We swiftly exited the city hall and headed towards the nearest elevator that will take us to the floor below ours. While walking towards the cage, I scanned through the map of the underground city that Loyd gave me. The entire underground city plan was designed by Loyd so he knew about this place the best. Although Loyd would know where to go, I thought that I could also help if I memorized the things in the city.
The second floor of the underground city, which we are heading to, was the floor where most people lived. It had houses and basic facilities. But it’s still very dangerous since it’s not professionally managed by the government. There are many illegal trades happening here. Which means that there could be elytras that are getting traded at this level. If we visit Crimson’s base and we can’t find any eyltras, we could try to get one here.
When we arrived at the second floor (The counting is backwards in the underground city), we got out of the elevator and started to walk towards the center of the city. This level was a lot more dim than the first floor. There was less light and the only things that were shining in the town were some glowstone stuck between the rocks and the torches and lamps that the villagers placed in the streets.
“It seems we aren’t really welcomed here.” Loyd commented at the depressing and dark mood of the town. I noticed the villagers giving death stares at us. “The revolution has already spread to the 2nd level. We have to talk to their leader as soon as possible.” Although the revolution was already happening in the 2nd level, the floor itself was pretty peaceful. It was almost as if I wouldn’t have known there was a revolution if I didn’t have any context.
I walked towards the edge of the cliff. Just like how I saw from the city hall, the bottom floor was made out of hellfire itself. It was truly devilious. The living fire looked really familiar but I couldn’t think of what. When I looked up, I was able to see the first floor. The weird thing about this underground city is that each floor is visible from different levels. There is a giant hole that connects the three levels. That’s why I was able to see the view of the third level from the first.
We headed towards the opposite direction of where the elevator towards the 3rd floor was? “Why are we going the wrong way? I thought we were going to go get the elytras?” Crimson asked Loyd. “We have to solve the revolution first. Remember that solving the revolution is our priority for now.” Loyd answered. While walking through the town, when we reached a certain place, the quest tab opened up.
+
[A mysterious Revolution]
Quest type: Side
Quest difficulty: C+
Clear conditions: End the revolution or kill the head revolutionist.
Compensation: Alliance with the people of the underground city.
Time limit: 24 hours.
+
The tab opened for all of us simultaneously. I guess this is why we were just walking around the town without a destination. Loyd was waiting to receive the quest. I looked at the quest tab very closely. The quest itself seemed quite easy. It’s either we just end the revolution or kill the head revolutionist which is obviously something we don’t want to do. Not only is that option just immoral but it might lead to another revolution where it will take more lives as a price. But I doubt this question for a second.
Quests are part of the system. They are managed by the moderators of the server which in the current situation is Peace. They also take a long time to prepare. Just for him to code and make the command, it might take days. It’s not that simple. This revolution is an event purely caused by the players or the people’s action. It was something unexpected. But how did he have the quest ready? At this exact moment? I had a few theories in my mind. 1st, he just programs all possible things that can happen in this world. Not impossible but I highly doubt it. Second, he just got better at coding. Maybe he got to a skill level where he can just make quests with a snap of a finger. Third, the possible solution which I hope is not true, is that he-...
Boom. With a sound of a giant explosion vibrating through the entire city, I witnessed clouds of fire rising. The town was turning into ashes. There were screams of horror, torture, and pain. People running out from their houses covering the scars. Blood poured out of a man's body until their death. It all happened right when the quest started. This made my third theory even more probable. I was terrified. How did this all happen? Right. This is a revolution. For the cause of a better future, a minority is always sacrificed for the greater good. This won’t bring a better future. It’s a tragedy. It’s something that never should’ve happened. A beep of tinnitus ringing in my ears. I couldn’t hear anything as if a grenade exploded right inside my ears. I couldn’t move an inch either. What happens if people die? Innocent people will be killed. Is it all my fault? Only if I didn’t suggest the idea of searching the elytra here…
Out of the silence, I heard Loyd’s desperate voice screaming towards me. “Don’t panic! We have to save as many people as possible!” His voice sounded foggy. I could barely hear it. How can he stay so calm in this situation? I see him ordering Crimson to do something. He then dashed away into the air. What do I do? I can’t just stand here and do nothing. When I looked up, I saw big debris of the mine falling right towards me. There were even sharp dripstones that were dropping. I had to move, or I would die. But for some reason, I couldn’t. It was like my body was frozen. Right before the large stone pieces crushed me into pieces, Loyd briskly dashed to me and cut the giant debris in half. It was truly a beautiful strike. The afterimage was the only thing that existed. That’s how fast his sword can move. Before more debris fell on me, he grabbed me and started running. I didn’t know a sole man could just single handedly carry another man with just a hand. We then took cover near a stone pillar.
“They might be trying to break down the entire underground city. We have to finish the quest as soon as possible.” Loyd explained as he started covering his wounds with bandages. It seems he was scratched a bit when he was trying to save me. “I sent Crimson to kill the head revolutionist. If he finishes the quest, the city will stabilize.” I had so many questions but I was so hectic. He continued to explain as he saw my horrified face. “Normally, the quests are the triggers to a certain event. It’s not that the quest makes all these things happen but when the stage is ready, the quest gives us a goal to achieve. That’s why we got the quest when we arrived on this floor. By having all the actors in their position, the show is ready to be performed. Quests are like a stage for stories.” He then started typing on the digital system tab.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
[Player, “Loyd” is currently performing the ability, ‘Analysis of the system’.]
More and more tabs started to appear near him. He handled the monitors very efficiently and professionally. His eye looked like a digital circuit because of the reflection from the system screen. “Here.” He handed me a healing potion. “This should help you get over it.” I gobbled up the potion as soon as he gave it to me. “It’s probably because your mentality is really low. You don’t even have a mental barrier. The shock is probably what’s stunning you.” Loyd explained. Mental shock was also a thing in the game. But it wasn’t as bad as this. It just made you dizzy or shake your screen a bit. This was a completely another level.
After drinking the potion, I felt a lot better. “Thank you.” I expressed gratitude. “It’s okay, I’ve been there. I’ll help you get some abilities later.” Loyd said. Across from where we were, there were people dressed up as soldiers waving custom designed flags and attacking civilians. It seems that not only are the revolutionists targeting us but also other people peacefully living in the city. I don’t understand? I thought they started this revolution because they couldn’t handle the poor environment. Why do innocent people who were also suffering need to die?
I sneaked and looked over at what Loyd was doing. The system tabs were giving him an analysis on how to beat this quest with the least sacrifice possible. I was surprised. This ability seemed very overpowered. His right monitor saids… [Must kill the head revolutionist. Although it isn’t the right thing to do, it is the fastest way to end the revolution.] It almost seemed like the system had its own thoughts and emotions. When I looked back at Loyd’s face, his face was frozen like a dead person. He was scared. But what?
[This area has been influenced by a ‘Legendary’ constellation.]
*
Loyd was terrified by this message. If there is an influence on an entire area, it means that the constellation also influenced the quest that’s happening in that zone. A legendary constellation is the 2nd highest rank of the constellations after ‘Mythic’. But since there are about 10 mythic constellations in this world, a legendary constellation would be the strongest constellation you could possibly meet. Even Loyd, the strongest player in the server, hasn't reached the grade of legendary yet. What horrified Loyd even more is that he knows which and how the constellation influenced the quest. One of his screens showed the hellfire spreading in the 3rd level of the underground city. He has seen that fire once in his life. He remembers it so well because the impact it had on him was so major to him.
“No matter what I do, I can’t win against that constellation right now.” Loyd thought to himself. Even if Luke, Crimson, and himself combined power, they wouldn’t even come close on defeating that constellation. If that fire reigned in this domain, it probably means that the head revolutionist is also affected by the constellation who caused this. There is no more negotiating. They must kill the head revolutionist at all costs. If the fire reaches the main town, the town might also burn into ashes. Also, if the fire spreads even more and its influence reaches a certain level in this side quest, the constellation might advent as a demigod.
“What the hell is [Archangel of the North Haven] doing in this world? Is the Adversary missing? How come no one is controlling her? What the hell happened to
Loyd is the sin of pride and the devil, Lucifer represents the sin. According to the legends, it is recorded that the reasoning for this fire, [Archangel of the North Haven] alarmed [Archangel of the Western Aquarius] about the [Fallen Daystar of Heaven] and repulsed him from entering heaven. Because of this, it is known that the [Fallen Daystar of Heaven] is weak and vulnerable to the living flame.
But he had to continue fighting. He can’t rely on other people to save like when he fought the catastrophe of deception. Loyd stood up and continued to walk forward. Slash, slash. The sound of blood leaking and splashing accompanied Loyd’s slaughters. The more and more revolutionists he killed, he felt the end of this quest. The weight pushing him down didn’t get lighter, but rather heavier. It was as if the weight of the lives he killed were stacking back to him. The fire almost reached the 2nd level. It was rising at a fast rate. As Loyd stared at the burning hell fire, he thought that maybe he could be forgiven for all the sins he committed if he ran into the fire and got killed.
Contrary to the name, “Sin of Pride”, the sin's role in this world is to punish human beings. Loyd’s job was to punish and eliminate anyone who became arrogant and haughty. But he didn’t want to. Knowing that he had to kill those people for their sins of pride, he decided to make the people's pride and ego worthless. He became the strongest in the town. By becoming the strongest in the town, he took all the blame for the arrogance and pride in this world. No one could dare challenge him. No one could even dare to think that they are stronger than him. By doing this, he didn’t need to discipline anyone.
There have been some weird feelings that Loyd felt recently. Ever since the appearance of Luke, he sensed a feeling of “Finally heading towards the end”. One of Loyd’s modifiers in the server was, [Priest of the Last Page]. He was called by this nickname since there wasn’t an ending that Loyd was specifically reaching for. He didn’t have a goal. But paradoxically, he was called [Priest of the Last Page]. He never thought that this world was going to meet its end. But now, he is starting to think that the ending he never thought would exist is finally coming towards him.
He continued to march on and on until finally he reached a part of the town where it was full of medieval houses. On the roof of the houses, he saw Crimson fighting with sets of daggers against a revolutionist. Loyd knew from his instincts that the person over there is the head revolutionist. Loyd Crimson screaming to him for help. “Loyd, hurry! We have to kill him right now! He wouldn't even talk! He is very hostile. Don’t hold much time!” With max mana charged onto his [Requiem], Loyd jumped and dashed towards the head revolutionist, knowing that he would never be forgiven for the sins he committed. The weight of the lives and sins he committed will one day overwhelm and swallow him whole.
In a speed faster than sound, Loyd sliced the leading revolutionist’s heads. There were scars everywhere over his body and blood marked on his face. This was the same for Crimson.
[You have completed the quest, ‘A mysterious revolution’!]
[Due to an issue, your compensation payment is being delayed. Please stay in the side quest zone until further notice.]
[@#$*&(#@@#$(*&@!@#()!#@]
[There has been an error in the quest. It will lead to the next quest following the side quest.]