At best, an outbreak took a full day. In cases like Seorak, it was usually three to four days. During the day, parties took to their assigned locations and did their best to fulfill their quotas. After the quotas were fulfilled, they were free to venture deeper into the forest to hunt more monsters. Like other similar events, the goal was to find the dungeon itself and clear it completely, thus preventing future outbreaks. But in the past 17 years, no one had found the source of the lizardmen.
Now and then, players would share rumors of underground caves or deep river beds populated with monsters, but there was never any solid evidence. Never a substantial clue as to where the monsters were coming from.
Jinyoung listened with rapt attention as an older player told a fan favorite. Three hunters had set into the forest a decade earlier with every intention of finding the dungeon proper. They stayed out for four days and four nights, running across other parties during the time. By all accounts, they were haggard and rough on the fourth day. But they were obsessed, seized by a notion that they’d found a clue that would lead them to the source.
“Of course, they were never seen from again,” the old man rasped. “I found some of their gear myself, on the southern slopes of the mountain just short of the waterfall that rages around this time of year. But their bodies were never found.”
Most of the group gathered around the campfire had dozed off. This story was told a hundred times by different adventurers every year. Each one claiming to have in their possession a bow or a ring that belonged to the hunters. But Jinyoung had never heard these stories. He’d never been to an event like this and he’d never had the chance to interact with so many other adventurers.
“Enough about old legends, geezer!” a rowdy fighter cried out. “We’ve got a living legend right here!”
The crowd roared in response and lifted all manner of tankards and cups into the air. More than once, someone checked Jinyoung’s cup to make sure he had some beer or soju or something ungodly that someone had brewed in the ride up to Seorak.
“Cheers!!”
At first, he had been curious to see how the players would react to his presence. And nervous. The last party he attended was a pre-graduation party with other cadets. Students, really. And now he was being clapped on the back and praised by men and women decades older than him. Even a few that were decades older than Hana.
“To the onion knight!” someone else cried.
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And then there were more cheers and clinking of glasses. At some point, Jinyoung had started lifting the cup to his lips and holding it there for a moment before lowering it again. Regardless of his skills in battle, the last thing he wanted was to be laid out by a powerful ale.
“Tell us again, how’d you find the whatchamacallit!”
By far the most popular topic had been the hidden quest he’d found. Hana had made sure that the cadets didn’t tell a soul and the report she submitted was eyes-only for top brass at the Academy. So, of course, word spread like wildfire. There was even a rumor that the Player Society had internal memos recommending he be arrested. Again.
Jinyoung stood and addressed the crowd, “I’ve told this story a hundred times, guys. Look, you can always go to the Academy and check out the report yourself. It’s a hundred times more detailed than anything I can remember.”
The groan that responded to him would’ve made a bog of frogs proud. Jinyoung wobbled a bit, his feet made unstable by several cups of warm beer, and sat back down.
“But how?” a pretty rogue asked. “How’d you know where to look? How’d you know there was something there?”
Actually, she was really pretty. Much prettier than he’d realized at first.
“Well, that’s easy,” he heard himself say. “I just looked where the-”
“That’s enough of that.”
Jinyoung felt small but strong hands pull him to his feet.
Willow had a look on her face hard to describe. It was all at once smug, annoyed and amused. “We’ll be going now, the onion knight needs his beauty sleep.”
She had dragged him far enough that the campfires looked like fairy lights in the distance. Once they were far enough that no one was listening, Jinyoung found something of his pride and struggled out of the young scholar’s grip.
“What the hell is your problem? I was doing fine and…” The realization dawned on him slowly as the effects of the skill wore off. He could literally feel his pupils constricting.
“Shit. How close was I to-”
“A few more seconds and you’d have spilled your guts.”
Embarrassment is a funny emotion. Everyone gets to feel its warm embrace at some point in their lives, but it’s always a surprise.
“Yeah. And you’re welcome.”
***
The next morning was a merciful one. Of course, Hana knew what had happened the night before. But aside from a knowing smile when they set off in the morning without a word.
Unfortunately, it was a slow morning. The region they were tasked with clearing was empty, leaving Jinyoung plenty of time to think about the night before. He thought of the stories the other players had told around the campfire. Some of them talked about a freelance fighter who was out in the woods on his own, killing hordes of monsters with his bare hands. Then, there were the many rumors of where the dungeon might actually be located. But most of all, he had time to reflect on how close he’d come to telling a group of strangers he had abilities and skills that no one else had.