Hidden Quest

It seemed to have been left behind by a beautiful siren, then salvaged from the sea by a boy and strung into a necklace with terrible craftsmanship. That night, the boy met the siren in his dreams. He came of age...

Item effect: Using it on a target triggers a check. Targets with less than 25 willpower are affected by hypnosis. Charisma +2 while worn.

Item cost: Sanity -1 per use.

After reading the description, Chen Lun silently put the necklace back around his neck.

He had no words for this embarrassing chapter of the original owner's past.

A boy's budding love was poetry, after all. How could he look down on him for that? Besides, he had merely had a wet dream under the influence of a [Mysterious Object].

The boy, born and raised in a little seaside fishing village, had suffered enough. Finding this [Mysterious Object] was probably what had left him an orphan in the first place... After all, ordinary people were extremely susceptible to corruption from prolonged contact with [Mysterious Objects]. Even if they did not lose control and turn into monsters, they would lose their sanity and die in madness.

Perhaps that was how his family had died.

And after miraculously surviving and becoming an orphan, he had caught the church's attention and ended up as an offering to a [Mysterious Object]. Before they could even feed him to it, a guard had accidentally beaten him to death for resisting...

Tragic. Truly tragic!

Chen Lun shook his head inwardly.

That was the underlying tone of the world of Age of Mysteries: dark, oppressive, and suffocating.

Fortunately, this [Grade B Mysterious Object] had a fairly useful ability. Though it lacked any obvious destructive power, in some respects, it was more valuable than [Mysterious Objects] intended for combat.

Its hypnotic effect did not simply put people to sleep in the literal sense. Rather, it was a mysterious power that influenced the mind.

In other words, it could control people's minds!

For Chen Lun, who knew the plot and how future events would unfold, it was a powerful tool for prying open opportunities!

But first, he had to survive.

With a clearer understanding of his situation, Chen Lun felt a little more confident and began putting together a vague plan.

Clang!

Just then, a loud crash rang out as the cell's iron door was roughly shoved open.

Everyone screamed in fright. Chen Lun looked up and saw two guards standing in the doorway.

"Shut up!"

The guard with the little mustache barked viciously. The frightened young men and women immediately fell silent, their uncontrollable trembling the only sign of their terror.

"Sister Froy, sorry for the trouble."

The other guard removed his brimmed hat and bowed slightly, imitating the elegant manner of noblemen. Paired with his bald head and hideous grin, however, the gesture looked both absurd and terrifying.

As he stepped back, a petite, slender figure slowly approached and entered the cell.

Chen Lun's eyes gradually widened.

The nun looked only seventeen or eighteen. She wore a dark red habit, with a broad veil draping down like a bridal headdress and concealing her hair. Her entire body was hidden beneath the red robe, leaving only her small, fair face exposed.

Unfortunately, that beautiful, holy face was utterly expressionless, like a puppet without a soul.

"Come receive communion..."

An ethereal voice drifted from the nun's lips.

Only then did Chen Lun snap out of his daze and notice the tray in her hands, piled with bread and apples.

Seeing how harmless the nun looked, the prisoners finally gathered the courage to approach and take food under the guards' impatient urging.

Their long confinement had left them starving. Their initial reserve gradually faded as they picked up bread and apples and began taking big bites.

After taking a piece of bread and an apple, Chen Lun silently returned to his corner. Though he was hungry too, he did not eat right away. Instead, he secretly studied the young nun out of the corner of his eye.

Froy...

This petite girl before him would become one of the Red Apple Church's future bosses, a major villain known as the Silent Nun, a high-Sequence powerhouse of the [Moon Faction], someone ruthless enough to slaughter an entire city single-handedly...

But right now, she should still be an ordinary person.

Even so, her presence here greatly increased the likelihood that the [Sun-Averting Potted Plant] was here as well.

The last shred of hope in Chen Lun's heart was brutally shattered, and his sense of danger surged.

What should I do? They've already brought our last meal. The sacrifice must be next...

Chen Lun grew anxious.

Suddenly, he recalled the description of Froy in that post about the Red Apple Church, along with her full background and life story.

His thoughts raced as he combined that information with his earlier vague plan, gradually bringing it into focus.

His agitation slowly subsided. After letting out a long breath, he touched the necklace against his chest and decided to wait for an opportunity.

Perhaps finding the business of serving a last meal boring, the two guards glanced at the nun's back, licked their lips, and left ahead of her.

Sister Froy remained standing quietly in place, like a serene statue of a holy maiden. In the filthy, dim cell, she seemed to radiate a faint, sacred glow.

The sounds of chewing and swallowing filled the air around her, yet they did not disturb her in the slightest.

She simply gazed ahead in silence, as though her eyes passed through the hungry prisoners and the cold prison walls to the night beyond, staring at the moonlight.

"Sniff..."

A faint sob suddenly sounded in the cell. Though quiet, it was particularly jarring.

It also succeeded in drawing Froy's attention.

Her eyes shifted slightly. Drawing her gaze back, she turned toward the corner and looked at the black-haired young man sitting against the wall.

He was about her age. Though thin, he was handsome, but malnutrition, injuries, and exhaustion had left his face sickly pale.

He had not touched the apple or bread in his hands. His head was bowed, his shoulders trembling as he cried quietly.

Froy suddenly frowned, a faint ripple passing through her gaze.

She had just barely heard the young man calling out two words-words that stirred her cold heart.

"Little sister..."

Chen Lun raised his arm to wipe away his tears and spoke a little louder.

"Little sister, where are you? I miss you so much..."

Froy's breathing quickened slightly. She pressed her lips together, seemingly hesitant.

In the end, however, she could not stop herself from stepping toward Chen Lun.

What she failed to notice was the smile curling at the corners of the young man's mouth.

Chapter 4: Hidden Quest

The account of Froy's background in that post from his previous life had not been long. Perhaps the player who wrote it had not known much about her, but the information there was enough for Chen Lun to devise a makeshift plan.

Froy had been born in the slums.

Her father was a gambler, her mother a dancer, and she had an older brother who adored her.

She was innocent by nature and beautiful in appearance.

The local thugs and drunkards all had designs on her. Fortunately, her brother always stepped forward to shield her.

Though he was beaten and injured every time, he would always turn back to her with his bruised, swollen face and flash a broad smile, comforting her and encouraging her not to be afraid.

It seemed that as long as her brother was beside her, she could feel safe and happy.

Those good days did not last. Famine and plague descended on the town.

Countless commoners died in the disaster.

Food grew scarcer and prices climbed higher. Froy's already impoverished family could no longer put a meal on the table.

Her lazy, gluttonous father discussed it with her cruel mother, and they decided to sell Froy to Baron Barnett's household.

Though Froy was only fourteen at the time, and prolonged malnutrition had left her rather thin, her face and figure had begun to mature. Beneath her delicate features lay hints of the stunning beauty she would one day become.

She would certainly fetch a good price.

That was what her parents thought.

Of course, Baron Barnett's household had a rather unsavory reputation.

For instance, the men of the family, young and old alike, had strange, even perverse proclivities, and rumors of maids dying suddenly were commonplace.

But Froy's greedy parents did not care about any of that.

Fortunately, Froy's brother stopped their parents from carrying out that insane plan.

To protect his sister, he volunteered to work for the Red Apple Church in exchange for a large sum of money.

At the time, the Red Apple Church was recruiting young, able-bodied men in great numbers, claiming they would build a statue of the church's deity, Lady Rose.

But many of those who signed up never returned. The church explained that they had suffered unfortunate accidents at the quarry.

With generous compensation paid out, and the church's power behind it, the matter caused little uproar.

Froy's brother became one of those unfortunate men and never returned.

When she heard the news, she had no time even to grieve before her cold-blooded parents sold her to the church.

The church paid generously, and Father Carter, who had brought the compensation for her brother's death, took a liking to her. He declared outright that she was the perfect candidate to serve Lady Rose...

"What's wrong?"

Froy asked softly.

Hearing the question, the young man paused and raised his head to look at the red-robed nun.

But he quickly lowered his eyes again and turned his head slightly, as though he did not want this holy girl to see the weakness of his tears.

"I... I miss my little sister."

"You have a little sister?"

"Yes."

Chen Lun hugged his knees, curled up in the corner of the cell.

He frantically began recalling scenes from his previous life. In truth, he had not lied. He really did have a little sister.