Chapter 187

“I will.”
Some time later, arriving in front of Viscount Samon’s mansion, Ming Hu muttered to himself as he looked at the wall of the Lilihan mansion. After looking at the wall for a while, Ming Hu approached the entrance.
“Stop.”
“This is Viscount Samon’s mansion.”
As Ming Hu approached, the two guards guarding the entrance blocked his path, saying, “I’m sorry.
“I’ve come to see Viscount Samon about a sea monster.”
“…!”
Ming Hu’s next words startled the two guards. Then, the more senior of the two guards approached Ming and said, “I’m sorry.
“Let me know who you are and I’ll get it to you right away.”
“I’m from the imperial palace.”
“…!”
The guard looked surprised again, then continued.
“Please wait a moment!”
With that, the guard rushed past the entrance and into the mansion, and a few moments later, a well-dressed, if not fancy, man emerged from the entrance with the guard.
“Viscount Samon. I hear you’re from the Imperial Palace….”
As Viscount Samon trailed off, Ming Hu pulled out the Emperor’s Mark from his inventory and showed it to him. Viscount Samon looked a little surprised to see the Emperor’s Seal, but then he smiled and said, “I’ll take it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. This way.”
Ming Hu followed Viscount Samon to the mansion.
“Please have a seat.”
Soon afterward, Ming Hu entered Viscount Samon’s chambers and sat down at his word. Once seated, Ming Hu got right down to business.
“Can I do some research on sea monsters?”
“For now, yes.”
Viscount Samon nodded in response to Ming Hu’s words.
<The Stagnation of Rumors
One day, men who traveled to the coast of Vedrin to collect coral began to disappear. Viscount Samon found this strange and sent investigators to the coast of Vedrin, but they too disappeared. When this became known, rumors began to circulate that a monster had appeared on the shores of Vedrin. Viscount Samon himself believes there is something to it. Travel to the shores of Vedrin and find out what it is!
Difficulty Level: C
Quest Reward: 20 Top Grade Red Coral
When Viscount Samon finished speaking, the quest appeared. Ming Hu checked the quest and its reward. Upon seeing the reward, Ming Hu frowned slightly.
"Twenty corals? You've got to be kidding me.
The quest reward was 20 Top Quality Red Coral. I didn't like it.
"Okay, I'll look into it and get back to you."
But he couldn't refuse to take the quest just because he didn't like the reward, so Ming Hu nodded and said.
[You have accepted the quest].
When prompted to accept, Ming Hu stepped out of the room and walked away from the mansion.
"Let's get the information first.
After leaving the mansion, Ming Hu began wandering the city in search of NPCs to learn more about the Vedran Coast and its rumors before heading to the Vedran Coast.
"The Bedran Coast? It's a treasure of our city, where red and blue coral grows, and of course… Though there have been some unsavory things happening there lately. Unsavory things? I don't know the details, only that he's missing."
"Not everyone who went to collect coral is missing, and if everyone was missing, it would be a big deal. Where are they missing? I don't know."
"Someone who looks human walked out of the ocean, but I don't know who said it, because I heard it in a bar."
"…I'll have to look it up myself.
A quick walk around the city yielded no useful information. Ming Hu realized that he would have to search the Vedran coast himself, so he began walking toward it.
Jumbled
'It wasn't even stuck…'
You thought that the beach directly in front of the city would be the Vedran coast, but contrary to your expectations, the coast in front of the city was not the Vedran coast. The Vedran Coast was further upstream and quite far from the city. Ming Hu thought as he walked up the coast.
"Didn't you get hit by something on the way there?
Ming Hu wondered if the missing men had not disappeared from the shores of Vedran, but had gone missing on their way to the shores of Vedran. I thought to myself.
"Well… I'll start with the Bedran coast, and if I don't find anything, I'll look around.
It sounded promising enough. Ming Hu decided to search the coast of Vedran first, and if he didn't find anything special on the coast, he would search between Vedran and Magdan.
"There it is.
Soon afterward, Ming Hu spotted a signpost and realized that he had reached the shores of Bedran.
"Do I really need to search this whole big area…
Being away from the city wasn't the problem. The real problem was the width of the Bedran coast. The coast of Vedran was so wide you could see the end of it.
"…"
After staring at the shore of Bedran for a moment, Ming Hu began to walk along the shore.
"Huh?
But not long after he started walking, Ming Hu was forced to stop.
"A…person!
A man was walking out of the sea. Ming Hu quickly approached the man, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.
"…huh?
As Ming Hu approaches with a cheerful expression on his face, he stops in his tracks when he sees the pouch on the man's back.
'Coral…'
The pouch on his back was filled with red and blue corals.
"…?"
When the man emerged from the sea, he saw Ming Hu staring at him, and he stopped in his tracks and stared at him warily. The man's gaze brought Ming Hu to his senses, and he opened his mouth to speak.
"Uh… are you a coral collector?"
"…Yes, who are you?"
"That's… I came out to investigate because of the missing people here."
At Myung-Hoo's words, Sanae continued, her eyes still wary.
"I see, then you'll have to go a little farther inland, because there are no missing people in the early reefs where the lower corals grow, like here."
"Oh. Thank you."
At the man's words, Ming Hu thanked him and walked past him. The man relaxed his guard as Ming Hu passed and began walking toward the city. Ming Hu followed the man's lead and continued up the coast.
'There are a lot of coral gathering NPCs…'
As he walked up the coast, Ming Hu could see many people coming out of the sea. Of course, they had pouches on their backs, and the pouches were filled with coral.
"Stop!"
As Ming Hu continued along the shore, he was stopped by a voice, and he looked toward the source of the voice.
Dada Dada Dada
A man in his mid-40s with a pouch full of coral on his back was running toward him. Ming Hu couldn't help but shake his head as he saw the man running toward him.
"Hmm…hmm…"
Reaching Ming Hu, the man gasped for breath, then looked at Ming Hu with a serious expression and said.
"You can't go in from here!"
"…Why?"
"It's not because it's where the finest coral grows. This place is… dangerous."
"Is it dangerous?
At the man's words, Ming Hu quickly opened his mouth to speak.
"Why are you saying it's dangerous?"
"It's… somehow a lot of people are missing. And…"
The slurred man looked at the shores of Vedran, then back at Ming Hu, and continued.
"Monster. There's a monster."
"Found it!
Ming Hu said to the man with a serious expression, thinking he had finally found it.
"Can we hear more about the monster?"
"…"
The man was silent for a moment at Ming Hu's words, then a look of horror crossed his face as he continued.
"That was five days ago. I came here to collect coral, and of course I had heard that people were going missing… but I had no choice, I couldn't make a living if I didn't collect coral. Luckily, my coral gathering ended without incident, and I stepped outside to head back to the city. Just then. I saw it in the distance. A dragon. It was definitely a dragon, but… it wasn't a dragon."
"…?"
Ming Hu looked puzzled at the man's words. Then the man continued.
"It had the head of a dragon… but it was a snake, a snake, albeit a big one."
"…."
"Anyway, don't go any further in here."
The man said so and began to walk toward the city. When the man was out of sight, Ming Hu turned around and looked toward the sea where the man had pointed earlier.
"A dragon…"
The head of a dragon and the body of a snake, the man said, it was clear that it was a dragon.
Jumbled
Ming Hu continued to walk along the shore.
"How can I meet him… I'm just going to go and see him."
Walking along the shore, Ming Hu paused, silent, and then stared out to sea, his brow furrowed slightly.
Siaak
The sea parted, and two people walked out of it. The two people who walked out of the parted sea had no bags on their backs. They hadn't gone in to collect coral.
"Do you have a weapon?
He was also carrying a weapon, so he was definitely not a coral gathering NPC. Ming Hu eyed the two approaching him.
"…Huh?"
When Ming Hu saw the two faces that were now so close, he couldn't help but panic.
"Huh? You!"
"No, you don't!"
The two who emerged from the sea were people Ming Hu already knew.
"Brother, it's been so long!"
"I haven't seen you in Himise!"
The two people Myung-Hoo already knew the identity of were Weol-Cha and Luna.
"Ah…hello."
"It's me, anytime!"
"What are you doing here? Are you here to get Derren or something?"
"Deren?"
Myung Hu shook his head in disbelief, then looked at Myung Hu with a puzzled expression.
"Isn't Deren's garden the reason you came here?"
At the end of the ensuing monologue, Ming Hu couldn't help but question once again.
"Deren's garden?"
At the sound of Deren's garden, Ming Hu looked at Wolcha curiously.
"Ewww, bullshit!"
In response to Ming Hu's reaction, Luna pinched Wolcha's side. Wolcha let out a pained groan and said, "I'm sorry.
"Ugh! I'm sorry, I thought you were here to visit Deren's garden again, but you don't seem to know that. Did you see where we just came out?"
"Yes."
"That is Deren's garden."
"That… What's Derren's garden for?"
What Ming Hu wanted to know was what Deren's garden was like. Mon Cha smiled at Ming Hu's question.
"Hunting grounds."
"Oh… I see."
Ming Hu nodded at the short, concise explanation. Then Luna opened her mouth to speak.
"But why are you here if not for Deren's garden?"
"Oh. It's a quest. There's a monster in the sea. I think it's a dragon."
At Myung-Hoo's words, Wolcha and Luna looked at each other and began to talk.
"I think you mean Derren?"
"Right?"
After talking, Wolcha and Luna looked at Ming Hu again, and then Wolcha opened his mouth to speak.
"Are we… are we supposed to catch the monster?"
"Oh, no, it's just a research quest."
"Good, because if there's a catch quest after the investigative quest, you might want to give up, because I think the talking monster is Derren, and he's impossible to catch."
"…Impossible?"
"It's… It's hard to describe, you'll have to see it to believe it, but first. It's impossible to catch it by yourself. Are you sure about that…?"
Just then, Luna poked Wolcha in the side, cutting him off, and said in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry.
"It's time to sign out."
"Is it that time of day already?"
"Yes."
Wolcha looked slightly surprised at Luna's words. Then he looked at Ming Hu and said, "I'm sorry.
"Hmmmmmm. I'm sorry. I have to sign out for work."
"Oh, no, no, no, thanks for the information."
"See you later!"
"See you later, brother!"
With that, Weiqi and Luna logged out and disappeared from the room. Ming Hu walked back to the place where Weiqi and Luna had walked out. When Ming Hu arrived at the same place where Monica and Luna had walked out, he saw a curious sight.
Siaak
The sea parted and a path appeared. Ming Hu began to walk along the path to the sea.
Sigh
As he walked along the path, Ming Hu put his hand into the water, which seemed to have a transparent wall that prevented him from crossing the path. His hand slipped into the water without much resistance. Minghu withdrew his hand again and continued walking along the path.
"Is that it?
After walking along the road for a while, Ming Hu shook his head when he saw the end of the road, for there was nothing else around it.
Jumbuck
Reaching the end of the road, Ming Hu looked around. There was nothing else to see. Ming Hu turned around.
"…!"
Turning back, Ming Hu was surprised to find that the path he had been walking was once again being flooded by the sea. Soon, even the end of the path where Ming Hu was standing was being invaded. Ming Hu swallowed hard as the seawater poured in from all directions, and he kept an eye on his vitals. He felt as if he was about to suffer great damage.
"…Hmm?
However, contrary to expectations, it didn't take any damage. Of course, it didn't take no damage at all. My health was steadily ebbing and flowing. At the same time, a message began to appear.
Siaak
[You have entered Deren's garden].
[You take damage from lack of breath. -100 life per second].
[Movement speed is reduced by 30% due to lack of breath].
[Attack speed is reduced by 30% due to lack of breath].
[Increases damage taken from lack of breath by 30%].