Ed, currently in Valhalla, was multitasking. He not only had to keep track of the progress of the main force of players in the western district of Fir City, but also had to keep an eye on the progress of a small group of mischievous players.
In addition, there are Gungnir's blocking operations and the legion's elite forces abandoning the main force, which need to be checked from time to time to prevent any link from slipping out of control.
Fortunately, Ed, having advanced to the Middle Tier, was already capable of multitasking. Even with such a busy schedule, he could still spare some mental energy to review the suspicious players' movements and what they had seen and heard over the past month.
Almost at the same time Willow arrived at the abandoned camp, he also found a somewhat suspicious target in the players' perspective logs.
That was someone who looked like a player, sounded like a player, and acted like a player, but wasn't registered.
His name is -- Duma.
" Willow, have you Duma? He might not be human, so I think you might have heard of him."
"I've heard of him, but I'm not sure if it's the same Duma you're talking about. Do you have his real name or full name? If so, I can confirm it further."
"Then why don't you describe the Duma you know?"
"Saying I know him is a bit of an exaggeration... If we're talking about the same Duma, I probably haven't met him, since he was active before the Demonic Tide Demonic Tide, while I was born after..."
"You've heard of guys like that?"
Willow detected a hint of surprise in Ed's tone, and after a moment's thought, she explained:
"There is almost no intelligent demon who hasn't heard of him."
"Oh? Then tell me, what kind of person is this Duma, uh, a demon?"
"Long before the Demonic Tide broke out, the demon race had a brief period of unity, and at that time he was the commander who led the Demon Allied Army to attack humanity."
Willow felt as if a foreigner was asking her about her country's mythology or heroes. No intelligent demon would refuse such an opportunity to recount a glorious history, even if she was a socially awkward lich.
"It is said that half of the Demon Realm's territory was Seizure from humans by Duma leading a coalition army. He was renowned for his military exploits and was revered as a hero by all races during the brief period of demonic unification..."
Ed hadn't expected that his casual question would unexpectedly lead to an extra lesson in ancient demon history. He quickly began to take notes in his mind, while simultaneously grasping the key points in Willow's words:
"Temporary unification" refers to...?
"It means exactly what it says: a period of less than a hundred years, which is considered short even from a human perspective."
Willow kindly explained the special term before continuing:
"Later, the demon race split again, and many people thought he would be a strong contender for the next demon king, but unexpectedly, he seemed to have no such intention at all."
"It is said that Duma led a group of powerful demons, similar to mercenaries, to travel between various forces, taking pleasure in stirring up conflicts. The ordinary demons' perception of him changed from respect to fear."
"Then the Demonic Tide broke out, and the Blood Corpse rose up. He disappeared without a trace. Now that I think about it, this once great figure has either become a strategist for some grand duke, or he has died in the Aberration brought about by the surge of the Demonic Tide. Otherwise, it would be impossible for so long without any new news."
Willow succinctly recounted Duma's remarkable life in just a few words, while Ed listened quietly from the other side, quickly offering his own brief summary:
"I understand. Duma is an immortal being and craves novelty, right?"
"You're right."
Although they weren't talking face-to-face, Willow still nodded subconsciously.
"That matches up."
Ed suddenly said something out of the blue, and before Willow could ask, he continued:
"If all goes well, we might meet this Duma soon."
"Ah?"
Valhalla, High-Quality Charcoal Processing Plant.
The noisy cafeteria door was suddenly pushed open, and the special passage door slammed against the wall with a "bang".
Two Soul Returner, dressed in strangely styled dark blue uniforms, stood on either side of the entrance to the cafeteria's special passageway. Their eyes were sharp as hawks', and after scanning the area, one pointed to a spot and said:
"Prisoner 00001, come with me!"
Motley, who was eating, stood up immediately as if he had been electrocuted, and rushed to the emergency exit without even bothering to clear his plate.
The two players dressed as prison guards, their hands resting on oddly shaped weapons at their waists, scanned the remaining group and muttered something malicious:
"What are you looking at?"
The prisoners immediately lowered their heads. Lunchtime was very limited, and if they couldn't take advantage of this opportunity to get more nutrition, they wouldn't be able to keep up on the assembly line in the afternoon.
In the real world, assembly line workers might faint and cause production delays if they can't withstand the intensity of the assembly line, but in High-Quality Charcoal Processing Plant, if they can't endure the intensity of the assembly line, their bodies will be completely drained by the Symbiotic Tree!
Unlike reality, they possess the dual identity of "workers" and "raw materials for production."
In the long corridor, two prison guards led the way, while Motley followed closely behind with his hands hanging down in front of him.
One of the prison guards turned off the translation function and asked in a language that Motley, a local, couldn't understand:
"Dude, how did you develop that aura? It's almost scaring me."
"It's not something you can learn through practice."
The prison guard took a deep breath and said:
"That's what I do in real life too."
"Huh? Don't you find it cloying?"
"It's okay, I actually really like this job."
"... That's amazing..."
The player exclaimed a couple of times, then quickly turned on the translation function, turned his head to Motley, and said:
"The lord himself summoned you, so you must perform well this time and try to get a 'reduction of sentence'."
"Yes, I will do my best."
The former Grand Knight Commander of the First Knight Order, dressed in prison garb, looked completely out of place. Although he was wearing a full set of prison clothes, his well-defined body contours were still faintly visible.
But perhaps because he has fought with players and important NPCs before, Motley's docility always gives people the impression of having ill intentions.
Hearing Motley's answer, the player who had come purely to experience cosplay turned around and asked:
"Why aren't you surprised at all? Did you already know the lord wanted to see you?"
"Yes, His Highness the Son of God's virtuous words have recently echoed in my ears, and I am already prepared for what is about to happen."
The two prison guards exchanged a glance and were immediately taken aback.
It wasn't because they addressed Ed differently—bishop, lord, Son of God... Ed's multiple identities were no secret among the players. They were simply surprised that the game had actually integrated some features that were only available to players into the NPC ecosystem.
Because the so-called " Son of God words" can be easily replaced by four other words in the players' ears -- "[System Quest]".