After deciding to do something, Mannis was incredibly efficient.
They had only agreed last night to use the time trait to crack the Creator's device source code, and first thing this morning, that cheeky snake had dumped several special computing orbs full of data copies onto Murphy's bed, forcing Murphy to get up early even though he'd been cuddling Triss and sleeping in.
But main-story NPCs had their own way of doing things. They couldn't exactly rush over and put the thing straight into the players' hands, could they? That would be like begging on their knees.
So, naturally, they still had to go through the proper motions.
And so Murphy's two heroes got lucky. Little Ashina and A-Feng were summoned to the Green Shade Palace, where they were given a hidden quest called "Tour the Origin Harbor with Prince Bai" under the pretense of a "Hero's Reward" and a favorability payout. There was even an advanced reward waiting for them.
If the two of them could raise Prince Bai's favorability to Friendly or higher before completing the quest, they would receive an encrypted computing-orb database.
The bewildered Little Potato and A-Feng had no idea who "Prince Bai" was or what the reward was for. Murphy, too impatient to explain, sent them packing.
But they were both seasoned players. When in doubt, they turned to the forums for help. The moment they posted a preview of the reward, Loyal Bro came knocking.
"Complete that quest!"
Loyal Bro sent Little Potato and A-Feng a private message in-game, his tone serious.
"I'll mobilize the entire Ode to Loyalty guild's resources to help you raise that special NPC's favorability. We absolutely have to get the advanced reward! That thing is incredibly important. But for Lord Murphy to offer a reward like that, and