NOVEL WEB Chapter 32: The Hidden Quest...?
[You have found the Hidden Quest: The Bridge.]
“My dudes, it still keeps saying that.”
Dyrroth’s voice cut through the silence, casual as ever, but no one paid him much attention. Talia’s eyes swept the chamber, her frustration barely contained as she studied the markings on the wall.
“Stop talking and start hustling. We need to find whatever’s next. And Cy, what are you doing not helping?”
“If we end up not finding anything, I can still post this later—I’m still recording Julian’s adventure,” Cyrus replied without even glancing at Talia. Even without the live stream on, he was still getting all of Julian’s good angles.
“You’re still recording in this situation?” Talia’s disbelief practically crackled in the air.
“Well, maybe if you stop complaining—”
“Argh!”
“My dude, chill.”
“I’m chill!”
Talia was not chill at all. Her voice, echoed through the small chamber and crawled on the mysterious etchings and markings that filled all of its four corners. In fact, all of them were making noise, and the only ones who had remained quiet the entire time were Titus and Julian.
The palm of Julian’s hand was as dirty as it probably would ever be—filled with blood and all the dust and dirt this small chamber had collected on its walls, and from the amount of dust that was now resting in his hands, this place has remained untouched for a very, very long time.
“Hm…” There was something in the wall, something he could feel, even if the others couldn’t. The stone, ancient and worn, whispered secrets through the small cracks that ran along its surface. His fingers followed these faint lines as though they were guiding him, ignoring the chatter from his companions.
And soon—
“I think I found something,” he said quietly, almost to himself. The moment the words left his mouth, however, the others were already on him, swarming over like moths to a flame; their breaths enough to blow away all the dust on the walls.
“What is it!?” Cyrus asked as his excitement grew; his eyes, zeroing in on Julian’s hand. He leaned closer, trying to focus on the spot where Julian was pointing, but alas, despite his best efforts, it all just looked like... more stone.
“What… is it?” Cyrus repeated, the eagerness now laced with confusion.
“Let the boy speak,” Titus said in his usual low tone, moving forward at a measured pace. Like the others, he scanned the wall but found nothing out of the ordinary.
“I think it’s a button,” Julian casually said. And without a second thought, he pressed into the wall.
“...Did you just press it?” Talia’s eyes went wide, her voice rising in pitch. She didn’t need him to answer—the quiet click that followed told her everything she needed to know. “Why… did you do that?”
“My dudes, it’s a button,” Dyrroth breathed out, “It’s meant to be pressed.”
“A nuclear button is a button too! Does that mean it’s meant to be pressed!?” Talia shouted, her frustration spilling over. “Excuse me, am I the only one normal here!?”
“Amateur, there’s no such thing as a nuclear button. It’s a switch,” Titus commented.
“That’s not the time to be talking about that right now!” Talia snapped back.
“Dudes, chill…” Dyrroth raised his palms, “...And you’re the one who talked about it.”
“I… guess you guys are right,” Talia paused as she rubbed her temples before letting out a long sigh. “...We would have pressed it in the end anyway.”
“It’s doing something.” Julian took several steps back before Talia could finish her words.
And as soon as Julian said that, the chamber’s air grew dense, heavy, as though something ancient had been disturbed. Talia’s expression changed—her instincts kicking in as she scanned the room for any sign of danger. Dyrroth’s hand hovered over his weapon, and even Titus took a cautious step forward.
“Is it opening something?” Talia whispered, her body tensed for whatever might come next.
“No,” Julian tilted his head to hear whatever was happening, “I hear the sound of water… but not quite.”
Before anyone could ask what he meant, the floor beneath them came alive, ancient symbols etched into the stone beginning to glow with a dull, eerie luminescence. The hum was low but undeniable, vibrating through their feet, as though the very heart of Artemia was awakening beneath them. Julian was confused with what he was seeing, his untrained eyes being overwhelmed by the dancing lights.
“Stella Artemiae…” Titus gasped at the glowing symbols on the floor; the most emotion he had expressed throughout the entire dungeon.
“Star of Artemia?” Talia narrowed her eyes.
“Old magic.” Titus whispered. “Magic of the gods themselves.”
“Cool…” Dyrroth looked around as the light grew brighter.
“Not cool! Newbie! You might have just kill—”
[You have found the hidden quest: The Bridge.]
“—or maybe not!?” Talia gasped, her anger quickly replaced by surprise. The notification blinked again, the [Guidance of Artemis] displaying a message for them all.
[Prerequisite: Must be the bearer of a [Unique] class. Only those who are chosen by the stars themselves have the right to walk this path.]
"...Or maybe not?" Talia’s earlier excitement deflated like a balloon.
Then, as if to add insult to injury, the message flashed again: [You do not meet the requirements to proceed with the quest.] The glowing symbols flared brighter for a moment before the chamber was flooded with an almost blinding light.
And the next thing they knew, they were out of the dungeon.
“Teleportation magic,” Titus muttered, glancing around their new surroundings. His tone was as calm as ever, though a hint of awe still lingered.
“Is that a big deal, my dudes?” Dyrroth seemed unimpressed. “We have Radiant Gates.”
“Two completely different things,” Titus scoffed as he crossed his arms. “Radiant Gates are explainable. Magic is not.”
“Explain Radiant Gates, then, my dude,” Dyrroth replied with a smirk.
“Do I look like a scientist to you?” Titus rubbed his bald head.
“Guys…” Before Dyrroth and Titus could continue their conversation, Talia whispered as she looked around. “...We went through all of that for nothing?”
“A battle for one’s life is never nothing.” Titus spoke with a firmness that echoed his earlier tone. “You young ones always want instant rewards. We have gained valuable experience—that is something money can’t buy.”
“No…” Talia shook her head, her eyes drifting toward Cyrus. “...We gained money.”
Cyrus just smiled as he saw everyone looking at him. But Cyrus, however, looked at Julian.
“It’s his decision. This is his stream,” Cyrus pointed at Julian, his voice casual but with an edge of anticipation.
Julian blinked, clearly not expecting the sudden shift in attention. “What’s my decision?”
“To sell this information or not.” Cyrus gestured to his eyes. “It’s your decision, Julian.”
“...How much?” Everyone looked at Julian with anticipation as he asked that.
“A lot of money.” Cyrus nodded and smiled. “So, what do you think?”
“Hm…” Julian looked down to think about it. This wasn’t just a random quest—this was something only someone with a [Unique] class could complete… which is exactly what the Shadow Blacksmith class is—this is a quest that he could do. And it was probably best to hide it.
“N—”
“Okay.” Julian nodded. “We should sell it.”
“Yes!” Talia’s relief was palpable as her shoulders sagged slightly. Dyrroth cheered with a fist pump, while Titus gave a simple, approving nod.
“Don’t worry about the share of Talia and the chipmunks.” Cyrus winked at Julian. “I’ll handle that. And for now… I think our clones all deserve a rest.”
“You literally did nothing the entire time.” Talia crossed her arms.
“She’s right, my dudes,” Dyrroth chimed in with a shake of his head. “I’ll drop by your place later, Cy, and you can buy some of my organic weed. Old-school, just how they liked it back in the 21st century, eyy.”
“You know I don’t do that stuff.” Cyrus shook his head. “But you’re right—we should all meet in real life to celebrate the success of Julian’s first official stream!”
“I’ll go if the Newbie goes.” Titus crossed his arms.
“Same.” Talia also looked at Julian.
Everyone turned their attention to Julian once again. He felt their gazes, like a spotlight was suddenly cast on him.
“I… can’t really leave my area right now.” Julian shook his head.
“I… can’t really leave my area right now,” Julian admitted, his voice low but firm. His words hung in the air, and Cyrus stepped in before the silence could grow awkward.
“We should let the Sword Junkie rest,” Cyrus said with a chuckle, moving to ease the moment. “We’ll set the celebration somewhere close to where we met, Julian. That way, you won’t have to go far. For now…
…back to the inn!”
“I… only leveled up twice?” Julian was now lying down in his room at the inn, staring at his [Status]. He fought dozens and dozens of living statues, not to mention the Flame Spawns, and he only leveled up twice again?
…Did killing humans give more points to level up? But they did mention that Dirk, the soldier from the Order of Artemia that he killed, was level 12. It was most likely because of the difference in their levels.
Perhaps this was the more normal pace in increasing one’s strength in Artemia. But then again, his Vitality should only be at 9—did it increase during the battle on its own?
And not to mention his Perception. He hadn’t put any Free Points in that yet, and yet it has grown by 4 all on its own. Interesting.
“Hm… MEGAN wanted me to prioritize speed,” Julian muttered to himself, fingers tapping lightly against the edge of the bed. He weighed his options. Agility would help in fights, make him faster, more elusive—essential in this world where every second counted.
“I’ll put three points into Agility,” Julian whispered, eyes focused on the glowing numbers. “And I’ll decide the rest later, MEGAN.”
Julian felt his body being restructured again. His body shifted, muscles tightening and bones realigning, but the pain was bearable now that he was used to it. However, perhaps due to that, even after several seconds had passed, he still found himself on the bed of Artemia since he did not faint at all.
“...Do I need to wait to fall asleep before I could return?”
Come to think of it, this was Julian’s first time not fainting back to Earth.
Can you return me to my real body? He thought, letting the question settle. And just like that, he felt it—his consciousness drifting, the world of Artemia fading as if a switch had been flipped.
Truly, what a marvel in technology this was.
***
[Good work out there, Julian.]
“Hm…” Julian gave out a loud hum as stretched his arms and legs as soon as he felt the stiffness of his body after being stationary for so long. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to use the LinkGear while sitting up.
“How much did we earn, MEGAN?” Julian placed his hands on the LinkGear, "And can you tell me why we didn't hide the quest? I thought about what you were going to do in that situation. And I-"
[I believe you have more pressing matters to do, Julian. Sorry.]
“What…? Why? Wait…” Julian paused as soon as he realized something—the beeping that was repeatedly singing a song of dread in the room… he couldn’t hear them anymore. “W…what? Where’s Ell—”
“...So, that’s what you’ve been doing there?”
And almost immediately as he took off his LinkGear, Ellie’s voice whispered in his ears.
“Ellie…?” Julian stuttered; his breaths, a mix of relief and shock.
“You’re… awake?”