Chapter 108

“Um, so you’re asking me to show you the body?”
“Yes.”
After returning from the slaughter, Lêm went straight to Ming Hu and demanded to see Li Qiye’s corpse. Ming Hu looked at Reim, who looked at him with pity in his eyes.
“Oh, that’s. Um.”
Ming Hu frowned slightly and opened his mouth. There was no reason why not.
“You’re asking me to show you the body, right?”
“Yes, I’d like you to show me the body.”
“Why aren’t my quests showing up?
The reason for Ming Hu’s delay without showing the corpse was the quest. Ming Hu was trying to get the quest to appear, but strangely enough, unlike Nara, it never did.
“What were the special conditions?
“It’s hard to get out of here, so follow me.”
Eventually, Ming Hu gave up on leading the quest and left the forge, heading for the clearing where he had retrieved the corpse. Once there, Ming Hu retrieved Karot’s corpse from his inventory as Rem looked at him with a horse-dung stare.
“Ohhh.”
Reim’s reaction was the same as the mages’ when they had removed the corpse earlier. When Ming Hu set the corpse down, Reim quickly approached and began to examine it, then looked at Ming Hu with a shocked expression on his face.
“…Good to see you.”
After a while, Reim thanked him and left. Ming Hu put the corpse in his inventory and returned to the forge to begin crafting items.
“My lord.”
But a voice from behind him made Ming Hu drop his hammer and turn around. There seemed to be a lot of NPCs looking for him strangely today.
“What, Mr. Revill?”
It was Revil who called for Ming Hu. Ming Hu scratched his head, wondering why Revil had come, until he noticed the scroll in Revil’s hand.
“…a quest already?
Now that I think about it, there was no reason for Revil to come looking for him unless it was a quest.
“Work.”
As expected, it was a quest. Revil handed the scroll to Ming Hu. Then, as he had done so many times before, he quickly disappeared from the forge. When Revil was out of sight, Ming Hu opened the scroll.
<Trouble in the Denba Plains
The northernmost city of the Helioca Empire, Madran, is currently in the midst of its expansion. However, one of the neighboring frontiers, the Denva Plains, is currently being held back by a problem. Travel to the Expansion Headquarters in Madran to hear about and solve the problem in the Denva Plains!
Time remaining: 45 days
Difficulty Level: A
Quest Reward: ???, 2 million Helioca Merit + ??? (You will receive additional Merit).
Ming Hu frowned slightly as he read the quest description. The quest's completion requirement was to solve another quest, but it didn't say which one.
"I'll know when I get there.
It looked like I should go to the frontier headquarters in Makran, as the quest said. Ming Hu pondered for a moment, then tore up the scroll.
[You have accepted the quest].
After accepting the quest, Ming Hu left the forge. After exiting the forge, Ming Hu turned around and looked at the forge. He didn't know how long it would take, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to come to the forge for a while.
"Whatever.
Of course, I didn't feel sad or nostalgic or anything like that. He knew that the emperor's golden hammer was not in the forge, but he was there because of his merit, not for any other particular reason.
"Two million, plus extra merit, plus extra rewards…
Ming Hu walked out of the palace and toward the warp gate, remembering his quest reward. Arriving at the warp gate a short time later, Ming Hu approached the Wizard NPC, who was standing there in a daze.
"I'm going to Madran."
"What is Madran?"
The wizard shook his head slightly at Ming Hu's words, then continued.
"A lot of people are going to Madran these days. It's 10 gold."
Ming Hu shook his head at the wizard's words and handed over 10 gold. He followed the wizard through the warp gate and traveled to Madran.
"Huh?
Ming Hu arrives in Madran with a sense of disorientation, and is stunned by what he sees.
Woof, woof, woof
"W-what?
Madran was home to a population of humans far beyond that of the capital Nexus.
"Where are you going this time?"
"Me? The witch's castle on the cliff."
"Holy shit, this is going to blow up."
It was clear by the way they talked.
Jumbled
Ming Hu needed to get to the frontier headquarters, so he exited the warp gate. As Ming Hu exited the Warp Gate, a user approached him.
"Hello."
After saying hello, he continued.
"Are you having a party?"
"Yes?"
After greeting the user, Ming Hu asked him if he was having a party, and the user replied in a confused voice. In response, the user smiled and opened his mouth to speak.
"My party is going to the Golden Lion Forest this time, and we don't have anyone to play Dilthang, so I was wondering if you'd like to join us."
Ming Hu looked at the user looking at him and said.
"Oh, I have somewhere to be."
"Ah…okay. Good luck."
The user looked disappointed at Ming Hu's refusal and walked away. As the user walked away, Ming Hu started walking again.
"Hey, do you know where the pioneer headquarters is?"
"Pioneer headquarters?"
At Ming Hu's question, the user scanned Ming Hu's appearance. The user then smiled and looked at Ming Hu and said, "You're right.
"Ha-ha-ha. On your way to frontier headquarters?"
"Yes."
"Keep going, you'll come to a crossroads, turn right, and you'll come to a central square, and that's where the pioneer headquarters is."
"Oh, thank you."
Ming Hu thanked the user for the directions and resumed his walk.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
But Ming Hu stopped walking and turned to face the user when he heard the user's shout from behind him.
"…?"
"Hey, what's your level, I'm guessing it's your first time, would you like to party with us?"
"Yes?"
"We're heading to Red Wolf's Meadow, and I'll share the quest with you if you're interested. Our party currently has five members: a priest, two 4-circle mages, a warrior who is our main tank, and finally me, the archer. Don't worry if it's your first time, we'll show you the ropes."
Ming Hu waited for the user's words to end, but they never seemed to.
"Hey…"
Eventually, Ming Hu interrupted the user, opening his mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry, I'm on my way to the frontier headquarters for another quest."
"Oh."
The user, who had been smiling and chattering away, sighed at Ming Hu's words. Then, with a wistful look, he continued.
"I'm sorry, I was talking too much to myself without listening."
"Oh, no."
"No, thank you!"
"Yes, thank you."
Ming Hu started walking again. As he walked, he heard the voice of the user he had been talking to earlier.
"But if you have any ideas, please come over here!"
Arriving at the intersection some time later, Ming Hu followed the user's advice and took the right path. After a while, Ming Hu arrived at the central plaza, where he found the frontier headquarters.
"Going to the Golden Lion's Forest! 120 Defense Warrior! Polearm!"
"Meadows of the Red Wolf Wants a Priest!"
Outside the frontier headquarters, there was an unparalleled number of players rescuing parties and saving party members. Ming Hu pushed his way through the crowd and entered the frontier headquarters.
"At least it's less.
Upon entering the building, the number of players thinned significantly. Ming Hu looked at them, then turned away and opened the quest window.
"Who should I listen to?
The quest description said that I needed to talk to someone here about the problems in the Denva Plains, but I couldn't figure out who. It must be an NPC, but there were too many of them here.
"It must be one of those NPCs…
Ming Hu sat at his desk, watching the NPCs dealing with users and the NPCs working behind the scenes.
Surely one of them would tell him the problem of the Denba Plains. Ming Hu stood in line and waited for his turn. Users were moving out at a rapid pace, and soon it was Minghu's turn.
"What are you here for?"
"Oh, I'm here about the Denva Plains."
"…Yes?"
The NPC looks puzzled for a moment at Ming Hu's words.
"Please wait a moment."
Sigh
He asked me to wait a moment, then got up, opened the door to a room in the back labeled Deputy General Manager's Office, entered, and emerged with an NPC who appeared to be in his late 40s.
"I'm Haim, deputy general manager of the pioneering headquarters."
Approaching Ming Hu, Haim introduced himself with a smile. Then he opened his mouth to speak.
"I heard you're here because of the problems in the Denva Plains… is that correct?"
"Ah, yes."
"I was wondering if you could show me the proof…"
"Proof?"
Ming Hu shook his head at Haim's words. A token? He hadn't received anything but a scroll.
"You don't mean the emperor's mark, do you?
Suddenly remembering the emperor's seal he had received earlier, Ming Hu opened his inventory, took out the emperor's seal, showed it to Haim, and said, "I'm sorry.
"Is this what you mean?"
"Oh, come on in."
Seeing the emperor's mark, Haim quickly escorted Ming Hu to his room. At the sight of Ming Hu and Haim, the users around them scratched their heads and began to talk.
"What quest are we going in there for?"
"I heard it's called the Denba Plains?"
"Huh? Isn't that closed?"
"Uh, it's closed, but…"
"Isn't this a special quest? I'll ask when it comes up."