QUEST: OUTBREAK at Seorak
OBJECTIVE: Kill 20,000 monsters in the Seorak QUEST Area within one week
Progress: 14,043 / 20,000
REWARD: 2,000,000 GOLD (each party will receive a portion of the reward)
FAILURE: The Seorak region will no longer be safe for humans
The Seorak Outbreak took place in the northeastern region of Korea. A mountainous region with few flat plains that served as waypoints for travelers. Even before the Break, the mountains were known for being full of dangers. The woods grew thick enough to cover the sky making navigation impossible in some areas while the slopes were often made up of slick boulders that were as slippery as they were hard.
The Phoenix headed north east deeper into the mountain carefully, making sure to keep an eye on their surroundings.
Again, the shield knight made sure to take up the lead, but this time Jinyoung walked the line with her, occasionally activating his [scan+] skill to search the surroundings. Without any skills to help navigate, Willow brought up the rear, keeping her eyes open and searching for movement.
“Hana, there’s something up ahead.”
Jinyoung’s nose picked it out before his eyes did. It took him back to the dungeon with the black shrine. The corruption. The telltale miasma that hung in the air. As the mountain’s incline made itself known, they started to see signs of corruption on the trees. Rotted wood left a sweet scent in the air while strange red vines reached out from the forest floor.
“Have you ever been in this area before, sunbae?” Willow was smart. The miasma could only come from two sources. It was either coming from the dungeon itself or the mid-boss.
Hana nodded her head. “A few years ago, I came here with another group. We passed through this area then, too. Nothing then.”
Each of them had the same thought. Corruption only happened either in the presence of a break or a power monster, a mid-boss. It had to be.
“Jinyoung, you move up the slope of the mountain. Willow and I will head in opposite directions here. If you find more signs of corruption or the mid-boss, return immediately.” Hana looked at Jinyoung with hard eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.”
“Better be. Four minutes, go.”
The three split up and headed in their own directions. This wasn’t the D-tier dungeon from a week ago, nor was it like the dungeon 20 years ago. This was an outbreak quest and a mistake here could end in death. His or someone else’s. The merchant’s caravan had shown him that.
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The slopes were slippery, but he made progress carefully. There were no signs of monsters and his [scan] told him nothing was close by. After a few minutes, he paused, took a quick look around and started heading back.
Willow was the one to find the trail. It was a two minute run from her initial starting point. She followed the trail a bit until she found signs of the mid-boss itself before turning back.
“The mid-boss can’t be further than a mile away, if that,” she reported breathlessly.
Hana took a deep breath. Taking out the mid-boss would go a long way towards helping their standing in the community, not to mention the extra experience for Jinyoung and Willow.
“You’re not the only one who found something.” Hana describes additional tracks in her direction. Heavily armored players who had moved up the mountain from the north. “We’re not the only ones here, so we’d better move fast.”
The three moved back the way Willow had come from. The corruption was barely a few hours old, if that. Then they found the trail. Something big had cut a groove through the forest floor. Occasionally, the trail would leave the ground as the monster moved through lower branches before returning to its twisting path.
They were so focused on their run that they nearly ran directly into another party led by the Fighter’s Guild Master.
“Hold it, where’s the fire?” he said with a chuckle.
Between breaths, Willow attempted to explain but the Guild Master held up a hand.
“I know. But the Pegasus has already beat us to it. We should be getting the notification shortly.”
“Dammit!” Hana hissed.
Jinyoung cocked an eyebrow, but the Guild Master was unfazed. More than that, his expression seemed to agree with Hana’s outburst.
“They caught up with it at the edge of the forest here and are trying to push it to the clearing just below the mountain. We’re heading up the slopes to get a better view if you want to join us. It sucks, but at least it should make for a good show.”
***
Paying your dues, they called it. Whatever it was, the squire hated it. He had been running full-sprint for nearly 10 minutes. The party had cast multiple buffs giving him more stamina and increased agility, but he wasn’t worried about getting tired. He was worried about the three ton monstrous venom snake that was trying to eat him.
He pumped his legs hard, forcing them to carry him faster than was normally possible while zig-zagging through the trees. The massive monster behind him wasn’t just fast, it was huge. It’s tailed whipped back and forth, dislodging trees from the earth and tossing boulders from side to side. It sounded like a landslide.
Just ahead, Jonas. Good boy.
Only a few more meters and we’ll get it off your back.
He could see the clearing ahead. The sun was shining brightly there making it look like a safezone. Cyrus stood in the center, the light gleaming onto his full-armor. One day, that would be Jonas. One day, he would be the hero.
The massive snake reeled its head back for a moment and darted forward with its fangs bared. The uneven terrain threw off its aim and it crashed into a tree sending shards of tree everywhere. The impact went off like a small explosion, throwing Jonas off his feet and sliding on the dirt and rubble.
The squire immediately realized the danger he was in, but by the time he was up on his feet, the snake was on him. With a simple flick of his tail, he sent Jonas flying through the air. When he finally landed, he felt his arm twist at an awkward angle and a sharp burst of pain in his ribs.
The last thing Jonas saw before he lost consciousness were the scales of the monster slowly wrapping themselves around his body.