Chapter 64 064

'Why are they acting like she's got them by the balls?'

Seojin chuckled as he returned to the Papaya village, thinking about the strange party from before. Their skills were great, but it was clear that the three of them were not equal.

'I think the woman is the boss, and the other two are her lackeys.'

That was probably why the men kept checking on her mood.

Seojin also remembered how Haydall changed his words upon feeling her glare.

'He didn't mean it at all, he only changed the subject after glancing at the woman. Which means…'

Seojin chuckled.

'She must have a huge ego.'

Perhaps the two guys had to please her, and the woman was angry because Seojin had taken the spotlight from her. Seojin knew how the audience around them reacted to their hunt.

'What a tiring way to play a game.'

Seojin felt sorry for her as he entered the village. He had already changed his appearance with a makeup pack so the other players would have no idea what really happened.

"Wow! You're amazing!"

Seojin handed Kenzie exactly eight coconuts.

Quest complete.

Quest chain activated as an additional reward.

It was nothing much so far except for the bonus reward. It must be given since Seojin had completed the quest within a time limit. Although he didn't like the content, the important thing was…

You have proved your qualification by overcoming the first trial.

…the message that came right after the reward screen.

'Proved my qualifications?'

Seojin furrowed his brows, thinking there was more to this simple-looking time-limited quest.

"Kenzie is happy! Kenzie loves coconuts!"

"Haven't any other adventurers brought you coconuts?"

"Other adventurers were late! And I couldn't eat much!"

That probably meant they couldn't deliver them within the time limit. Seojin tilted his head as he asked something he was curious about.

"Is there a reason we have to get them within sixty minutes?"

"Kenzie has another favor to ask!"

"I asked… never mind. What is it?"

"Kenzie wants to eat a burning coconut!"

A burning what? Kenzie paid no mind to Seojin's shocked reaction.

"Burning coconuts are delicious! I hope you can get it in sixty minutes!"

Kenzie's Request #2

* This growing child eats like a horse! Bring the girl eight burning coconuts!

* Time Limit: 60 minutes

* Basic Reward: Full Qualification

"…I'll be back."

Seojin gave up and turned around, well aware that trying to talk to her would be useless. While he could use his skills, he thought it would be faster to complete the quest first.

'Full qualification… so, getting the coconuts was just a test for the second quest.'

He would be able to find out just exactly what that full qualification was once he finished the quest.

'Let's see, the location… is a beach facing the island.'

There was a beach located at the very tip of the northern side where one could observe the southern side with the naked eye. However, once he arrived…

'A beach facing the island? More like a beach burning like hell.'

Seojin was faced with flames. The shore, monsters, and the southern side across the sea were burning endlessly. Flappy finally spoke up.

"Thets whut Ah sensed. Thuh far burnin' across thuh island."

"…The fire? Is it something special?"

"It's uh demon's work. An everlastin' hellfire thet can nevur bay extinguished in no way. Naw wonder Ah felt uncomfortable."

Seojin didn't know what to do.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"I am."

"We can do the quest later if…"

"I said I'm fine."

Odie smiled once she logged in again, and Haydall simply nodded in fear.

"I knew it! You are strong and brave, Odie."

"You're amazing, big sis."

"Of course. Did you think I'd be offended by such a small misdemeanor?"

She was, and deeply at that. Nevertheless, the two men were not senseless enough to tell her that.

"I expected nothing less from my Odie! So, shall we go and complete the quest now? We have five minutes left."

"Let's go."

"I'll take the lead, big sis."

Roth bowed politely, and Haydall led Odie cheerfully. Odie was also smiling, but inwardly, she was feeling totally different.

'It's annoying.'

Her mood had flatlined after a huge nosedive, but she could at least hide it now.

'How dare he… no, Haydall's right. He doesn't know who I am yet. He must be quite capable too, considering that he's a hidden class…'

She was always the center of admiration and attention in real life, and it was the same in-game too, although to a lesser degree. The reason was simple: she was competent. The same went for her two companions. She never saved money when investing in those two, which led to outstanding performance throughout their journey.

"By the way, Haydall…"

"What?"

"That jer… person from before. Do you really think that he's a hidden class?"

"Well, I dunno. He said that that he was, so I guess it's true."

Odie's irritation grew bigger as Haydall wasn't interested at all.

"Hey, look. It doesn't make sense that he's being so confident and open about it. What if I leak his identity? It'll be a mess for…"

"Are you mad?"

"Not at all. I'm not mad, it's just… weird. His skill is weird too. How could he act so self-entitled? He's only got that taming skill and…"

"…it was great, to be honest. I bet he won't go hungry as a tank wherever he goes."

"A tank is nothing without a healer. What if DPS don't do their part either? He'd be a goner!"

"Good point. He was great but wouldn't have been able to pull that off if you didn't support him well. It's too bad that the other players couldn't see through that too."

Odie was visibly pleased as Haydall nodded like he was saying the sun rises in the east.

"I thought so too!"

"Yeah, I think he specializes in performance. Anyone who's not in the party would see it as a one-man show. People only see what's in front of them, right?"

"That's what I'm saying! I'm not angry at all, just frustrated."

"Of course, I know you're not petty enough to be upset about it. I know, you know, and Roth knows too."

"Yes, and about the quest time… we only have two minutes left!"

"It's all right."

Haydall jolted forward.

"We're here. We can wrap things up and get our reward."

They handed the coconuts to the innocently smiling girl and accepted the quest chain.

"Burning coconuts this time… it's a similar quest to before."

Haydall cautiously asked a question, looking at Odie.

"We need a tank this time too, right?"

"Yeah, we shouldn't have stopped Roth when he wanted to be a tank."

"I know. It's a shame."

Haydall genuinely thought so as he thought about the man they met before. There was no way they would miss each other considering that he would have taken the same quest, and Odie's annoyance would probably become several times worse than right now.

"Shall we take a break?"

"Why? We have a time limit too."

"Um, because we're tired? Uh…"

"I don't mind meeting him, let's just go."

"I didn't suggest it because of that."

Haydall stretched exaggeratedly as he spoke vigorously, trying to change the subject.

"Let's go! We can rest after this quest! It's a little far, so it might take some time…"

"Let's use teleport scroll."

"How generous, Odie."

Haydall was in despair. There was no way he could prevent the two of them from meeting at this rate. He looked at Roth, asking for assistance, but it wasn't like he had a solution either.

"Why are you just standing there? Aren't we going?"

"We are! Let's go…"

The three of them tore the scroll at the same time. As the light flashed before their eyes, they were already somewhere else completely. Their ears caught a strange sound before they regained their vision. It was the sound of something crackling. Not something tiny and cute like a campfire, but a loud noise was roaring as if the entire huge forest was burning. Soon enough, they regained their sight.

"Wow, am I in hell?"

The entire beach was burning, the sea too. The monsters they had to hunt were roaming around the sizzling beach. These were the same crabs as earlier, but several times more brutal. Perhaps it was because their bodies were on fire.

Burning Coconut Crab: Lv 60

"They're a higher level too."

"I don't care. Let's get a tank… wait, why are we the only ones here?"

Odie muttered in confusion. Well, only those who passed the first test were able to take the second quest. It would be even more absurd if there were many players. Now, the three of them were the only players there…

"What should we do?"

"I don't think we can beat this without a tank."

"I know."

Odie was dazed for a moment before she spoke again.

"Don't you think that person from before should be here with the same quest?"

"I think so."

"I don't see him, though."

"Maybe he gave up and left? He wouldn't be able to beat them without DPS and a healer."

Odie thought that made sense. There weren't many things he could do by taming a single monster.

"Let's wait and see, someone else might…"

Odie stopped talking and frowned, pointing forward. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"What's that?"

It was unbelievable, to say the least. It was almost like a civil war of burning coconut crabs, five versus five. Their claws clashed and sparks flew in the air. At the forefront of the battle was the man they knew.

"I think it's him."

Seojin. He looked a little different, but the three were convinced that it was Seojin since was orchestrating the monsters like a maestro.

"Right! I'm on the side of whoever wins! Way to gooo!"

No one except Seojin would be able to do such a thing. It was ridiculous. It was like he was passing his job on to the crabs as he fell behind and cheered.

'That's ridiculous!'

From Odie's point of view, things shouldn't be like that. She couldn't imitate anything similar, even with all the money she had poured in so far.

'Is that what hidden classes are all about?'

All of a sudden, a sense of deprivation poured over her. What was the point of the money and time she had invested if other people could pull that kind of stunt just because they were lucky? She had only poured that much in to get higher than others! Odie clenched her fist in anger… and then, she locked eyes with Seojin.

Her thoughts paused as she wondered how he would react.

Seojin – Lv 51

You are invited to a party.

Do you want to join?

Haydall and Roth looked at Odie as the message popped up.

"Uh… should we decline?"

"Should we accept it?"

'Don't you two have any pride?!'

Odie barely gulped down her words. She knew that this was the only way to complete the quest.

"…Accept it."

Odie's ego had never suffered more.