Iris, You Can't Rest Yet~

Chapter Fifteen: Iris, You Can't Rest Yet~

"Hello, may I know your name?"

"."

"Wow, a cool and aloof handsome guy! Mom, get on the game quickly and look at my boyfriend!"

"."

"How many children do you think we should have in the future?"

"."

"Are you a mage specializing in water magic? Why did you apply the 'Wet' effect to them?"

"."

Surrounded by players in a tight circle, Linton fell into deep contemplation and doubt about his life path.

Who on earth had secretly taken my picture and posted it on the forum?

When Linton noticed the players' unusual enthusiasm towards him, he immediately realized that he must have stirred up some kind of drama on the player forum.

And upon seeing the trending post that was nearing two hundred thousand replies, he suddenly understood that charm only affected NPCs. In the eyes of players, they wouldn't change their preferences based on stats.

—Of course, there was that one fox lady in gacha games who was incredibly popular but ridiculously weak, who was an exception.

"So many players? Can I use them for something?"

Linton pondered for a moment.

Not all the players looking for him were female; there were also some hardcore players focused on progressing through the game.

According to information on the forum, very few NPCs currently available to players offered quests with rewards. He was currently the only "high-level" NPC who had his own shop and might even have hidden storylines.

These hardcore players, in order to quickly level up, had traveled great distances to Blackwater Village, intending to find a shortcut to get ahead of other players from him.

"Perhaps I can take them to grind that dungeon?"

Linton thought to himself.

Just then, a player whose appearance resembled the Pokémon Greninja pushed through some of the female players and came before Linton.

As a representative of both hardcore grinding and spending, Greninja's experience in any game was practically maxed out.

However, in "Kingdom of Heavenly Principles," he truly felt what it was like to be stifled.

He went to find an NPC to accept a quest, only to be tricked into losing 50 gold; he fought monsters, but after an entire afternoon of grinding, he barely managed to level up from one to two. When he encountered elite bosses, he was killed and sent back to the starting area; he wanted to spend money to get new equipment, but it seemed the game didn't want to make money, as the top-up system wasn't even open.

After being battered by the game world, he couldn't help but complain on the forum, only to be met with a barrage of insults from some players who were jealous of his wealth. He was so angry that he wanted to engage in a real-life PvP battle with the trolls on the spot.

Greninja had considered selling his game pod for scrap multiple times, but he was deeply captivated by the game world, with its entirely different worldview and scenery that was almost impossible to find in reality.

Therefore, Greninja made a decision.

He would stand at the very top of any leaderboard in "Kingdom of Heavenly Principles," including the leveling rankings.

Whether it was to shut up those who mocked him for not being able to play without spending money, to get revenge on the mini-boss that killed him and sent him back to the novice village, or simply because he genuinely enjoyed the game.

After grinding slimes for an entire afternoon, Greninja realized that the core of this game wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters. But as someone who focused on strength, he couldn't waste his precious early-game time admiring the scenery. Thus, his gaze fell upon the black-clothed NPC who was the talk of the forum, rumored to have a hidden quest.

So, he grinded another hundred goblins, earned enough money to buy the map, and rushed to Blackwater Village overnight.

Sleep? What sleep!

Can you even sleep at this age?!

"Hello, is there anything we can help you with? Like hunting monsters or something?" Greninja looked at Linton expectantly. "As long as it has a health bar, I'll kill it for you, even if it's a god!!"

So chuunibyo. Linton chuckled softly, "There aren't any monsters around here. Even if there were, the patrolling Knights Order members would have already cleared them out. However..."

"However what?"

At this, not only Greninja, but almost all the players present realized that a quest was coming!

"Travelers, in the valley not far from the village, a fierce battle once took place," Linton said slowly. "One of the Grand Summoners, his Life Star, fell between those mountains."

"Due to various anomalies, the Grand Summoner's soul did not completely dissipate. Instead, it was corrupted by some strange defilement, transforming into an Evil Spirit, forever imprisoned in that land."

"Initially, the Grand Summoner's soul could still contend with the defiled power, but as time wore on, the Grand Summoner's consciousness was gradually swallowed by the defilement, and his power was gradually inherited by the Evil Spirit, summoning Undead creatures one after another, endangering people's safety."

"So, travelers, would you please accompany me to cleanse those harmful beings?"

[Challenge Quest: Cleanse the Undead]

[Quest Objective: Defeat the Undead within the time limit. Players who defeat the most will receive a large experience reward.]

[Quest Rewards: 1st Place: 2500 EXP, 10000 Gold, +50 Favorability with [???]; 2nd Place: 1500 EXP, 5000 Gold; 3rd-5th Place: 1000 EXP, 2000 Gold; 6th-10th Place: 350 EXP, 1000 Gold. All other participating players will receive 100 EXP and 100 Gold.]

[Accept Challenge?]

"There's a Favorability system?! If I get first place, can I make him my dog!!"

"If I get first place, can you tell me your name, Mr. NPC?"

"No, no, no, he should take off his hat first."

"Heh, ladies, you're too arrogant. The first place winner must be me!!"

"."

Although the scene was a bit chaotic for a moment, almost all the players present accepted the quest.

[Players currently participating in the challenge: 27]

Linton nodded with satisfaction.

While posting this quest would cost him a lot of gold, he was confident that with no competitors, the players would eventually spend their money with him. Moreover, he could take a cut from the experience players gained, plus the extra gold from the dungeon rewards. It was a profitable venture no matter how he looked at it.

As for Favorability...

Linton didn't want to tell the players that whether it increased or decreased was entirely up to him. Adding a number wouldn't change his opinion of anyone, nor would reaching max Favorability lead to any unspeakable things with the players.

Therefore, the main purpose of Favorability was to increase his importance in the players' eyes, making them more willing to help him without fully understanding the Favorability system.

He gained both money and experience, as well as the players' enthusiasm.

This was a win-win situation.

—Meaning Linton won twice!

Of course, Linton wasn't just posting quests to attract more players and fleece them to escape the clutches of the Truth Society sooner.

—He genuinely needed the players' help.

In fact, Linton had long wanted to tackle the dungeon that was so familiar to him.

Due to its characteristic of infinitely respawning undead, he, as a player back then, had stayed there until level ten before leaving.

The reason he stopped grinding at level ten wasn't just because the experience gain had become negligible. More importantly, he had accidentally discovered that the dungeon had a hidden boss.

This hidden boss could only be encountered in a special way. After defeating him, the dungeon would disappear, and players could obtain an epic weapon and a large amount of materials.

Regardless of the materials' value, that weapon was an absolute divine artifact for summoner mages.

If Linton had transmigrated into the game with his former profession, he would have gone solo without a second thought, sold the equipment, and had enough money to escape the Truth Society. However, he was now a Necromancer with no damaging skills. Facing a massive number of undead, he had to raise a green flag to request support.

Although the current players weren't high-level, they were more than capable of dealing with mindless undead creatures whose threat lay solely in their numbers.

Of course, Linton needed more than just the players' help.

"Why... why are you back again?"

Iris hugged herself, shrinking into the corner of the bed, her eyes darting around. "Even so... despite everything... in short, we can't..."

"Catch. Get ready, we're going out."

Linton took out a knight's sword from his backpack and threw it to Iris.

He had exchanged it with the blacksmith using the ore mined by the two Tyrannosaurus Warriors.

"Huh?"

The doll girl looked blankly at the Necromancer.

"Go where?"

"A Secret Realm."

"You jerk! I don't want to go! I want to sleep!!"

"Iris, it's not time to rest yet~"

The plot from the book title and synopsis is finally beginning to unfold~ (ps: Is anyone actually reading this book? It's been days since I've received any recommendation or monthly votes.)