Ch.29Faith

# 29. Faith

“Just leave Alven Dew as it is for about 24 hours, and what we need to do is exactly the same as when we were in Edenguard. Make money.”

“Ah.”

“We’re almost out of money. We need to pay for lodging, replenish our consumables, and buy equipment for Yuri. We need to earn more.”

“But can we even make money here? In the game, regardless of the NPCs’ personalities, as long as they weren’t hostile, we could do whatever we wanted without much trouble, but here…”

Considering how much I struggled yesterday to get ingredients for Alven Dew, Cutjukyeora’s concern was valid. Especially since these xenophobes didn’t give any special treatment for being female or beautiful. In a way, they could be considered equal opportunity (contemptuous) beings.

However, I wouldn’t have brought up the need to earn money if there was absolutely no solution.

“Those xenophobes might be acting xenophobic, but there’s a specific reason why they’re being extra difficult.”

“What’s the reason?”

“According to them, ‘debita’—what we know as undead—have been appearing.”

“Ah. So that’s why there were fewer xenophobes walking around than I expected?”

What would elves—a race that values harmony with nature and is closest to elementals, the essence of nature—hate the most?

It would be those who reject death or return from it: the undead.

Undead typically appeared in two forms: either extremely powerful individuals in small numbers, or weak ones in overwhelming hordes. Both were troublesome to deal with… which is why Albrant had entered a sort of state of emergency.

“Isn’t that serious then?”

“The danger level is still relatively low. The sightings are quite far from Albrant.”

It was like having a swarm of large, ferocious snakes gathering some distance away from your home. I could somewhat understand why the already cantankerous homeowners were on edge.

If you asked whether I should be the one dealing with their irritation, that was a separate issue, but the important thing was this:

“Undead extermination quest. We can earn money and gain experience with this. As long as we don’t overdo it, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

“I wonder if those prideful xenophobes would even need our help.”

“No, Yuri. Think about it. We can easily kill cockroaches, but we’re reluctant to do it ourselves. If there are too many, we call professionals. That’s why the elves will give us quests.”

“You’ve got it exactly right. We’re becoming pest exterminators. And don’t worry about them not paying us. It would be a huge blow to their pride.”

The briefly awkward atmosphere caused by the emotional issues between us quickly dissolved as we immersed ourselves in game and Tower talk. They were also hardcore gamers and rankers. Once I broke the ice, various opinions emerged.

“There is an undead extermination quest in the story, but the timing feels off. Did you skip this part too, Seyeon?”

“No. I understand what you’re saying. This undead extermination is supposed to be a turning point where the protagonist starts to be viewed more favorably.”

“Exactly. Originally, this event happens quite some time after entering Albrant. In that sense, we’re lucky. We can’t miss this opportunity.”

The alcohol was brewing, and we had properly washed ourselves.

Apart from my slight fatigue, our condition had recovered, so we headed toward the North Gate, the closest gate to the undead sighting location.

“Who was it again? That elf who didn’t seem like a xenophobe.”

“The most famous one is El-Saphina. The xenophobes called her a freak or mutant at best, while gamers and residents of other races called her the Saint of Elves. But I’m not sure if we’ll ever meet her. She travels a lot, so I don’t even know where she is now.”

“Can the NPCs—I mean, natives—here join our raid party?”

“Hmm… I haven’t thought about that.”

If El-Saphina could join our raid party, it would be incredible. She was one of the few elves with a decent personality in the game, with exceptional healing and elemental magic.

In the game, she temporarily became an ally, but that was just for a brief story battle before she left. This wasn’t a single-player game, so how could an NPC permanently join a party?

“Let’s not count on that. It’s better to hope that Mulchi joins us someday.”

“Setting aside the one-in-four chance, shouldn’t we focus on getting an S-rank first?”

As we chatted, we soon arrived at the North Gate. The atmosphere at the North Gate was completely different from the South Gate we had passed through before.

The xenophobes looked ready to unleash violence on us at the slightest provocation. Thankfully, the gatekeeper was more rational.

“Halt. What business do you have?”

“I thought you might need an extra hand, even if it’s a lowly one.”

One of the gatekeeper’s eyebrows twitched.

“You think our Alb needs help from humans?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have one more person fighting the debita?”

The gatekeeper fell silent. Instead, the other xenophobes around us had a fit.

They ranted about where we heard such nonsense, how arrogant we were to think three inferior humans could help, and that while they didn’t mind an extra hand, they didn’t like our attitude, and so on.

Unlike the gatekeepers we commonly think of, the gatekeeper here held a fairly high position, and when he raised his hand, the xenophobes shut their mouths.

“It doesn’t matter where you heard it. Someone must have told you. Maple or birch, any wood makes a good bow if crafted well. Humans who speak to me with such confidence must prove their worth.”

[Quest ‘Undead Extermination (Albrant)’ has been updated.]

[Quest details – Report to North Gate gatekeeper ‘Al-Kedran’ after exterminating undead]

[Success reward – Proportional to extermination results]

[Failure condition – Total contribution less than 5% in debita extermination]

[Failure penalty – Expulsion from Albrant and hostility]

I accepted without hesitation. A total contribution of 5% wasn’t a difficult condition. It wasn’t much different from the game.

“How do we prove it?”

“…Take this.”

[Soul Absorption Orb]

One difference from the game was the kill count (proof). Unlike the game where it was automatically counted, here we had to carry this orb and kill undead with it.

“I don’t care what you do. However, if you fail to prove your contribution when the debita disappear, you will pay the price.”

“Understood.”

Judging by his tone, he was trying to intimidate us, but I wasn’t scared at all. In fact, it was great that they wouldn’t care what we did.

‘Without any AoE dealers or ranged DPS, power leveling might be difficult, but there are other ways.’

Proving our contribution?

I’ll show them in one go.

I led my raid members out through the North Gate.

**

“Golden Wing raid leader.”

“Aniri raid leader?”

“Are you planning to solo?”

“For now, yes. Since I haven’t joined a raid party, it’s every person for themselves.”

Golden Wing raid leader suddenly felt awkward being called that. What meaning did “raid leader” have without raid members?

But there was no choice. He couldn’t have someone he barely knew call him by his real name in a familiar way.

Being called by his nickname was fine, but in this game, the culture was to address raid leaders as “raid leader” rather than by their nicknames.

He wondered why this person had approached him.

“Would you consider traveling together, the three of us? Me, you, and Yalyali raid leader.”

“Three of us?”

Ah.

“Yes! I think moving together has more advantages than moving alone.”

“Then why not join a raid party?”

“Ah… there are too many people there, and it seems like there would be too many restrictions.”

Fair enough. Even though it was less than half, it was still 14 people. Fourteen people moving as one raid? That made no sense. They’d probably split into two parties.

Aniri raid leader had a point. It seemed they had chosen to go solo with the intention of forming a smaller raid party.

“I understand what you’re saying, but why me? I saw quite a few people with higher rankings.”

He was now in his mid-thirties, increasingly feeling the limits of compensating with experience.

“Yalyali raid leader and I were already close friends. But we’re both young, and two people feels a bit insecure… so we were looking for someone to be our center. Honestly, everyone’s skills are probably similar, but considering class balance, Golden Wing raid leader seemed perfect.”

“I see. If I may ask, what are your classes?”

“I’m an Elemental Sorcerer, and Yalyali raid leader is a Battle Saint.”

“So you have DPS and healing, and need a tank?”

“Yes!”

Golden Wing raid leader asked for some time to think and calculated the pros and cons.

‘It’s not… bad.’

He had been close with his own raid members but hadn’t interacted much with people from other raids.

If he were to join a raid, he’d prefer a relationship where he could take the lead in uncertain situations, and coincidentally, they were asking him to be their “center” because he seemed experienced. The class balance was good too.

“It works for me as well. I look forward to working with you.”

“Wow! I’m looking forward to it too. Yalyali raid leader will be happy about this.”

Golden Wing raid leader smiled warmly.

**

“Raid leader.”

“Yeah.”

“Is this… right?”

“Trust me. It’s a proven method.”

“I do trust you, I really do, but… is this really right? Huh?”

“Tsk. Your faith is lacking!”