Chapter 157 …

“Because the quest is about fulfilling the residents’ lost dreams.”

The Fourth Trial. Pratel’s Graduation Quest.

Its objective was to fulfill the dreams the residents had lost.

For top-ranked players—whose entire playstyle revolved around combat—it was only natural that they were struggling badly.

After all, how often in their lives had they ever helped fulfill someone else’s dream?

‘The Adventurer King Varion is specialized in this kind of thing.’

He was the type of player who would do anything just to complete his Adventurer’s Journal.

Since he had spent his entire career playing like that, helping NPCs achieve their dreams was probably easy for him.

It had also been the event that solidified Varion’s prestige as the Adventurer King.

‘Even I’m not confident this time.’

Dohyun wasn’t particularly eloquent, nor was he the type to invest emotional effort into relationships with NPCs like Varion.

It was a little disappointing, but there was no reason to cling stubbornly to something he wasn’t confident about.

From what Dohyun knew, Pratel’s graduation reward wasn’t particularly great anyway.

More importantly, something else mattered far more.

[Main Quest ‘Fourth Fragment of Destiny (1)’ has been triggered.]

Fourth Fragment of Destiny (1)

• Rank: Main Quest / Job Quest

• Description: In the City of Dreams, Pratel, the fourth Fragment of Destiny lies dormant. Obtain clues about the Fragment of Destiny.

• On Success: Links to follow-up quest ‘Fourth Fragment (2)’.

• On Failure: Fail to obtain the Fourth Fragment of Destiny.

• Time Limit: None.

The fourth Fragment of Destiny hidden somewhere in Pratel.

He had to obtain it.

“Are we going to search everywhere again this time, Master?”

“Riza-riza.”

“No.”

Dohyun shook his head.

“I have a place in mind.”

“As expected of my lord. To have discovered it the moment we entered the city—this humble sword can only marvel at your incredible insight.”

“…That guy really isn’t normal either.”

“Riza….”

Watching Charlie, who reacted the same way as always, Jihad clicked his tongue and asked again.

“So where is it?”

Instead of answering, Dohyun simply tilted his chin toward the distance.

There stood a massive castle.

“…The castle? You think the king has it?”

“I’m not certain, but the chances are high.”

It was something he had learned through experience.

Fragments of Destiny were main quest items.

Naturally, they wouldn’t be easy to obtain. They were always hidden somewhere difficult to access.

And in Pratel, the answer was obvious.

‘The king.’

The lord and king of Pratel, Gilberun.

Wasn’t the castle where he resided the most likely place?

“Hm… yeah. Come to think of it, they’ve all been in places like that.”

“Right?”

“Riza!”

Unlike Sargis, Pratel’s castle wasn’t completely off-limits.

Gilberun had the lore of being the greatest sage king in history.

Because of that, he didn’t harshly turn away apostles or residents who wished to enter the castle.

If someone wanted to meet the king, they simply had to schedule an appointment.

There was only one condition.

“I’m sorry, but it seems the apostle does not yet meet the qualifications. Your training as an apostle appears insufficient.”

“Huh?”

“You idiot. Your level’s too low. They’re telling you to come back after hitting the level requirement.”

“Ohhh.”

Like most RPG settings, entering the castle where the king resided required reaching Level 57.

Apparently the rule was created because too many apostles kept requesting audiences with the king.

Some people wondered how such things were measured, but there was no need to worry.

The White Magic Tower, famous for producing magical devices, had created a measurement orb used to determine a player’s level.

Since it had been personally crafted by the Tower Master, there was no chance of error.

“But I am Level 57! I meet the requirements!”

Of course, troublesome players existed everywhere.

“…Our measurement orb was personally created by the White Magic Tower’s Tower Master of the Empire. Meaningful errors are impossible.”

“N-No! I’m Level 57! Are you saying I’m lying?!”

“Hey, idiot! What are you doing embarrassing yourself? Come on! Don’t you see the guards coming? Sorry! Sorry!”

The player was nearly dragged away by the guards before his friend hurriedly pulled him away.

Watching the scene, nearby players clicked their tongues.

“There’s always someone like that.”

“Ugh, reminds me of when I worked part-time. Why do people act like that?”

“They’re just trying to push their luck.”

“Well… once you get into the castle, the quests there are basically jackpots.”

“Yeah, but if you get caught, you end up in jail for a week. Heh.”

Hearing their conversation, Dohyun turned his back.

“We’re just leaving?”

“Yeah. I’m not getting thrown in jail. No point wasting time.”

“This humble sword agrees with my lord.”

“Riza-riza.”

There was no need to force anything.

He could enter once he reached the required level anyway.

And it wasn’t even certain the fragment was in the castle.

It might be somewhere else entirely.

As those players said, he would be spending a long time in Pratel.

Since things had turned out this way, he decided to relax and enjoy some hunting.

‘And test my new skill… and that guy’s performance too.’

With a grin, Dohyun headed toward the field.

* * *

However, despite his bold declaration, Dohyun didn’t head straight to the hunting grounds.

Just in case, he first asked several residents about the Fragment of Destiny.

‘Yeah… of course they wouldn’t know.’

Naturally, he got nothing.

He had expected that.

If ordinary city NPCs knew about it, it wouldn’t be a main quest item.

Still, it felt uncomfortable not asking at all.

But the trip wasn’t entirely fruitless.

[Clear the Troll Colony]

• Rank: Rare

• Description: Recently, trolls have begun forming colonies in the Blue Tree Forest, causing trouble. Guard Jepak wants the troll population reduced.

• Troll Colonies in Blue Tree Forest (0/2)

• Reward: 90 Gold, EXP, Jepak’s Necklace

• Failure Risk: May incur the trolls’ wrath

• Time Limit: 60 hours

[High-Quality Troll Leather]

• Rank: Normal+

• Description: Tailor merchant Benny needs a large amount of high-quality troll leather due to backlogged orders.

• High-Quality Troll Leather (0/40)

• Reward: 70 Gold, EXP, High-Quality Troll Leather Top

• Failure Risk: Benny’s favorability may decrease

• Time Limit: 48 hours

[Mutant Troll]

• Rank: Rare

• Description: With the recent increase in troll colonies, mutant trolls have occasionally appeared.

• Obtain the blood of a Mutant Troll from Blue Tree Forest.

• Reward: 100 Gold, EXP, Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket

• Time Limit: 80 hours

He had obtained several quests that would help him grow quickly.

Two of them were Rare-grade quests, and one even rewarded an Intermediate Skill Ticket.

After doing everything he could, Dohyun looked around calmly.

The Blue Tree Forest lived up to its name.

Everywhere was filled with blue-tinted trees.

Even the hunting ground itself had a dreamy atmosphere—it was quite beautiful.

But the players clearly didn’t think so.

“Hey! Hurry and form formation!”

“If trolls surround us, we’re done! Don’t let them encircle us!”

“We need at least three tanks to hold them!”

“AHHH! Save the mage!”

“Why couldn’t you dodge that?!”

“The colors are too similar—I didn’t even realize it was a troll!”

The trolls used the blue trees as camouflage to ambush players.

They already had high HP and rapid regeneration.

Now they attacked in groups and ambushed?

“This game is seriously messed up!”

“I never thought I’d end up praising monsters sarcastically.”

Still, players who had reached Pratel were veterans.

They had fought through countless hardships.

Once they got used to it, this difficulty became manageable.

Their stats were simply on another level compared to their low-level days.

“Nice!”

“Troll hiding on the left! Be careful!”

“Roger!”

At that moment—

Dohyun appeared in the center.

For a moment, the battlefield went quiet.

Players whispered among themselves.

“…It’s Kaiser.”

“Did Kaiser come hunting too?”

“If he just arrived, he should be around Level 49.”

“But… can he hunt trolls alone at Level 49?”

“He killed an Outlaw before. Why not? Plus those Guardians of his are stronger than most players.”

“Yeah… he’ll probably tank with Charlie and the undead.”

Their assumption was reasonable.

Normally, Dohyun would have hunted like that.

But not this time.

“Everyone step back for a moment.”

“Why? Don’t you need us to pull monsters?”

“No. I want to check something.”

His newly acquired skill.

To test its true value, fighting multiple enemies at once was best.

He dashed forward.

Trolls hiding against the trees were startled.

But once they realized it was only a single human—

They roared and charged.

Six trolls.

Perfect.

“Wait… is he really going solo?”

“That’s a bit reckless.”

“Well, it’s Kaiser. He must have something planned.”

Then—

The trolls’ massive clubs swung down.

[You activate Ice Flow.]

[Consumes mana per second, lowering the temperature of the surrounding air.]

Within a radius of about 3–4 meters, the air around Dohyun froze.

The trolls’ movements slowed noticeably.

[Enemies in range receive the status effect ‘Slow’.]
[Attack speed and movement speed decrease.]

The scene was surreal.

In a slowed world—

Dohyun moved normally.

Twisting his body lightly, he dodged every attack like a scene from a movie.

“That’s Ice Flow!”

“Isn’t that the skill Lepias uses?”

“What even is his class?!”

“Backstab, Ice Flow, Parry, Darkness Aura… this is insane!”

But Dohyun didn’t stop.

The longer the trolls stayed in the frozen air—

The slower they became.

Eventually they couldn’t even escape.

[The same target has been slowed for an extended time.]

[Status effect ‘Frostbite’ applied.]

The troll’s arm began freezing.

Its blue skin turned purple.

Dohyun casually swung his sword.

[Bonus damage dealt to frozen enemies.]

[Blue Tree Forest Troll has been defeated.]

With only a few strikes—

The troll died.

The others soon followed.

“Oh my god…”

Dohyun had killed six trolls in an instant.

The watching players all thought the same thing.

‘Trolls die in just a few sword strikes?’

‘And with Backstab on top of that… if he slows you and sticks to you… that’s terrifying.’

‘You can’t even run away.’

Their conclusions were unanimous.

‘Never mess with Kaiser.’

‘Yeah…’

‘Don’t even look at him wrong.’

‘R-Right… I didn’t see anything.’

And just like that—

The rumors surrounding Kaiser grew even larger.