Chapter 37: World Quest

As everyone knows, a "non-binding request" is rarely followed by anything good. Unlike "heaven-sent responsibilities," which are merely excuses for one's own misfortune, the former usually refers to troublesome burdens that have nothing to do with the person involved until they are "requested" to take them on.

If Mo Tan were the one sitting there, he would have likely stood up and left the moment the other party finished speaking, or immediately begun calculating how to preemptively strike—or pull the other party down with him—before being tricked.

However, the Mo Tan at this moment had no such thoughts. On the contrary, he was eager to do something for the Wood Elf caravan that had just helped him resolve a major headache, so he immediately assumed an attentive posture: "Please, go ahead."

Beside him, Yaya was frowning and playing with her fingers, muttering, "A non-binding... request? A non-binding... woof-quest?"

It seemed Elder Broken-Branch was right not to mind her following along, though the dizzying spirals already appearing in the girl's wide, watery eyes suggested she was lost.

"Many years ago, our clan made a pact with a group of transcendent beings," Elder Broken-Branch gently stroked his chive-like long beard, speaking in the sharp, distinct voice of a Wood Elf. "Ten thousand years have passed. Even for the Wood Elves, a long-lived race with lifespans nearly equal to the High Elves, that is a vast stretch of time—almost like a story from a book."

Mo Tan nodded, his gaze focused and clear.

"Ten... thousand... years? Woof?" Yaya mumbled vaguely.

Mo Tan: "...."

"But some time ago, those beings, who had long since vanished, suddenly contacted us," the Elder continued, unfazed by the barking (...). He played with the chive on his chin and added, "They want our clan to fulfill the promise, and the sooner, the better."

"So, the purpose of this caravan is actually..." Mo Tan was sharp; hearing this, he began to form some basic connections.

He had heard from Mag earlier that the Wood Elves rarely stepped outside the forests they inhabited, and their trade with other races usually followed fixed channels and routes. He had almost never heard of them organizing long-distance merchant caravans.

While not exactly headline news, the anomaly had puzzled the old drunkard for quite some time. Now, the answer was beginning to surface.

"Woof!" Yaya tugged at Mo Tan's sleeve, her expression suddenly excited. "Ten thousand years, woof!"

This girl was a total mood-killer!

Perhaps because he often showed affection for small animals, Mo Tan instinctively reached out to pat Yaya on the head and pinched her ears, signaling the dog-girl to be quiet for a moment.

Then...

Apologies, but there were no tropes of sensitive spots or blushing faces; Yaya simply tucked her neck in obediently and fell silent.

"Right, let us continue." Seeing that Mo Tan’s "true pacification" was quite effective, the Elder continued, "As you suspected, our purpose this time is to fulfill that ancient vow. The Wood Elves have always been a race that keeps its word. Even for a favor from ten thousand years ago, our clan keeps it firmly rooted in our hearts."

*Hmm... I suppose that’s about the same as 'taking it to heart'...*

"But the journey to fulfill this mission has not been smooth." Broken-Branch’s expression turned solemn (or so Mo Tan guessed), and he said in a low voice, "Because the matter is of great importance, and to confuse those villains, our clan dispatched twenty-one caravans simultaneously. Regardless of their varying routes or scales, every single one of them was targeted."

Mo Tan frowned slightly. "Villains? Do you mean... the group that attacked the caravan last time?"

"They are only a part of it," Broken-Branch shook his head. "Some time ago, unknown forces began spreading rumors across the continent, claiming our clan was escorting a precious treasure to a certain location. But the plan could no longer be delayed, so we had to set out on schedule and hurriedly thought of this method to create a diversion."

Mo Tan had no intention of digging deeper. He simply nodded. "What can I do to help?"

"The caravan must set out again soon," the Elder whispered. "But no one can guarantee that those greedy, chaotic, and evil individuals won't return. So, I would like to ask you to keep this for me..."

*Snap!*

At this point, the Wood Elf Elder reached out and broke off his own right arm, then handed it toward Mo Tan.

*What is this? Is he a self-mutilator when he gets excited? Or is this arm, which is barely thicker than a wheat stalk, a legendary 'Kirin Arm' from a thousand years ago?*

"Uh?" Even with the latter's decent capacity for acceptance, he was momentarily stunned. "I don't quite understand."

"For someone named 'Broken-Branch,' it would be strange if I were physically whole," the Elder chuckled, raising his remaining left 'hand' to lightly brush against the wheat-stalk arm in front of Mo Tan. "It is merely a little sleight of hand."

A distorted curtain of light rippled before Mo Tan, and he heard Yaya, who had been trying so hard to behave, let out a startled cry.

"It turned into... a woof-shape!"

After the disguise faded, the 'severed arm' had completely transformed into something else: a prism-like, pure white crystal. It faintly emitted blue, green, crimson, and pale gold light. Upon closer inspection, one could see countless lines swimming within it.

"I hope you can keep this item for a few days," Broken-Branch held the crystal up to Mo Tan, solemn and grave. "Both what I have seen with my own eyes and the feedback from the Mother Tree tell me that you are trustworthy."

Mo Tan was certainly trustworthy at this moment—he was well aware of that himself. Thinking back, Elder Broken-Branch must have witnessed him redeeming the dog-girl, and as for the 'feedback from the Mother Tree,' it might have been related to his 'Lawful Good' alignment.

However, he still didn't reach out to take it rashly.

"Thank you for your trust," Mo Tan said, feeling a bit awkward. "But my strength might not be enough for this task. To be honest, even those sand goblins we encountered last time—if there were just a few more of them, they could have chopped me to pieces. So..."

The Elder shook his head. "The villains' target is only our Wood Elf caravan, so there is no reason for them to find you. And if this object of the pact is not in our possession, the enemy might not necessarily go to such lengths to kill us all. After all, Master Mag and his group are no weaklings."

"In other words," Mo Tan mused, "this would also make you much safer?"

"Precisely."

"Alright." Mo Tan finally agreed. He took the crystal prism, which clearly carried a heavy weight, and said solemnly, "I will do my best to protect it."

This was only because it was a game. If this were reality, Mo Tan might not have dared to accept this thing—if for no other reason than to protect it from his other self...

After all, if he accidentally underwent a personality switch, Mo Tan could easily imagine himself slicing the object up or selling it off.

【Eternal Crystal】
Unique Quest Item, Equipment
Equip Restriction: ???
Attributes: ???
Trait: Core Power Source
[Note: In most cases, this thing is useless. It’s too heavy even to use as a light source.]

In short: *I don't know what it is, but it sounds impressive.*

A system notification then echoed in his ear.

【You have triggered a World Quest: Escort the Eternal Crystal. Quest Reward: None; Failure Penalty: World Corruption +3%】

*???*

Mo Tan suddenly felt his shoulders sink!

He didn't care about the lack of a reward...

But what on earth was this "World Corruption"?

He was just taking a quest to help someone out—how did the event scale suddenly rise to such a height!?

"Someone will come to pick you up in three days." The Elder nodded at Mo Tan. "Our caravan and Captain Mag's group must be on our way."

Mo Tan nodded stiffly, unsure of what to say.

After a few more polite exchanges, Elder Broken-Branch and his two attendants departed. Under Yaya's curious gaze, Mo Tan stowed the high-stakes Eternal Crystal into his inventory.

Though Yaya felt a bit regretful that the "shiny thing" was gone, she wasn't overly surprised; space-magic items didn't seem to be rare in this world.

After soothing the dog-girl, Mo Tan left the Adventurers' Guild alone. Even though Yaya had a high degree of favorability toward him, he had no intention of making her his "bound" companion. First, he worried that being associated with him might put her in danger—although the Elder had said this commission was relatively safe, the previous large-scale attack still left him with lingering fears.

Second, he was preparing to switch accounts to check on the Fenrir squad, and he was in a hurry to find a secluded place to log out...

Looking at it another way, being offline would actually be a huge benefit for protecting the so-called Eternal Crystal.

However, a small incident occurred on the way.

Upon learning that Mo Tan could no longer accompany the caravan for some reason, Mag intercepted him on the road. After urging him to work hard on improving his strength and adventurer rank, and suggesting he consider joining the Savage Dragon Mercenary Group once he became stronger, he stuffed an item into his hand.

【Safety Escape Device v2714】
One-time consumable
Use: Eject yourself to 'safety.'
[Note: The latest escape device from the Goblin Engineering Alliance. It allows you to quickly distance yourself from danger while enjoying a refreshing, breezy journey. Absolute safety is guaranteed. PS: Don't believe it.]

Honestly, if not for that final note, Mo Tan would have been much more grateful to the boisterous dwarf warrior.

Dusk fell.

...

【Mental connection detected. Synchronizing personal information.】
【Connection complete. Reading character information.】

【Welcome back, True Neutral 'Hei Fan.' Loading into the World of Sin. Have a good night.】

When Mo Tan appeared in front of the Fenrir squad's encampment, the World of Sin had already welcomed the night. In the real world, it was difficult to see the stars weaving a magnificent tapestry across the sky, illuminating a land that to them was a distant future...

Though he wanted to linger a moment longer, Mo Tan quickly hurried toward the barracks after logging in. He knew he could be kicked offline at any moment, and he didn't know which "himself" might be in control...

Certain thoughts from the day had left him feeling uneasy.

"Yo!" A crisp voice interrupted his growing sense of unease. Yin Na, the sharpest-eyed member of the squad, spotted Mo Tan immediately and shouted, "Our commander is here!"

Ned, who was shirtless and had a thick roll of gauze wrapped around his waist, glared at her, then smiled at the approaching Mo Tan. "Actually, it's fine if you don't come. We're resting for two days."

"I was worried about everyone," Mo Tan shrugged. "So I came to check."

Salazar, whose arm was tightly splinted with wooden boards, shook his head. Leaning against a wooden post by the campfire, he gave Mo Tan a somewhat haggard smile. "Just minor injuries. Nothing to worry about."

"Hey!" Crab, who was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, shouted in dissatisfaction. "Some of us are seriously hurt, you know! Hei Fan, come help!"

Shuang Ye, who seemed to have been online all night, stood beside Yin Na and huffed. "Don't listen to that big guy. He's faking it. He just tried to trick me into giving him a massage, claiming he needed to 'loosen his muscles and activate his blood flow.'"

"And then?" Mo Tan finally relaxed completely, asking with a chuckle. "You ignored him?"

"Nope," Yin Na giggled. "Little Shuang Ye had Salazar teach her some joint techniques, and then she helped Crab 'loosen up' his bones."

Unable to keep up the act, the burly orc sat up, sighing with a grimace. "She almost burned all my hair off with a fireball."

The group burst into relaxed, hearty laughter.

The most efficient way to bring people closer together is to survive a massive crisis hand-in-hand...

"Rest well for two days; I've already applied for leave for everyone," Ned said, reaching into the barracks to pull out a small pouch. "And since we performed a small meritorious service this time, the higher-ups have issued some payment!"

"Hey! Why didn't you say such an important thing earlier!"

"Hei Fan hadn't arrived yet, and I wanted to hold onto it for a bit longer..."

"Tsk tsk, Captain, you're not playing fair."

"Get lost! How many rounds of drinks have you mooched off me already!"

"Ah, waiting specifically for Hei Fan to return... how romantic~"

"Yin Na, do you believe I can still beat you even with these injuries!"

"Little Shuang Ye, save me!"

"No. Don't you think the Captain is cute when he's shy..."

"You guys have gone too far!!"

...

On the edge of the Fire-Tooth territory, not far from Dieyan City.

"Lord Kalong! We can prepare to retreat. The Chieftain says we must bring that half-breed back as soon as possible!"

"What's the rush..." The orc officer in charge of guarding and escorting the fugitive stared up at the starry sky, whispering, "I'm waiting for that guy to come. He will come. I can feel it. Within these few days, soon, it's almost time..."

His heavy tusk-adorned battle axe slammed into the ground, his blood-red eyes filled with resentment and hatred...

"Only blood... can wash this away..."

A thunderous war cry erupted, nearly shattering the eardrums of his adjutant.

"Humiliation!!"

Chapter 37: End