Chapter 67 …
The moment the Eye of Truth activated, the first thing Dohyun did was check the remaining time.
[Remaining Play Time: 00:01:17]
1 minute and 17 seconds.
Not even enough time for cup ramen to finish cooking, but enough to check that thing’s information. Of course, only if he moved quickly.
‘Could it be a Fragment of Fate?’
Although he was currently focused on hunting orcs, the top priority was the Fragment of Fate.
Main Quest and Main Stream.
At first glance they seemed only slightly different, but the gap between them was quite large.
If the Main Quest was like leaves progressing one by one in quest form, the Main Stream was the core that served as the great trunk.
Well, even explained like that, it was basically a chicken-or-egg argument.
If you clear Main Quests, you eventually obtain Fragments of Fate, and once those pile up, you end up clearing the Main Stream anyway.
‘It’s appearing already?’
In that sense, seeing a Fragment of Fate this early was extremely exciting.
With a hopeful feeling, Dohyun quickened his pace.
“Master? No, here we go again. What happened this time?”
“Rizari?”
As Dohyun suddenly ran toward a rock, Jihad and Eliza followed, puzzled.
They soon reached the rock.
It was ordinary—just one of the many fishy-smelling rocks scattered throughout this rocky forest. To the naked eye, anyway. Not to Dohyun.
‘It’s red here.’
From one corner of the blood-stained rock, a red glow was leaking out.
Even looking right at it, the difference was barely noticeable. Without the Eye of Truth, he would never have found it.
Swoosh.
Acting on instinct, Dohyun placed his hand on it and immediately frowned at the strange sensation.
‘Sticky.’
Thick, somehow.
Like it was mixed with sweet honey?
It definitely didn’t feel like blood. And oddly, not every part felt that way—only the area revealed by the Eye of Truth was sticky.
‘What is this?’
He had wondered if it might already be a Fragment of Fate, but apparently not.
That brilliantly radiant color was nowhere to be seen.
His next guess was that maybe—finally—an herb had appeared, but there wasn’t even a claw’s worth of anything like that.
Ding—.
The alert sounded right then.
His curiosity had been growing, so Dohyun quickly checked the message—his eyes widening.
Because the contents were completely unexpected.
[You have discovered a hidden clue.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
[You have discovered the quest item ‘Ominous Energy.’ A quest has been generated.]
Ominous Energy
Grade: Rare
Description: You have discovered an ominous energy in Brion’s Fishy Rock Forest. Something feels off.
The High Priest Gildeti of the Lyre Grand Temple may know what this is.
Find Gildeti and deliver the Ominous Energy.
Quest Success: Gildeti’s affinity increases, linked quest ‘Material Search’ generated.
Quest Failure: Linked quest unavailable.
“…Huh?”
It was the very first time Dohyun had discovered a quest item in God Ose.
* * *
Quests.
A system every RPG player knows—and one essential for character growth.
As with most RPGs, players could practically be called slaves to quests.
God Ose was no different.
The importance of class quests went without saying, and even low-grade quests made a big difference depending on whether you accepted them or not.
Even Dohyun himself had followed the guidebook quests until arriving in Brion.
‘The guidebook quests aren’t everything.’
However, those useful guidebook quests were just the tip of the iceberg.
With adventure as its theme, God Ose boasted a vast world—and just as many hidden elements.
Things tied to the Adventure Log, hidden pieces…
The list was endless, and among them were hidden quests that only opened when secret conditions were met.
Like the sudden quest that appeared when Dohyun, with Jihad’s help, discovered the hidden field—the Warriors’ Habitat.
And hidden quests weren’t limited to sudden ones.
You could meet conditions and receive hidden quests from NPCs, or get them during raids.
And very rarely, you could obtain them through items.
“…I can’t believe a quest item dropped…”
That was exactly what the quest in front of Dohyun was.
A honey-like item that not only filled the Adventure Log but also linked to hidden quests.
It was also the kind of item that the Adventure King Barion would go crazy over.
Naturally.
For someone who was ready to overcome any hardship as long as it involved adventure, quest items would be irresistible.
‘Even in Demrock, I only got a few…’
Because Dohyun had notoriously bad luck, the number of rare quest items he’d obtained could be counted on one hand.
And yet he got one only three days after starting…
Is this the power of the Eye of Truth class?
‘No—Eye of Truth, what even are you? Where’s your limit?’
It finds secret dungeons.
It detects stealth.
Now it even finds quest items?
The performance was downright insane.
At this point, the only thing it couldn’t find being herbs almost felt more unbalanced.
‘Ha… this is sweet.’
So what if he couldn’t find herbs?
It finds every hidden piece out there!
With the Eye of Truth alone, Dohyun could hunt down everything from quest items to secret dungeons.
‘If explorers find out about this, they’ll die of jealousy.’
Or maybe they’d try to kill him instead.
Honestly, the trait was that balance-breaking.
‘Well… not every quest item is automatically good, though.’
Quest items were valuable mainly for their rarity.
Their difficulty and rewards varied wildly depending on the specific item.
Compared to how hard they were to intentionally find, they were extremely gamble-heavy.
Most players treated them as: nice if you happen to get one, whatever if you don’t.
‘The Adventure King is just weird.’
Unless you were an oddball like him, most people’s reaction was closer to: Do I really need this?
Even the quest he just got was only Rare grade. Most quest items were probably around that level.
Since the most common hidden pieces were Rare and Rare+.
‘Didn’t someone in Cheonoecheon get a Divine Beast from a Legendary quest item…’
Sure, it would’ve been amazing if a high-grade quest item like that had dropped—but that was just Dohyun being greedy.
There would be plenty of chances ahead.
Getting a Rare quest was already a good outcome.
‘Looks like there’s a linked quest too.’
Maybe he could hope for Rare+ as the final grade.
For now, though, he was out of time. He’d have to visit the High Priest tomorrow after logging in.
[10 seconds of play time remaining.]
[Connection will terminate shortly. Please move to a safe location.]
‘Guess I won’t reach 250 kills.’
Getting the quest item was a hundred times better than one more kill, but still… it left a slight blemish that bothered him.
With no choice, Dohyun waved lightly.
“Hey, I’m heading out. Take care, Eliza. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“…? Weren’t you hunting orcs all of a sudden?”
“Riza!”
Eliza sprang up onto Dohyun’s shoulder and rubbed her face against him.
Like she was saying goodbye.
‘She really acts like a puppy.’
It was exactly like Hojji, the pet he’d briefly raised long ago.
Chuckling, Dohyun gently stroked Eliza’s head with his index finger.
“Bit of a shame, but I got something better, so it’s fine. Alright, I’m logging—”
Flash.
Jihad stared blankly at the spot where Dohyun vanished.
After a moment, he let out a sigh.
“He zones out staring at blood-covered rocks, touches blood… Honestly, he’s my master but he’s a strange guy. Right, Eliza?”
“Riza? Rizariza!”
“What? You think he still seems like a good master? Good grief, Eliza. Don’t be fooled by appearances. Do you know how vicious he actually is?”
“Riza? Riza!”
“Hm? You’re saying I don’t look like I dislike him? Well…”
Jihad paused, thinking, then muttered,
“…Well, he’s more bearable than I expected. I’m just kind enough to go along with him. You know how amazing my legion is, right?”
Embarrassed, Jihad rubbed the tip of his nose and quickly changed the subject.
Eliza tilted her head at him.
[Moving to Guardian Room.]
“Ah.”
“Riza?”
It had finally come.
Eliza’s eyes widened as the message appeared before her too. Having experienced it once, Jihad reassured her.
“When our master is away, we guardians move to another world. Don’t worry—you’ll be sent somewhere comfortable.”
“…Riza.”
“I’m a bit disappointed too, but… he said he’ll be back soon. See you tomorrow, Eliza.”
“Riza!”
With a light tap of their hands in farewell, the view flickered—
—and the scenery changed.
A mysterious world where countless realms seemed to coexist.
Clouds connected to land, glaciers alongside lava fields.
Even this strange place was becoming familiar.
“…Feels comfortable even though it’s my first time seeing it.”
Yesterday he’d slept the whole day after finally leaving confinement, but even now it still felt undeniably comfortable.
Hard to explain—but good was good.
The fresh air and cool breeze brushing his skin probably helped too.
“Since I slept all day yesterday, maybe I’ll look around today.”
That was what he liked most about this place.
Every short walk revealed new scenery—it seemed perfect for wandering.
Just as he stepped forward with anticipation—
“…Huh?”
Jihad’s eyes sharpened.
“…Was that there before?”
Something new he hadn’t seen yesterday.
A small cabin sitting alone in the middle of the empty field.
The worn wood carried the weight of time—and it was something Jihad knew very well.
“…That’s my house.”
It was the home he had lived in back in Raven.
Seeing it again after so long felt both nostalgic and surreal.
It hadn’t been there yesterday—so why now?
Swallowing hard, Jihad approached and opened the door.
Creak—
Inside, the interior welcomed him exactly as it had been.
A modest living space with dishes, a table, and chairs.
There were three chairs total.
On the lone chair across from the others sat a cushion.
Eliza’s seat.
The house looked as if time had stopped the day Jihad left.
“…Yeah. It was like this.”
Old memories resurfaced.
Jihad’s expression turned somewhat bitter.
Up there… she must have waited for him for a hundred years.
The thought made his chest tighten.
Rustle—
Just then—
At the strange presence behind him, Jihad reacted—
“Riza!”
“Huh?”
With the familiar voice came a soft, fluffy weight on his shoulder.
He whipped his head around.
Eliza was there, beaming.
“Eliza!?”
“Riza!”
“What—why are you here??”
“Riza? Riza!”
“You just opened your eyes and ended up here? How is that possible?”
“Riza!”
Jihad’s shocked eyes quickly sharpened.
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.
Why should it?
“…Well, whatever. Eliza, want to go for a walk together for the first time in a while?”
“Rizariza!”
The important thing was—
He could reclaim those past memories again.
Eliza hopped up onto Jihad’s head. She’d always loved sitting there.
Maybe the twin ears gave her a sense of stability—she once said the ride felt nice.
“Still the same, huh.”
“Riza!”
“Alright, let’s go. You’ll be amazed when you see this place—it’s incredible.”
“Rizariza!”
“Oh, you want to bring that? What, you still kept it in the house? It’s fine—we’re the only ones here anyway, so you don’t need the necklace.”
Time began to flow again in the once-frozen cabin.
* * *
And at that same moment—
The God Ose community, which had been relatively quiet lately, suddenly erupted like it was on fire.
