"What kind of help?" George's eyes lit up as he asked in a rush.
He had been wanting to check out the Arctic first; even though the Battlefield of Gods and Demons Dungeon there hadn't opened yet, his gut told him there would be unexpected gains.
George wanted to go, but Louise insisted on heading north to seize land and resources.
Now that Louise gave George a free choice, he naturally couldn't miss it.
Seeing George's look, Louise showed a pleased smile at once. "I owe a friend a favor, and she's run into some trouble. If you help her solve it, I'll steer the ship anywhere you want."
"What kind of trouble?" George thought of the tasks Louise had given him before and grew wary.
But before he could finish, Louise grabbed George and threw him onto the broom.
"I haven't agreed yet," George grumbled, wrapping his arms around Louise's waist with practiced ease.
As he spoke, his hands slid up to Louise's breasts and kneaded them without thinking.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Louise let out a soft hum and simply let George have his way for a moment.
As George got bolder, Louise couldn't help saying, "Little George, focus. This favor is a bit tricky."
After she spoke, a wicked smile tugged at her lips, and she suddenly pointed ahead. "Time for you to get off."
With that, she shoved George hard off the broom.
Good thing George was ready; he didn't panic, and before he let go of the broom he gave Louise's breasts a hard squeeze, making her cry out again and again.
As soon as he hit the ground, George was surrounded by dozens of players.
He gave them a quick look. They wore all kinds of gear, all sorts of classes-clearly questing players.
Leading them was a burly man in armor.
"You an NPC?" the big man asked.
"No, I'm a player," George said; on this point he wasn't lying.
"You've got guts, touching an NPC like that!" a petite girl nearby snarked.
George chuckled and asked at once, "You're all here for a quest?"
When the burly man heard George was a player, his face went cold. "Yeah. We're here to finish the witch's quest."
"A witch? That should be Louise's friend," George said at once, then asked, "So where is she?"
The petite girl was about to tell him, but the man in armor stopped her.
"Emily, our team doesn't need dead weight right now," he said stiffly.
The petite girl gave a helpless smile and shot George an apologetic look.
"What makes you think I'm dead weight?" George asked with a frown.
"This time we're facing a level 60 beast with the Divine and Demon Bloodline, and only our captain, Kane, is worthy to face something like that!" a skinny man said, pointing at the burly one.
They were jealous that George could flirt with such a pretty NPC while they had to slog through quests in a damp forest, so they kept picking on him.
"Level 60 beast?" George frowned, not expecting the job Louise gave him to be this tricky.
The minotaur he beat with all his strength before was only level 50.
"If you don't dare, then stay put! I'll cut off the beast's head by myself!" Kane let out a cold laugh, drew a great blade, and headed alone into the depths of the forest.
The others didn't dare follow, so they could only cheer for their captain from a distance.
George stood far from the rest, gave a calm glance at Kane's fading back, and didn't go with him.
Let him be the vanguard first; that way George could figure out the beast's details.
"He mocked you like that-why don't you prove yourself?" a woman's puzzled voice came from behind.
George turned and saw it was the petite girl who had spoken up for him earlier.
He shook his head and smiled. "Lady Witch, why are you mixed into a player party?"
"How did you tell?" Emily asked, head drooping a little, not quite convinced.
"The robe doesn't fit-looks borrowed-and your hands still smell like potion," George explained briefly.
"Fine, you're sharp!" Emily shot George a glare, then said, "You're the test subject Louise sent me, right?"
"Test subject? Isn't the quest to kill a beast?" George froze for a second and quickly shook his head.
He knew these witches often brewed new potions and then looked for lab rats, and whether the side effects were serious or not depended on whether the player was tough enough to survive.
But George wasn't about to gamble his life for a tiny reward.
Emily flashed a sly smile, jumped onto George, and said, "If that big oaf can't kill the beast, I'll need another test subject."
George pointed at a few players in the distance and asked, "What about them?"
Emily shook her head. "They're just normal players, but you have the Divine and Demon Bloodline-you can be compared to that beast. I can't use a bunch of nobodies as my test subject."
"So I only have two choices if I want to finish the quest-help you kill the beast or be your test subject?" George let out a cold laugh and promptly tossed Emily aside.
This quest was too risky, and he didn't need to take that risk.
"Don't go! Don't go!" Emily wrapped her arms around George's leg, her breasts still rubbing against his leg.
"Isn't this quest basically sending me to my death?" George said, a little speechless.
Last time he managed to kill the Minotaur, it was luck plus a trick; he didn't think he could be that lucky every time.
"Don't you want to hear the reward?" Emily said, feeling wronged.
"What's the quest reward?" George stopped and asked.
If the reward was rich enough, he might really risk it and give it a try.
"A Quasi-Divine Artifact, and an ultimate skill book!"
"A Quasi-Divine Artifact?" George's eyes burned a little.
The president of the Azure League relied on one divine item to sweep the North and wipe out countless Peacekeeper Offices.
If he could get a divine item too, he'd feel much more confident about heading north later.
"Right!" Emily nodded and conjured a deep-blue shield out of thin air.
[Deep Sea Shield (Quasi-Divine Artifact): After equipping, increases the user's Defense by 400-500. Every five consecutive hits taken will trigger Sea God's Protection. Sea God's Protection: Summon the Sea God's phantom and trigger a Tsunami attack, with no mana cost.]
[Special State: Use a Holy Crystal to awaken its power, temporarily upgrading Deep Sea Shield into Sea God's Shield, allowing continuous use of Deep Sea Shelter. When HP drops below half, you can restore HP by drawing on seawater.]
Seeing this description, George's eyes lit up at once.
Worthy of a Quasi-Divine Artifact-though it's just a shield, it can both heal and unleash a Tsunami attack.
"I have to get this Divine Artifact!" George swore to himself.
Seeing George's excited look, Emily quickly waved the shield and smiled. "Well? Want to team up with me?"
George cleared his throat and put on a reluctant look. "Fine, we can go together-but I get the shield first."
Emily nodded. "Okay. If something goes wrong, I can always go to Louise."
She figured Louise and George were close. If trouble really came, she could ask Louise for compensation.
"But... what if Kane really kills that beast?" George changed the subject and asked.
"Him? He's just an idiot." Emily sneered, her tone full of disdain.
She had been undercover in this player party for about a day and knew exactly what he was.
Right then, a roar like an ape's bellow burst from the distant forest.
The sound was so angry that the whole forest shook.
The players who'd been so confident a moment ago scattered in fear.
At the same time, a man's shout came from far away: "Help me! S-someone help me!"
Emily and George exchanged a look and glanced ahead. The man was none other than Kane, who had sworn he'd go hunt the demon.
He was covered in blood, clutching a broken sword, looking like a beaten stray.
And behind him loomed a giant red ape, dozens of meters tall!
"That idiot actually led the demon ape here!" Emily's face changed, and she cursed under her breath.