Chapter 164 ….

Of course, she wasn’t a user.

There was no way Dohyeon, whose friend list was completely empty, would know a young girl like that.

The reason he knew her was simple.

[You have encountered the wandering NPC, Luriel.]

“…Wandering Luriel.”

Luriel was such a famous NPC in Pratel that it was rare to find a player who didn’t know about her.

NPCs who wandered around the streets without any proper residence were called wandering NPCs. Usually, they were beggars or NPCs who had run away from home.

Sometimes they gave hidden quests, unusual quests, or bits of information.

But those cases were rare. Most of the time, they caused more trouble than benefit, so players usually avoided dealing with them.

Because of that, most wandering NPCs didn’t even have known names.

But Luriel was different.

“The textbook example of a bratty know-it-all, a walking disaster.”

Descriptions that didn’t match at all with a girl who looked barely ten years old.

Yet everyone who had encountered her said the same thing.

They wanted to punch her.

She wandered the streets and suddenly started lecturing players. She would click her tongue and say things like “Back in my day it wasn’t like this” or “That’s not how you do that.”

Most players simply frowned at the ridiculousness of it or found it somewhat cute.

But not everyone had such a generous heart.

“What’s this brat talking about?”

“Hah, what a terrible world. Back in my day, if someone took the time to teach you, you said thank you!”

“Hey, seriously, I’ve had enough. Just because you’re an NPC doesn’t mean I’ll let you—ugh!”

“Guhk!”

Some players simply couldn’t tolerate an NPC picking a fight with them out of nowhere.

Since violence inside the city wasn’t allowed, they tried to flick her forehead or throw insults at her.

But instead, they were the ones who got utterly destroyed.

They were subdued instantly and couldn’t even move.

“Hah… Why are you so weak for people called Apostles? Tsk tsk.”

When word of this spread, many players approached Luriel.

All of them met the same result.

Some of them were even officers or masters of large guilds.

Eventually, players began analyzing Luriel’s combat power.

The results were shocking.

“Knight-Commander level,” they said.

It was hard to understand how such a small girl possessed that kind of strength.

Even stranger was that despite having that power, she held no authority and remained just a wandering NPC.

“…Master, she’s strong.”

“Hm… Her presence is unusual. Perhaps she’s an old woman disguised as a child.”

“Rizari-za.”

It seemed the analysis wasn’t wrong.

Even Jihad and Eliza, who were sensitive to aura, reacted—along with Charlie.

“What? You can’t hear me? That’s weird. You were talking just fine earlier.”

“…I can hear you.”

That eccentric NPC was now talking to him.

Her appearance was pretty enough that she’d likely be popular when she grew older, but her rough expression completely contradicted it.

Even her casually spoken words radiated the aura of a know-it-all elder.

When he had first read descriptions about her, Dohyeon had thought they were exaggerations.

But experiencing it firsthand, the description was perfectly accurate.

“Oh, really? These days everyone seems to be avoiding me. Normally I try not to care, but…”

Luriel raised one corner of her mouth and looked at him with interest.

“I just heard a name that’s hard to ignore.”

At that moment, a cheerful notification rang out.

[Conditions have been fulfilled.]

[You have attracted the attention of the wandering NPC ‘Luriel’.]

Dohyeon froze in surprise for a moment.

Then he clenched his fist.

It was a jackpot.

“Is it really unfolding like this?”

He never imagined a wandering NPC would know about Angela.

Because of her strange reputation and the fact that she had never given information to anyone—only lectures—he had ignored her before.

But this was like a pumpkin rolling right into his lap.

Is this a hidden piece too?

There had never been a single rumor about Luriel giving anyone something valuable.

No quests, no information.

She gave nothing but lectures and punches.

That had remained unchanged even after one year and seven months since the game’s release.

The reason this NPC was reacting differently only to Dohyeon… he had a guess.

He was probably the only person who had discovered the Necklace Fragment of Fate.

If learning Angela’s name was the hidden condition, then it made perfect sense.

What kind of NPC is she…?

A wandering girl with Knight-Commander level strength but no home.

Yet she was always clean and no one dared treat her lightly.

At the same time, she was the only one who knew Angela in detail and could talk about her.

Everything about her was unusual.

But that’s not the important part.

He was curious, but that was all.

Right now, information about Angela came first.

“…Do you know about Angela?”

“How could I not?”

Luriel shrugged as if the question was obvious.

“There’s no one in Pratel who doesn’t know her. It’s just rare to find someone who knows the details of her story.”

“…You know them?”

“Well… yeah.”

Good.

Dohyeon swallowed and organized his thoughts.

With excitement in his voice, he began speaking.

“Then tell—”

“I don’t want to.”

“….”

His mouth closed again.

She had rejected him instantly before he even finished speaking.

…He hadn’t expected that.

As he stood there awkwardly, Luriel smirked and continued.

“I’m not telling you for free. Were you trying to get it without paying anything? No shame, huh?”

“Ah…”

“I happen to need a few things right now. Let’s see… yeah. First, ten Godong Tree Root Leaves, three Mutant Troll Blood, and… also…”

Ding—

[Quest ‘Luriel’s Condition (1)’ has been generated.]

Luriel’s Condition (1)

Rank: Rare+
Description: The wandering NPC Luriel seems to be the only one who can tell you the detailed story about Angela.
Fulfill her conditions and satisfy her.

Objectives

Godong Tree Root Leaves (0 / 10)
Mutant Troll Blood (0 / 3)
Blue Flower Petals (0 / 5)
Troll King Fang (0 / 1)

Rewards

150 Gold
A certain amount of experience
Follow-up quest generated

Failure Penalty

The wandering NPC ‘Luriel’ becomes disappointed in you and will not provide information.

Time Limit

None

“……”

Dohyeon stood still, staring at the massive list of materials.

Luriel frowned.

“Why are you standing there? Don’t you want to know about her?”

“…I’ll go.”

She was extremely irritating.

But what choice did he have?

Right now, that girl was both the boss and his only hope.

Without another word, Dohyeon turned and started walking away.

At least he was grateful there was no time limit.

…

There were several reasons Dohyeon was grateful the quest had no time limit.

“Each material is a pain to obtain.”

Godong Tree Root Leaves.

As the name suggested, they were leaves that occasionally sprouted from the roots of Godong Trees at a rare probability.

Even among the few Godong Trees that existed, they appeared only once in a while.

[Godong Tree Root Leaves x6]

Even after searching the auction house, he had only managed to find six.

Which made sense.

Despite being rare, there was almost no demand for them, so they barely sold.

A material that was extremely hard to obtain but also hard to sell?

What explorer would bother collecting that?

“But this one is still manageable.”

Since he already had six, he only needed four more.

With the Eye of Truth, he would find them soon enough.

The real problems were the other materials.

Mutant Troll Blood was fine since he could simply hunt them.

But—

“What the hell are Blue Flower Petals?”

Even searching the auction house gave no results.

It was probably a quest item, and as most quest items were, it would definitely be difficult to obtain.

And on top of that, he had to defeat the Troll King, a field boss.

Even after doing all that, the only reward was a follow-up quest.

It was absurd.

“If she says roll, I guess I roll…”

Still, what choice did he have?

Luriel was the only one who could tell him about Angela.

Satisfying her conditions came first.

But there was something he needed to do before that.

—Master, are you going to gather the Godong Tree Root Leaves first?

—Rizari-za.

—Huh? Why aren’t you moving forward? If you want to see the roots you have to dig the ground… wait, don’t tell me?

“Mm! I think the time has come.”

At Jihad’s meaningful question, Charlie nodded with a serious expression.

Then he immediately began looking around and standing guard.

—Rizari-za!

Eliza also peeked out from the pocket of the robe and scanned the surroundings sharply.

Soon, loud noises filled the area.

“AAAAH! Damn it!!”

“Niiiice!”

“What’s the temperature of the Han River, you bastard?!”

“O foolish one! What if treasure lies just one more dig away? Will you give up after a single failure? Rise, people of the gacha nation!”

“UOOOOOO!”

Jihad shook his head at the increasingly insane card-pulling players.

“…Sigh.”

No matter how many times he saw it, he could never understand it.

But the thing that made him sigh the most…

was seeing his master watching them with sparkling eyes as if moved by their camaraderie.

“I should try harder too. I can’t relax just because I pulled a legendary once.”

“…Yeah. Whatever. Just finish quickly.”

“Sorry, but I can’t finish quickly. This time I’ve got two.”

“Why two?”

Dohyeon grinned.

In front of him were indeed two cards.

One was a Mid-Grade Skill Draw Ticket he obtained while collecting Mutant Troll Blood.

And the other—

Charlie’s Random Skill Ticket obtained after passing level 20.

[Charlie]

LV: 21

[Jihad Black]

LV: 24

Two skill cards in total.

Dohyeon wondered which one to draw first, then reached out.

[Do you want to use the Mid-Grade Skill Draw Ticket?]

I always drew the guardian’s card first… so this time I’ll draw mine first.

Whenever he had overlapping draws like this, he always saved his own for last.

Because Dohyeon was the kind of man who ate the egg in cold noodles last.

But this time was different.

“I’ve got a good feeling.”

This place was the legendary lucky spot where Dohyeon had drawn his Legendary Skill.

The energy still lingered here.

He had no doubt it would help him draw another amazing skill.

And he wasn’t the only one thinking that.

“I heard this place became even more famous after I pulled the legendary.”

When word spread that Dohyeon had drawn Thunder Dragon Descends, the players who had witnessed Kaiser posted information about the place in the gacha forums.

That was why.

The reason those players were currently pulling cards like maniacs.

Even Kaiser the trash-skill connoisseur had pulled a legendary here.

So they believed that someday they could too.

“Who would’ve thought I’d see a moment like this in my life.”

It was emotional.

He had often selected places famous for pulling terrible skills.

But never had he made a lucky spot even more famous.

Feeling deeply moved, Dohyeon closed his eyes—

Then suddenly opened them.

Flash!

At the same time, he tore the draw ticket.