[Metropolis City, Metropolitan Alliance]
In the Drenstar Corp building, Grayson stood calmly in the middle of the monitor hall with his arms crossed while his eyes moved between the countless monitors in the hall.
The clacking sound of countless keyboards filled the air in the monitoring hall drowning out any other sounds in the hall.
'So far, so good. The early phase seems to be running better than I expected.' Grayson thought as he surveyed the various data on the screen.
However, his train of thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the employee named Andrew.
"Sir, we just got the alert that a hidden quest has been triggered." Andrew the young employee who seemed to be in his twenties suddenly turned to Grayson.
"Whoa for real?"
The game hasn't even been up for a whole day yet."
"Which player was it? Is it a ranker from the global ranking?"
Hearing the news, the other employees suddenly burst into an uproar.
Grayson was surprised as well, although it was hard to tell since there was no change to his expression.
"Alright, back to work. Which player was it?" Grayson ordered as he drew closer to Andrew's desk, quickly suppressing the other employees.
"A player named Aegis Kaelos. Apparently he's a new face to the gaming community, and has only been playing for a few hours since launch." Andrew who had already returned his attention to his monitor proceeded to read out the information to Grayson.
However, he failed to notice that Grayson's pupils shrunk briefly upon hearing the name.
'It's him– the one the Council wants me to monitor.' Grayson thought in shock. But soon his lips curled into a slight smile.
"How interesting" he muttered softly.
"What was that sir?" Andrew who couldn't decipher the mumbling asked for confirmation.
"Nothing important. For now keep an eye on him. I need informations about the quest he triggered, type, details, location, everything." He ordered.
"Yes sir." Andrew replied and immediately got to work.
'Let's see what's so special about you to arouse the council's interest.' Grayson thought with a curious glint in his eyes.
---
[Meanwhile]
Sitting across the counter from Freddy, Ellie drew a long breath, her gaze distant as if she were looking through Freddy rather than at him.
"That embroidery belonged to a military legion," she began quietly. "An elite legion loyal to the kingdom."
"My husband was a part of that legion," she paused slightly, "and that particular shirt in your hands belonged to him."
Her voice softened, the edge of old pain bleeding through.
"He never really spoke much about them, said the less I know the safer. But he did tell me that only the members can see the embroidery." She said before momentarily falling silent.
"If I may ask, what happened to your husband?" Freddy couldn't help but ask, and at that moment he noticed Ellie's body tremble slightly.
"He was called to report for an operation nine years ago, I was just five months pregnant at that time." Ellie spoke somberly. "He never returned."
As she spoke, her voice choked as her hands trembled slightly.
Freddy hesitated, unsure how to respond. The realism of her sorrow unsettled him — it felt too raw for an NPC.
Before he could speak, a soft ding resonated in his ears.
Ding!
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Quest Objective: Find out more about the mysterious insignia. [Completion 30%]
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"I apologize for the sorry sight," Ellie apologized as she subtly wiped the tears welling up in her eyes.
"That's all I know." She said and Freddy's eyes dimmed a bit. "But old Garth might know more."
Her next words, however, cause that dimness to disappear.
"Old Garth?" Freddy repeated.
Ellie nodded. "He's an old soldier. Drinks more than he remembers, but he once serve near the capital. He might know something… if you can get him to talk."
"Thank you for the information miss Ellie, I'll go look for old Garth after I'm done repairing my things." Freddy said to which Ellie nodded.
He proceeded to hand her the level one common glove she gifted him for repair while he went back to inspecting the loot.
Apart from the crest and armor, the boss also dropped a ring, a dagger, a necklace and a pouch.
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Boar Fang blade [Uncommon Rank]
Type: Dagger
Level: 10
Requirements: 20 strength, Assassin.
Attack Power +22, Critical Rate +5%
Passive skill: Feral Slash - Critical hit inflicts 2% of damage dealt as bleed damage per second for 5 seconds.
Durability: 50/50
Description: A dagger forged from a fang that still carries the feral instinct of the Hog king.
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'Nice dagger. Maybe I'll equip it when I get to level 10.' Freddy thought to himself and looked at the necklace stats.
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Warthog Totem Necklace [Rare Rank]
Type: Necklace [Accessory]
Level: 10
Requirements: None
Intelligence +5, MP regeneration +3 every five seconds.
Passive skill: Divine Resonance — Increases healing output by 5% and reduces cooldown of healing skills by 5%.
Description: A necklace imbued with lingering divine energy drawn from the primal spirit of the Hog King. Mages and clerics feel its rhythm align with their mana flow.
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"A rare accessory! Those are even harder to find than a rare weapon. Willy's luck is really something." Freddy muttered in surprise.
"Anyway, let's check out the last item and that pouch before deciding on how to split it.
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Tuskband Ring [Uncommon Rank]
Type:Ring [Accessory]
Level: 10
Requirements: None
Strength +2, Vitality +3, Physical resistance +5%
Passive Skill: Boar's Endurance — When HP falls below 30%, Defense increases by 50% for 10 seconds.
Description: Forged from polished tusk fragments of the Hog King, this ring fortifies its wearer in desperate moments.
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'Well this one's definitely mine. Now the pouch.' Freddy thought, mentally claiming the ring for himself.
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Boar King Tribute [Reward for first Kill]
Opening it grants a certain amount of coins to the owner.
Would you like to open it?
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Freddy wasted no time in clicking the open button.
Ding!
[You have received 1 gold and 50 silver]
"Not bad… not bad at all," Freddy muttered as he added the initial 30 silver that the boss dropped. "That's 1 Gold, 80 Silver total. First boss kill pay feels good."
After reviewing everything, he immediately contacted Willy.
[Aegis Kaelos: Hey, meet me at the smithy, let's split the boss loot.]
After a few moments, a simple reply came from Willy.
[Willy the Kid: Okay]
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Hi everyone, I'm sorry for the delay I've been working on a lot of things lately. I made a few improvement to the chapters behind to make them more pleasant to you guys please do read and support me with your comments reviews and powerstones. Thanks.