As soon as I selected that option, the world once again started moving for the Witch.
Her eyes widened as a grateful smile appeared on her face, and slowly her body relaxed a little. Her pitch-black eyes returned to the previous crimson red while the black branching nerves that were surrounding her eyes also vanished, revealing her beautiful white face.
Wiping the blood-red tears off her face, she looked at me with a slight smile before speaking.
"Mawi lie (Thank you)."
Still… even though things seemed to have calmed down on the surface, I couldn't relax even for a single second.
[New Quest: Weeping of the Night Widow IV (Unique)(Chain Quest)!]
[Description: You have now learned the truth about the Witch. The past she had, the scars she carried and a portion of her will and origin. And as you reach the greater truth about this pitiful girl, you soon find most of the mysteries unraveling in front of you. Being the brave adventurer you are, you have chosen to protect the Witch, but now, you are facing an even greater threat than before. Can you handle that?
Quest Type: Protection
Task: Protect the Witch and her children from the devil
Rewards: Last part of the Quest!]
The quest description had changed once again, this time the quest becoming Survival type while the requirements were erased from it.
Meaning that the enemy is strong enough that we can't kill him right now, at least not at our current levels.
Also, the event quest changed as well.
[Quest: Night of the New Moon!
Grade: Unique
Type: Wave-Based (10 Waves)
Description: As the night of the new moon reaches its peak, you find yourself in the middle of an accursed land. The doomed rise for vengeance, eating away everything in their path, stopping at nothing. Can you last them all as they come in groups one after the other? And perhaps even if you can, do you have what it takes to resist the one who controls them?
Time Limit: 6 Hours
Event Bonus:
-All Weapon Durability increased by 200%!
-Weeping Widow as an ally!
Rewards:
+Experience (Based on Total Waves Cleared)
+1 unique Class-Based Skill Card
+2 Random Skills (Grade Based on the Total Waves Cleared)
+Additional Free Attribute Points (Based on the Total Waves Cleared)
+2 World Favourability]
It's good that we can get a Unique Skill Card and the World Favourablity, but honestly the sudden increase in the rewards makes me worry a bit. Better rewards often meant increased difficulty.
Cards were simply stored skills that you could use to get a skill, with their most important advantage being that they could be traded with other players.
They usually fetch quite a high price too… but it's better to use it for yourself when you don't have a single Unique Skill. I thought as I looked at Blaze and Link getting excited observing the increased rewards.
And then…
"I see that you have chosen to side with the dirty witch," an aged voice came from the darkness. And with the sound of crushing leaves with each step, an old man walking with an exquisite wooden cane appeared from the darkness as he looked at me with an apathetic expression.
"But it's okay. It's my fault for trusting you with a task that I should have personally handled," he spoke as he stroked his beard, his eyes turning deep red while a slight red hue covered his hair, from where two small horns were growing out.
"At the very least, all the preparations are done. I can finally be at ease now," he spoke with a smile on his face before a red-coloured ominous tag slowly appeared above his head.
[Boss Monster - Thompson Inara - Level 40]
"Shit!" Blaze cursed as he took a few steps back, while the Witch glared at the elder of this village, now the boss of this event, standing in front of us.
"How much time do you think it took for me to complete this whole thing, adventurer?" He asked with a concerned look.
Should I attack while he is talking? Nope… let's wait. It could be related to the Main Quest. I pondered before waiting for him to continue his words.
"22 years. It took me 22 years to find this town that was neither too far nor too close to the Main Kingdom. I had to make sure that nobody reached the Crona Temple for over a decade, even by mistake. Killing 10,000 people without anyone getting suspicious over the years to raise the energy of the dead. Teaching young fools like her the dark magic so that she or at least one of the others can raise the dead spirits. It was honestly getting too tedious at this point."
He took a deep breath, looked at everyone present here, and then turned back at me. He then slowly walked towards me, or more specifically, the witch.
"I take it you were the one who orchestrated the whole attack on the village, too?" I asked, to which he chuckled before answering.
"That was actually interesting. I didn't do that one. While I may have done something similar, that particular incident was just a stroke of luck. After all, if I were to be present in the village at that time, I would have used those bandits as a sacrifice rather than becoming a factor for any mishap in my calculations. Can't have even a single margin of error, you see?"
I looked at the elder observing me with a deep look before speaking,
"But it all ends today. With the total number of dead and living reaching exactly 100 at this moment, I can finally finish the ritual and end my work here."
"Ritual?" I tried probing a bit, but he simply smiled before speaking," That I cannot tell. Though don't worry too much about it… after all, today you are all going to die, anyway. No hard feelings."
And then as he turned silent, his red pupil started glowing while his horns grew a bit more than before, becoming similar to the devils in the folktales. A red hue surrounded his entire body while he spoke with a disinterested voice,
"Come. I don't want to waste too much time on this."
[Boss Monster - Thompson Inara (Devil kin)
Race: Devilkin
Title: Watcher of the Gates; The Messenger of Doom; The Ghost of Neverland; Black Spirit; The Cunning; Strategist of Agony; The Fallen; One without a True Name; The Last Inverta
Level: 40
Grade: Epic
HP: 200,000/200,000
MP: 50,000/50,000
Description: The Devil kin, Thompson Inara, the elder of the settlement, was the mastermind behind the entire incident after all. A genius and patient strategist, he has worked decades perfecting this plan. And now, he is planning to eradicate all life from this settlement to finish the ritual that he was worked decades for.
Tired, he just wants it all to end, so that he can finally be free from the burden he is carrying. All he wants is to live free. And that wish is not too far from reach as he is almost at the end stages of his plans.
Surely nothing can go wrong at the last moment, right?
Stats: ???
Skills: [Shadows] [Strengthen] [Rejuvenation] [Dark Mana Control] [Darkness] [Harden] [Near Perfect Body] [Hand to Hand Combat Mastery] [Second Mind] [Flame Control] [Wind Control] [Devil's Aura] [Let there be Darkness] [Berserk] [Strategize] [Mana Breathing] [Mana Regeneration] [Health Regeneration] [Higher Stamina]
Remarks: Don't believe everything you see.]