Chapter 62: Tide of the Times: Prologue
Inside the tavern that had just been ransacked by panic, Yen was standing behind the counter, sneakily stuffing an unopened bottle of expensive liquor into his clothes.
He did it with the solemnity of a man safeguarding civilization itself.
Facing the invisible livestream camera, he lowered his voice and said, "Brothers, fortune favors the bold. This is the charm of an unconventional start. The NPCs all ran. What does that mean? It means this is a legal zero dollar opening. We are taking off."
The bullet comments exploded in approval.
Then the tavern door creaked open again.
This time, two players rushed in from outside, panting with excitement. They had clearly run against the fleeing crowd all the way here.
One had the ridiculous ID [World Final BOSS].
The other was [Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance].
The moment they crossed the threshold, they both slowed down, eyes sweeping over the overturned chairs, the splashed liquor, and the empty room.
World Final BOSS inhaled sharply.
This was too real.
The smell of stale wine, wood rot, smoke, wet leather, and unwashed bodies hit him all at once. The cold from the floor seeped up through his boots. Even the flickering blue light from the wall crystals felt natural in a way that made his scalp go numb.
He looked around wildly.
"Where are the monsters? Where's the beginner village chicken? I saw on the forum that some place called Muai County already started fighting magic rats."
Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance immediately noticed Yen and lit up. "Streamer! I've watched your broadcasts."
Yen hurried over and pressed both hands down, shushing them frantically.
"Keep it down. This place is weird. The NPCs all got scared off earlier. We need to loot first and talk later."
The three of them had just started moving again when the tavern door opened for the third time.
This time, no wind rushed in.
No one came crashing through the doorway.
A man simply walked in.
He wore a dark trench coat. His pace was unhurried, almost leisurely, as if he were only out for a late night stroll and had happened to step into the wrong place.
Yet the moment he entered, the atmosphere of the entire tavern changed.
The air seemed to tighten.
Even without doing anything, he carried the kind of pressure that only came from an overwhelming level gap. It was not visible, but it pressed against the skin and nerves all the same.
Yen and the other two almost reacted at the same time and threw Detect at him.
A prompt appeared.
[Based on your level, you can only obtain the following information.]
[???] [Name]
[Level: ?]
[Attributes: ?]
[???]
[Danger Level: Extremely Lethal]
The three of them froze.
Yen's scalp tingled.
He could not even see the man's name.
Extremely Lethal was even more absurd. Before this, every thug and outlaw he had seen in Shadow Valley had only shown High danger. This one had skipped several steps and gone straight to a warning that might as well have read, "You are courting death."
World Final BOSS felt the skin on the back of his neck go cold.
For one terrifying second, he suspected his ID had truly attracted disaster.
Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance nearly stopped breathing. If this was not some regional boss, then the game developers had a vicious sense of humor.
The man looked at them.
Then he smiled faintly.
"The moment we meet, you start probing me with detection," he said mildly. "That is not a very polite habit."
Yen almost dropped the bottle he had just stolen. In the livestream, the bullet comments went insane.
"He's speaking first. It's over for the streamer."
"Bro triggered dialogue with a boss by existing."
"Extremely Lethal and still yellow named. This is definitely an important NPC."
Yen forced a laugh so dry it sounded like it might catch fire.
"Sir, total misunderstanding. We were just... admiring your extraordinary bearing."
The man walked to the counter and casually straightened the bottle that Yen had knocked crooked earlier.
His fingers were long and clean. There was no hurry in anything he did.
"Since you are so interested in this place," he said, glancing at the empty tavern, "then staring at dead objects you cannot take away seems like a waste of time."
The three players stared at him.
A thought flashed through all of their heads at once.
Quest.
The man turned, leaning one shoulder lightly against the bar, and his voice became a little clearer.
"If what you want is work, then that is simple. I happen to be short of a few errand boys."
At that exact moment, a prompt opened in Hodell's vision.
[Do you want to issue a quest to player: Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance?]
He did not show anything on his face, but his interest sharpened immediately.
So the NPC interface had finally come alive.
He chose yes.
A more detailed panel unfolded in front of him.
Quest types filled the left side in dense rows. Ordinary Quest, Reward Pool Quest, Competitive Quest, Challenge Quest, Series Quest, Chain Quest, Faction Quest and more.
On the right side were the rules.
[Maximum Reward Quota: 29,295]
[Daily Total Quota Limit: 175,770]
Below that were the sources of the current cap.
His total level.
His D rank.
His faction relationships.
His legendary status on Liuli Star.
Hodell skimmed them quickly, understanding at once.
The experience used for player quest rewards did not come from his personal pool, but it was still restricted by his status. A single quest could not exceed the maximum quota. The daily limit refreshed every twenty four hours. If the reward was too low for the difficulty of the quest, the issuance would fail entirely.
He silently clicked his tongue in his heart.
So even in this world, bosses were forced to be stingy by system rules.
How brutal.
Still, twenty nine thousand was more than enough for what he wanted.
His thoughts moved swiftly.
These three were the first batch of players he had found in Shadow Valley. More importantly, they were obviously the sort who would scream their discoveries to the world the moment they got anything outrageous. He needed exactly that.
He selected the quest type and set the reward just under the cap.
Then he issued it to all three.
His gaze swept over them, and he said calmly, "In every age worth remembering, only a handful of people ever get to decide what tomorrow looks like. The rest are dragged along by the current. Since you wish to work, then follow well and perhaps you will be allowed to see the tide up close."
The players' system panels lit up.
[You have triggered E rank quest: Tide of the Times: Prologue]
[Quest Description: In every magnificent era, there are always a few individuals whose actions quietly tug at the threads of fate. Now, a person walking in the shadows has cast a casual glance your way. This may be the moment that rewrites your future. When the tide of the times brushes against your feet, do you drift with it, or do you try to cling to the one stirring it?]
[Quest Objective: Follow the mysterious individual for one day]
[Reward: 28,000 EXP, temporary residence rights in Shadow Valley during the following period]
[Warning: Refusing may cause you to lose your only safe chance to survive in Shadow Valley]
For a full second, not one of them spoke.
Then World Final BOSS almost screamed.
"Twenty eight thousand?!"
His voice cracked halfway through.
Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance's eyes widened so far they nearly came loose. In the official description, every novice planet had several key historical figures, the kind of people who left permanent marks on planetary history. Players called them planetary protagonists because they were the moving core of major story arcs.
And this quest description was practically slapping that title right into their faces.
A planetary protagonist.
At the very start of the closed beta.
Right in front of them.
Yen felt his heart pounding against his ribs hard enough to hurt.
As a streamer, he understood exactly what this meant.
At a time when other players across the server were still killing rats and carrying rocks for a few hundred experience, he had just been handed nearly thirty thousand.
That was not a starting advantage.
That was a tactical nuclear weapon.
The livestream comments exploded so violently they turned into a solid wall.
"This has to be cheating."
"A novice quest giving twenty eight thousand. Developers, explain yourselves."
"Forget explanation. This is a hidden planet story line."
"Streamer, kneel. Bow. Worship. Sell your soul if necessary."
Hodell observed their reactions with faint amusement.
Players still valued the same things he remembered. Benefits first. Everything else later. If the reward was rich enough, they would work harder than elite operatives and ask fewer questions than corpses.
Then he noticed another function.
Beside each player's ID floated a tiny icon.
When he focused on it, a new prompt appeared.
[Do you want to adjust favorability toward player: Yen?]
Interesting.
He experimentally nudged the value down by one point.
At once, the players stiffened.
[???'s favorability toward you has decreased by 1.]
[Current relationship: Cold]
Yen's face changed instantly.
So did the livestream tone.
The bullet comments that had been joking a second earlier all became the same message.
"Danger."
"Streamer, danger."
Yen reacted first.
He bent slightly at the waist and said with complete sincerity, "Sir, we are willing. Being able to follow you is our honor."
Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance nodded so hard it looked painful.
"Yes, yes, yes. We will definitely not cause trouble."
World Final BOSS also woke up from his shock and immediately put on his best obedient expression.
Hodell gave a faint nod.
"Good. Then keep up. I dislike waiting for people."
He turned and strode out of the tavern.
The hem of his trench coat cut a neat arc through the gloom, and just like that, he was already outside.
The three players hurried after him as if their lives depended on it.
In a sense, they did.
Once outside, Shadow Valley's atmosphere became even clearer.
The streets were filthy, broken, and alive with tension. Purple fire burned in braziers built from scrap. Energy turbulence drifted through the air like heat haze. Outlaws with scars, prosthetics, and cheap magic gear lined both sides of the street.
Yet the moment Hodell appeared, all noise thinned.
People stopped talking.
Some lowered their heads.
Some moved back against the walls.
A few simply stepped aside without daring to meet his gaze.
The players felt it immediately.
World Final BOSS swallowed hard. "Did you see that?"
Floating Sleeve Rose Fragrance whispered back, voice full of awe, "This is exactly what a planetary protagonist should be like."
Yen, meanwhile, adjusted his stream angle with almost religious care, making sure Hodell's back stayed in the center of the frame.
"Brothers," he whispered excitedly to the audience, "this is it. We are on the main story line already."
Hodell said nothing.
He could hear every word behind him and ignored all of it.
The players' excitement was useful.
Their misunderstanding was even more useful.
After walking a while, World Final BOSS finally could not hold back any longer.
He quickened his pace by half a step and asked carefully, "Sir... what should we call you?"
Hodell slowed.
The wind blew harder through the ruined street, making his coat ripple.
He turned his head slightly.
There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, but it was difficult to tell whether it was warmth or something sharper.
Then, in a calm voice, he answered,
"You may call me... Hodell."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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