ‘???’s ‘Stealth’ is dispelled.

Just as Paul confirmed the combat message that quickly appeared and disappeared in the corner of his vision, the space distorted, and the figure of a player wearing a yellow teddy bear raincoat appeared.

Startled by the familiar sight, Paul blinked his eyes.

“Huh?”

The other person, also surprised by the sudden situation, was just blinking blankly.

At that moment, Khan grabbed the player’s face without a second thought and slammed it onto the floor.

Slam!

It was an untimely commotion in the temple lobby, where even small sounds echoed.

“Oh my.”

Paul covered his mouth in surprise.

***

“…Why are you all here?”

Paul, who was about to leave the temple, had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

Familiar people were gathered on the stairs at the entrance.

“Ah, it’s Paul!”

The people who spotted him beamed.

[General] Lego: Our~ youngest~ long time no see~

[General] Aian: Paul, long time no see >ㅁ<

Paul tilted his head at the <Passing By> guild members who were greeting him cheerfully.

Let me introduce them now.

The name of the guild Paul belonged to was <Passing By>.

It was founded by the guild master [Kian] in the early days of <Arcana Chronicles> and was a friendly guild composed only of carefully selected people.

But to the public, it had a strong image of a mercenary guild.

There were only 12 guild members, but they were all beta testers, and each and every one of them was a skilled player who ranked high in their respective classes.

They would go out to support as mercenaries when a war broke out in another guild, when a difficult raid needed to be cleared, when a dungeon needed to be run, and so on.

This was the reason why the guild members rarely gathered in one place.

And in a guild with only 12 members, the 12th to join was Paul, whom Kian had picked up two years ago.

At that moment, as if she had been distracted, [Bear-noona], a beat later, used one of the motion effects, [Greeting].

A cute bear impact floated around Bear-noona and then disappeared.

Bear-noona, who was wearing a yellow bear raincoat and cutely tilting her head, typed in the chat.

[General] Bear-noona: What, why are you coming out alone??

[General] Aian: That’s right, where’s Bear-hyung? Didn’t you see him? He should have been in front of the entrance????

“Ah.”

At those words, Paul’s gaze turned back.

No, to be precise, it turned down.

[General] Bear-hyung: Anyone have a cure potion, hands upㅠ

The people who were at the bottom of the stairs, wondering what was going on at the sudden chat, rushed up.

And they burst out laughing.

[Bear-hyung] was being dragged by one foot by a man who seemed to be Paul’s companion.

And his condition was not normal either.