Chapter 91 091

-She's hiding her power?

-She sure is. I bet my three-hundred-year long life as an elementary spirit that she's stronger than the duo from last time. You remember that wizard and that engineer?

How was he supposed to accept this? Just as he was pondering, Maya asked in concern, "Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Seojin replied, handing her the coins and scanning her once more.

The girl taking the money didn't seem strong enough to navigate the desert.

"You said you know the desert well, right?"

"Yes, I've been guiding for three years. I can safely guide you through any situation," Maya replied confidently, her eyes gleaming.

Her actions were truly far-removed from "being powerful."

"Does your confidence reach outside Shahav too?"

"If you're worried about straying off the path, then you don't need to worry! That has never happened before. Even if we do stray off, I can escape safely!"

"What if I'm asking because I have business outside of Shahav?"

Maya, the self-claimed professional guide, was convinced the moment she heard it.

'He's crazy.'

It looked like her precious customer was bat-shit insane.

"Do you really want to go outside of Shahav?" she asked.

"If possible," Seojin replied.

"Let me see, your level is… hm, I'm not seeing things wrong, am I? I was sure that you're coming from the Churai Islands."

"How did you know that?"

"I could smell the sea from you."

Of course, it was a lie. Maya had her own ways of measuring Seojin's capabilities.

"I see, deserts and the oceans must have different air to them. But still, you're amazing."

"Ehem! That's three years of experience for you!"

"Let's get back to the question at hand though, can you guide me outside of Shahav? If you don't, then that's fine too."

"Of course I know! I know everything about this neighborhood. How else would I guide my customers back on track when they get swept away by a sandstorm? But adventurer…" Maya suddenly became serious. "…I don't know why you want to go out there, but it's a bad idea. Do you know why the desert outside of Shahav is called the Sleeping Desert?"

"I have no idea."

"It's literal. It makes people sleep, and by sleep, I mean permanently. It seems easy to go in, but no one returns alive when the desert wakes up."

"Oh, scary."

"It's not some scary campfire story! I'm talking about real, serious danger here!"

Seojin stared Maya in the eye. She seemed serious, but he already knew that she was more than met the eye and could navigate the Sleeping Desert like it was her own home, except for the innermost part of it.

'Why is she holding me back, though?'

Given their first encounter, it would be more plausible if she tried to bargain with a guide fee.

"I have some more money."

"It's not about money. How many times do I have to tell you, sir?!"

"Okay, you don't want to go. How about other guides in Shahav? Is there anyone who'll go outside of the settlement?"

"No, none of them. Even if there were, I wouldn't trust a guide who would risk both their and their client's life for money."

"Okay, I guess I'll have to trust the professional guide. Let's go to Shahav."

Maya's expression finally brightened up.

"You made the right choice! Just follow me from now on. Even the widest desert can't match my eyes!"

She gladly took the lead, relieved that Seojin was one of the rational ones. Maya wasn't lying when she said that she was a competent guide.

She followed the path as if she could see through the sand to a road beneath it and never left the track unless she needed to take a shortcut.

Even then, Seojin found himself in the middle of the road before he knew it. Seojin remained silent throughout the journey… because he was busy talking with Flappy.

-So, she's stronger than Kiri and Bigfoot?

-I don't remember their names, but I think she's got them beat… unless my judgement is wrong

A high-class elemental spirit making the wrong judgement? Seojin knew that was an unlikely scenario.

'So, she's stronger than two guildmasters around Level 180…'

Kiri and Bigfoot were around level 180, and even led their own guilds. Considering that they had joined the game relatively early, they should have a considerable number of achievements as well.

'It really doesn't make sense. Which means that there's only one conclusion…'

Maya had some sort of reason to prevent Seojin from going outside. However, it shouldn't be because of danger. From how she flatly refused, it also seemed clear to him that her money-grubbing stance wasn't her true nature.

'I need to see for myself.'

He assumed Flappy was right and Maya was powerful. Still, he wanted to see the guide's true self.

New Face

* * *

"The first oasis is right there! We can fill up on water and take a short break if you want… huh?"

Maya stopped talking as she turned back.

"What?" Seojin asked.

"Are you… uh, my customer?" Maya asked.

"What customer?" Seojin replied.

"Oh, I'm a guide of this desert… you're not him, are you?"

"Guide… are you an NPC?"

Maya felt like she had been hit in the back of the head as she realized Seojin wasn't her customer.

'He's gone, but how?' Maya thought to herself.

"Are you really not my customer?" Maya asked.

"Customer? You want me to pay you for guiding me to Shahav?" Seojin asked.

"No, I'm sorry," Maya replied.

In the next moment, Maya soared up, splashing sand in all directions. The amount of nervousness she felt was alarming.

'Where the hell did he go?!'

Maya focused on her senses and maximized her detection range, but her customer was nowhere to be found.

Only adventurers who had nothing to do with Jin, who had been fighting over customers earlier, were caught.

'He wasn't that strong. There was no way he could escape my detection range that fast,' Maya thought.

She knew that top-tiered strong adventurers could do so, but those who barely made it out from the Churai Islands, like Seojin, shouldn't have been able to. This led her to one conclusion:

'Those Kratus bastards must have done something!'

It must have been the intervention of a third party that could deceive Maya's senses. Even fewer of them could swallow an adventurer without a sound. However…

"Huh?"

Maya landed on the sand as she sensed the familiar presence again.

"He's back?"

She could sense her golden goose of a customer standing exactly where she lost him.

"Don't tell me…"

Maya headed back to the spot with blinding speed, realizing that she couldn't feel the presence of the other adventurer who had played innocent anymore.

"Did I get fooled?"

* * *

"Hmm, so you were right."

"I told you she was hiding her power."

"Human perception is easily influenced by what they see. I understood what you were saying, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it."

"And now?"

"I accept it completely. I've seen it for myself," Seojin tried to explain himself, "But I didn't know that she would be that strong."

Maya, the the guide who had ripped off three gold from Seojin was much more powerful than he had anticipated. He couldn't even keep track of her movements as she darted around, kicking up sand in all directions… but that wasn't the only surprise.

Main character of the episode encountered!

Conditions met. Preview available.

Seojin recalled that the feature would be unlocked as soon as he registered the story of the Churai Islands in his journal. It also seemed like witnessing Maya's true nature was a requirement.

'…So, what's the preview for?'

Seojin wondered as he read the next system message.

Episode: Shahav

*Shahav was a city in the desert. Humanity's spirit perseveres even in the harshest of environments. Through tireless study and experimentation, they've learned to harness the power of the sandy land and thrive.

'This is what you'll see after completing a chapter.'

Seojin had encountered similar content after finishing everything in Berne, Erzebet, and the Churai Islands.

'…But I haven't even stepped foot in Shahav yet.'

As he scrolled down further, he finally grasped the true meaning of the'preview.'

'Oh my God.'

…The starting point was when I met Maya, the desert guide. I figured she was just a run-of-the-mill guide, but boy was I in for a surprise.

She was a powerhouse with some seriously jaw-dropping skills!

Up until now, it had simply narrated what Seojin already knew, but a crucial point lay in the following sentence.

I really needed her. It was a tricky situation, but I was able to get her help after XX, XXXX, XX, and XXXXX. If it weren't for Maya, it would be XXXXXX.

Preview ended.

'Good lord.'

Seojin was left speechless when he realized what the preview meant.

'So I have to have Maya on my side?'

The journal indicated so. He had a literal "preview" of the ending of the story. Although some parts of it were blurred, he could clearly see that without Maya, things would've taken a bad turn.

'And I have to figure out how, haha, my God…'

Maya was one of the key NPCs on the Shahav quest line, and Seojin had unlocked the preview by seeing through her imperfect disguise.

"It's definitely motivating me."

He was immediately given work to do instead of sitting and wondering what to do next.

New Face deactivated

"She's coming ba… hell that's faster than before!"

"Faster?!"

"She's ha=ere."

Maya landed on the sand, leaving a shallow crater in the ground.

"Where have you been, sir?!" she asked.

"I've been here the whole time."

"Does that mean that random adventurer was…?"

"That was me."

"Huh, so you really got me!" Maya exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"You know, every adventurer has a unique ability."

"I know that, but I've never seen something like that before…"

Maya rubbed her face with her hands as if she was in trouble, and Seojin got straight to the point.

"So, why did you hide your power?"