It actually updated! There are two new quests!
But the two quests seem different. One has a counter, and the other doesn't. Does that mean there's no upper limit on how many enemies you have to kill?
Right now, though, those details weren't important. What mattered was the significant change that came with leveling up.
Nidhogg could clearly feel his body undergoing a qualitative transformation. His physique had improved, and he'd even gained combat memories and experience that weren't his own.
Elated, he used the jailer's keys to unlock the manacles on his wrists and the shackle on his ankle, freeing his limbs.
Then, he stripped the clothes from the dead jailer and put them on, disguising himself as a guard to move around more easily.
He looked at the updated short-term quest, wondering where he might find his Vagabond Knight set, when the other prisoners noticed he'd killed the jailer and taken the keys. They couldn't contain themselves and started shouting.
"Hey, you! Over here, give me the key!"
"Good kill! Good kill!"
"Save me! I'm innocent! Get me out of here!"
A chorus of desperate voices pleaded with Nidhogg to open their doors and set them free.
Nidhogg refused. He had no idea how many of the prisoners here were innocent like him, and this was no time to judge their cases.
He tossed the keys onto the floor, then turned and walked away, ignoring their shouts, their promises, and their curses. He left the dungeon behind.
Nidhogg emerged into a sunlit corridor.
He took a deep breath, but immediately tensed up again at the commotion around him.
"Kill—!"
"Don't let them through!"
"Cut them down! The first one through gets a big reward!"
He hid behind a pillar and peered out. Sure enough, a large group of armored soldiers were locked in battle. Swords, spears, axes, and halberds clashed as bodies fell to the ground and blood flowed everywhere.
This was the first time Nidhogg had witnessed such a tragic battlefield. His heart clenched. Knowing he was unarmed and defenseless, he didn't dare show himself and pressed himself quietly against the wall.
Soon, he spotted an open doorway. The body of a soldier lay just outside it.
Hearing no sounds from within the room, Nidhogg crept closer. As he approached, the quest content updated.
「Short-term Quest」 Retrieve the Vagabond Knight Set (1/6)
Huh?
Nidhogg looked suspiciously at the soldier's corpse and noticed the longsword in his hand looked familiar.
「Longsword」
A straight sword with a double-edged blade.
Capable of both standard slashes and piercing thrusts, it is a well-balanced weapon with excellent versatility.
「Skill: Square Off」
Hold your sword parallel to the ground and assume a stance, then follow with an attack.
Light attacks perform a slash that breaks through an enemy's guard.
Heavy attacks perform a lunging thrust.
Nidhogg stared at the simple longsword, surprised and elated.
This sword was his longsword! But why was it in this soldier's hands?
He quickly pieced it together. Now that the castle was under attack, his Vagabond Knight set wouldn't have been left to waste. Eighty percent chance the lord or Jackson had distributed the pieces to different soldiers.
As soon as Nidhogg entered the room, his guess was confirmed.
The room was in chaos. Seven or eight corpses lay strewn across the floor. There were no survivors besides Nidhogg. It had clearly been the site of a bloody skirmish.
The quest content updated again.
「Short-term Quest」 Retrieve the Vagabond Knight Set (5/6)
Whoa, finding four pieces at once?
Nidhogg searched the various bodies and finally zeroed in on one soldier. The helm, armor, gauntlets, and greaves on this corpse were all part of his Vagabond Knight set. He stripped them off immediately.
He shed the guard's uniform and put on his own gear. When he finally pulled on the helm, he felt a measure of safety for the first time.
Now, only his heater shield was missing.
Nidhogg didn't waste any more time. He left the room, hoping to get lucky and find it outside. But the moment he stepped out, he came face to face with a soldier, helmetless and covered in blood.
The soldier was just as stunned to see Nidhogg. Then, fear flickered in his eyes. He raised his longsword, let out a scream, and swung it at Nidhogg with wild abandon.
"Are you insane?!" Nidhogg parried the strike with his own longsword, shocked and angry. "You don't even ask who I am, you just charge in and start swinging?"
The soldier seemed completely unhinged. He kept slashing and thrusting, clearly intent on killing Nidhogg.
Nidhogg couldn't understand it. They'd just met. He hadn't even had time to distinguish friend from foe. Why was it immediately a fight to the death?
He was still thinking like a modern person.
He backed away repeatedly, dodging the soldier's wild swings. Then he saw the man suddenly lose strength. His longsword clattered to the ground, and he collapsed, twitching weakly.
It turned out this soldier had been seriously wounded while fighting the enemy inside the castle. When he saw Nidhogg, a stranger, his first instinct was to kill to protect himself.
Nidhogg didn't hesitate. He raised his longsword and drove it through the soldier's throat. A spray of arterial blood arced out, splattering the ground. The soldier went still with a final, rattling breath.
The quest content updated again.
「Short-term Quest」 Retrieve the Vagabond Knight Set (6/6) / Eliminate Obstacles on the Castle Battlefield (2)
Nidhogg wasn't a mindless killer. His first priority was still to find his heater shield. He stuck to the shadows, moving stealthily, only fighting back when other blood-crazed soldiers discovered him.
His swordsmanship was rough, but fortunately, most of the soldiers who attacked him were already wounded. He killed them when he could, and when he couldn't win, he ran. They were too injured to give chase.
Of course, running was the better option. It saved energy.
Thwip! Thwip!
Crossbowmen on the tower were firing down at the enemies who had breached the castle's inner courtyard. They didn't notice the vagabond knight sneaking up from behind.
But no matter how carefully Nidhogg moved, he was bound to be spotted eventually. This was a battlefield, and soldiers were everywhere.
As he climbed the tower, he met a castle defender on the narrow spiral staircase. They both froze, staring at each other.
Nidhogg's gaze dropped. He quickly noticed the defender was holding a spear and a shield.
The shield was a heater shield. It matched the one from his own Vagabond Knight set.
That's it!
Before the defender could react, Nidhogg lunged forward, dodging the spear tip and closing the distance between them.
Startled, the defender tried to pull his spear back for another thrust, but on the narrow stairs with walls on both sides, he couldn't. He could only retreat, raising his heater shield.
The moment Nidhogg saw the defender take a step back, his free left hand shot out, grabbed the shaft of the spear, and yanked hard, pulling the man, who was reluctant to let go, toward him.
The defender stumbled backward, too focused on Nidhogg to watch his footing. When Nidhogg unexpectedly grabbed the spear and pulled, he lost his balance completely.
Without hesitation, Nidhogg surged forward, slamming into the defender and pinning him against the wall. He raised his longsword and brought it down on the man's helm.
Dazed, the defender crumpled. His heater shield slipped from his grasp. His helm held against the first blow, but Nidhogg struck again. And again. The metal dented, and blood began to seep from the cracks.
Seeing the result, Nidhogg struck the helm several more times, splitting it open. Crimson blood gushed out like a burst spring.
The defender collapsed to the floor. His spear clattered down the stone steps, and his heater shield lay under Nidhogg's foot.
「Short-term Quest」 Retrieve the Vagabond Knight Set (Completed. Reward: Level Up from LV 1 → LV 7)
「Short-term Quest」 Eliminate Obstacles on the Castle Battlefield (8) / Eliminate the "Ashen Knight" Jackson