Everyone knows red dots in a game mean a quest is complete or there's loot to grab.
And when there's loot, Julian Thorne doesn't waste time.
He tapped open the quest log. Sure enough, "A Literary Life" was done, sitting pretty at 1000/1000 and flashing "Claim Reward." But that other B-rank quest, "The Alchemist Phantom" - the one about the murders in the woods - was still a big, fat question mark.
[B-Rank Quest: The Alchemist Phantom]
[Quest Details: The clues point to the Society of Alchemists. They're obsessed with creating life through alchemy, and now three people are dead. Every second you waste, another victim might fall. What are you going to do?]
[Objective: Capture or kill the Alchemist Phantom haunting the campus.]
[Reward: 50,000 EXP, Goethe's Alchemy Manual x1]
Julian had been poking around in his spare time, but the only lead he'd dug up was that the dead girl, Sharon, had a boyfriend. A real looker, apparently. Some people even mistook Julian for the boyfriend, assuming he was out for revenge.
Ridiculous.
Still, the quest progress had inched forward, from 25% on the first day to 62%. No clue if it was his own legwork or Sherlock's, the private detective, but he had seen Li Tie, the Sun Wardens, in his deerstalker hat, stalking around campus rain or shine.
Julian wondered what kind of salary a Sun Wardens operative made to work this hard.
He clicked to claim the "A Literary Life" reward. The interface flashed:
[You have completed the Hidden Quest: (A Literary Life).]
[You have received: (Epic Vampire·Julian Thorne Character Card) x1]
[You have gained 1 skill point.]
[You have gained 30,000 EXP.]
[You have unlocked a new series of Hidden Quests.]
[Epic Vampire·Julian Thorne Character Card: Temporarily gain the combat prowess of the Epic Vampire Julian Thorne. Duration: 15 minutes.]
Hell yeah. A grin split Julian's face. The vampire version of himself from the simulation could brawl with the Hulk. This was a serious trump card.
[Redeemable Hidden Quest: A Literary Life (II) [Yes/No]]
He chose to redeem it. Another hidden quest popped up in the log.
Hidden Quest: (Triggerable under special circumstances)
[A Literary Life (II)]: Deep down, you harbor a literary dream. Continue pursuing this dream in your future endeavors. Complete 5,000 books across simulations and the real world (1,000/5,000).
[Quest Details: Read ten thousand books, and your writing will flow like a river. This is the second step of a long journey. Keep it up, future literary master!]
[Reward: Random Template Reward Card x1, Skill Point x1, 50,000 EXP.]
Julian gritted his teeth. Was he seriously stuck with reading forever?
Next, he checked the achievements tab. His jaw dropped when he saw one of the completed sets. Holy crap!
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Achievements:
[Aim High] (No stat bonuses)
[Siege] (No stat bonuses)
[Airborne] (No stat bonuses)
[Hot Pursuit] (No stat bonuses)
[Iron Man] (No stat bonuses)
[Men in Black] (No stat bonuses)
[Achievement: Hero Movie Saga (I) completed. You have gained 30,000 EXP. You have unlocked a hidden quest.]
Hidden Quest: (Triggerable under special circumstances)
[True Colors]: Only a true hero acts according to their nature. Become a recognized hero in at least three simulation worlds. Progress (1/3).
[Quest Details]: Follow your heart. This quest isn't difficult, but the challenge lies in your persistence. Keep it up, hero!]
[Reward: Unknown]
Julian breathed a sigh of relief. This one was practically a freebie. As long as he stuck to his lawful neutral approach in simulations, it should be a breeze.
If only he could complete it in the real world. He could patrol the streets of Darkland City, playing vigilante every day. One day wouldn't be enough? Fine, two. Two not enough? How about a month? A month of that...
...and he'd probably be behind bars.
Done tallying his gains, he opened the map. Sure enough, a new location had appeared after "Endless War."
The name was even cooler: "Across the Four Seas." Julian remembered a Hong Kong film with the same name he'd seen as a kid, starring Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung. It was about two art thieves. Good stuff.
The price was even cooler: 25 Transmigration Coins.
What a rip-off!
He'd thought his 30 coins made him some kind of high roller. Now, he was just stunned. All that work, and it was barely enough for one trip?
Julian sat on his bed, numb, staring out at the rain. He took a few moments to calm down, fighting the urge to punch the developers. That night, all his dreams were about coining it.
In the dead of night, a strange noise jolted Julian awake. It was coming from outside.
He pushed open his door. John, who had been sleeping on the sofa, was gone. The entire room was bathed in an eerie red moonlight.
The moon outside had turned blood red!
A whisper slithered into his ear: Run, little insect. But you can't escape death's shadow. Destruction and death are always watching. Everyone dies. No one escapes, not even this world...
Julian's heart hammered. He looked around. From the walls, from the cracks in the floor, countless tentacles erupted, thrashing wildly.
He sat up with a gasp. Rain lashed against the window, the curtains billowing in the wind. The gas lamp was still burning, its red light blinking on the meter. Damn it! Another shilling gone! It had all been a nightmare.
He opened his status screen and was immediately bombarded with notifications.
[You are under the influence of an unknown entity's whisper. Intelligence: 15, Willpower: 9. Resistance failed. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 8/9]
[You are under the influence of an unknown entity's temptation. Intelligence: 15, Willpower: 9. Resistance failed. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 7/9]
[You are under the influence of an unknown entity's whisper. Intelligence: 15, Willpower: 9. Resistance failed. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 6/9]
...
So it wasn't a dream, after all. While he was asleep, his Willpower had been whittled down to 4/9. If it hit zero, he'd probably go completely insane.
If he were just a regular player, he could just off himself and respawn. But now, he might only have one life. He wasn't counting on another transmigration.
His face was grim. This must be what Keene had been talking about. He was being targeted by the Curse Cult and their Evil God. He hadn't felt anything before probably because his Intelligence was below 10, not even average. But today, after injecting the Super Soldier Serum, it was at 15.
There were ways to deal with this, temporarily. He could boost his Willpower or seek help from Keene or the Ascetics. They probably had ways to suppress the whispers.
As he was thinking, the quest log updated again:
[B-Rank Quest: The Alchemist Phantom progress updated to 85.7%.]
Julian: ...
He grabbed his pocket watch from the bedside table. 3:38 AM.
Julian was speechless. Just how much did the Sun Wardens pay these guys?
"Huh?"
His hearing, enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum, picked up a faint sound from outside, carried on the wind through the storm. Gunshots, it seemed, coming from the direction of the Alchemy Building.
He had to check it out.
The decision was instant. The B-rank quest's EXP reward was nothing special, but that other reward, Goethe's Alchemy Manual, that was something he wanted. It could instantly level up his Basic Alchemy skill.
He threw back the covers and grabbed his white shirt, buttoning it up quickly.
Dressed in his shirt and black trousers, he checked the special bullets in his revolver, threw on a suit jacket, grabbed his fedora, and tucked an umbrella under his arm. Then, he opened the window.
The downpour had emptied the streets. All the lights in the apartment building were off. No one would notice him.
He took a deep breath and started running, leaping from the sixth-floor window, ten meters up. As the wind whipped past his ears, a suit of red and gold armor materialized around him, the cape spreading out like wings as he glided forward.
Seventy meters away, Julian landed silently. The Alchemy Building was just ahead. The armor vanished, replaced by his formal attire. He pulled his fedora down firmly, popped open his umbrella, and strode toward the building.
