Hearing the ever familiar notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr brought up a screen in front of his field of vision as he took a brief glance at Tryndall, wondering if he had gotten the same notification as him. Sure enough, from the face his friend was making, which had shock written all over it, that seemed to be the case.
Coincidentally, just as he had shifted back his gaze towards the screen before him, he was notified that he had received a message from his chat function. Even though he knew who sent a message to him, he still went ahead and opened up a screen for the chat function beside the one for notifications, taking a brief look at his friend, who was looking at him with a solemn expression.
“He’s telling the truth.” At the very instant Valyr was finished reading the short yet obvious message he had gotten, he looked back at Tryndall before rolling his eyes, sending a response not long after that he knew Lucas was telling the truth. After all, both of them had the same City Quest.
Closing up the screen he had just brought up, Valyr went ahead and redirected his focus back to the screen for his notifications, skimming through them one by one. Though, once he was finished, a look of slight incredulity could be seen on his face as a thought surfaced in his mind.
‘There’s more?’
Ding!
[You have completed part of the requirements for the quest: The Clossbay Conspiracy.]𝗈𝒱𝑳xt.𝐂𝒪𝔪
[Due to one of the quest’s requirements being fulfilled, additional information has been added to the quest.]
[Due to one of the quest’s requirements being fulfilled, an additional requirement has been added to the quest.]
[Due to the additional information obtained regarding the quest, the rewards for completing the quest have been adjusted accordingly.]
Curious as to what the system meant by the quest gaining additional information and additional requirements, Valyr went ahead and closed the notification screen in front of him before commanding the system to bring up the description of the City Quest he was currently tackling.
Unsurprisingly, he swiftly noticed the additions to the quest, with the system helping Valyr out by making those parts of the quest’s description stand out. Nevertheless, once he was done reading through the additions, a bitter smile swiftly appeared on Valyr’s face, only realizing just how fortunate he was for Braum and the others to have been tasked in helping him get to the kingdom as swiftly as possible no matter what.
‘I should really forge something for the five once this is all hopefully said and done,’ muttered Valyr inwardly. ‘I don’t even know how we would even complete this requirement with just the two of us working.’
Ding!
————
[The Clossbay Conspiracy] (City Quest)
Difficulty: B
Though you have… description has been omitted.
After interrogating one of the people that’s part of the Clossbay Killer identity, you find out that the people doing the killing are forced into their current situation, informing you that there’s an entity greater controlling them. Your mission is to find the mastermind behind this operation once and for all.
|| Addendum: By working your way through the various connections the suspects had to the mastermind of the whole operation, you eventually found someone that would be able to lead you in the right direction, finally obtaining the information you need in order for this case to be closed.
Unfortunately, through that person, you found out that the mastermind is a far greater personality than you initially thought. Fortunately for you, that person does not know that you know their connection to the operation yet.
Find a way to apprehend the mastermind, as well as make them confess to what they have done. Only then shall this matter come to a close. Only then shall this city be clean of its sins. ||
Quest Objectives:
> Figure out the mastermind of the operation (1/1)
> Apprehend the mastermind of the operation (0/1)
> Have the mastermind confess their knowledge and contribution to the operation (0/1)
Quest Rewards:
> 800,000 XP
> Level +1
> [Adjudicator of Clossbay] title
Quest Penalties:
> Affinity -1000 with the mayor of Clossbay City
> Reputation -100 in Clossbay City
> Planetary Reputation -10
> Future repercussions
[Note: Justice shall always prevail.]
————
Though the requirement that was added to the quest was simple in nature, it was more accurate to say that it was easier said than done. Having someone confess to their sins was normally incredibly difficult to achieve, relying upon one’s wits and words to get the exact outcome they wanted. Though, as long as one had strength far superior to the opposing side…
A confession was as simple as just forcing the opposing side’s hand.
As for the rewards, two of them were significantly improved, with the first one being the amount of XP he would get. With the amount of XP the quest gave him, it wouldn’t be long till he reached the peak of Rank 1, especially with the level-up reward from the quest helping him out in that matter.
As for the title, he wasn’t sure how ‘Adjudicator’ was better than ‘Arbiter’ since he hadn’t come across any quests that gave out a title of similar nature in his previous life. Nevertheless, even though he did not know the changes the word had made, there was one thing he was sure of.
Adjudicator sounded bad-ass.
Ignoring the fact that the penalty of failing the quest now included the deduction of Planetary Reputation that he worked hard to earn, now that Valyr heard from Lucas that Merdus was the one who had orchestrated the entire incident surrounding the Clossbay Killer, it made quite a lot of sense, especially if he considered the connections the mayor had.
Pondering over it for a bit more, he realized that the clue the system gave him after he completed the sudden quest hinted towards Merdus being the mastermind of the whole operation, informing him that the mastermind had a connection with the guards.
However, with how Lucas had decided to meddle into the matters between his Crimson Forge and the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, he was inclined to think that the mastermind was Lucas instead of Merdus, considering that the former was also connected to the guards.
Directly connected at that.
In fact, some of the situations that had connections to the Clossbay Killer incident could also be easily explained once Valyr took into consideration that Merdus was the one behind all of it. The greatest example of it would be how the five suspects that both he and Tryndall found out made up the collective identity of the Clossbay Killer were arrested and put into prison in one day, only to be let out the following day.
Mulling over it for a bit more, it was only then did Valyr realize that signs of Merdus being the mastermind of the whole incident had already been in front of their eyes since the very beginning, recalling how the man reacted when the two of them told him that the Clossbay Killer was not just one person, but was made up of five people that were doing the same thing that made the Clossbay Killer stand out.
Letting out a sigh as he closed the screen before him, he turned his head to look at Tryndall, only for him to see that the man was already looking at him with a bitter smile on his face.
Flashing a bitter smile in response, he briefly glanced at Braum before returning his attention to Lucas before them, taking in a deep breath before asking the latter a question.
“What do you mean by the mayor is the one behind the entire incident?” Hearing this question escape Valyr’s mouth, Lucas went silent for a bit as he thought about what he had to say.
“It is what it is.” Lucas lightly shrugged his shoulders in response, only to slightly grimace in pain after doing the motion. Taking sometime to recover from the pain, he then continued with his explanation, feeling as if a weight was gradually being removed from his shoulders with every word.
“The mayor is the one who orchestrated the entire incident. His goal in having something like the Clossbay Killer was for the citizens of Clossbay City to be more trustful of the guard regiment. Then, once the citizens fully believed in the guard regiment’s capabilities of protecting them, this trust would then extend towards the entire government itself, with Merdus hoping that the citizens would eventually listen to every command he had to say through this trust.”
Listening to Lucas’ explanation, Tryndall, Valyr, and Braum could not help but look at each other with weird expressions on their faces, only for them to look back at Lucas. Of course, Lucas understood the reason behind the expression on their face, bitterly smiling as he told them, “Even I don’t know how he got to that conclusion.”
“In any case, since I was threatened that the Hekaetos clan would be a relic of the past if I didn’t follow his words, I went ahead and did what he wanted me to do, with the guards under my leadership following the commands Merdus was relaying through me.” Lucas let out a low sigh. “In fact, the five people that are acting as the Clossbay Killer are actually guards who left the regiment for various reasons.”
“Wasn’t he afraid of someone finding out about his connection to the entire matter eventually?” After Lucas was finished explaining, Tryndall decided to pose a question to the man.
“With his position?” Though, once he heard the words that came out of Lucas’ mouth, he realized that this question of his was somewhat stupid. “As long as he didn’t outright admit to it, no one would know. With me being part of the incident as well, the chance of anyone finding his connection to the whole matter decreases even further.”
Bitterly chuckling at the thought, Lucas looked at the three for a bit before letting out a long sigh of relief.
“I guess you’re going to give him what he truly deserves after this?”
“If so, I would just like to say from the bottom of my heart…”
“Thank you.”