“Help! Is anyone there? Please, save us!”
A girl's tearful cry for help echoed from deep within the dense forest ahead, her voice urgent and laced with clear terror and despair.
“Hehe, this is Starfall Forest. You can scream all you want, but no one is coming to save you.”
A low, raspy male voice followed immediately, cold and sinister.
The five-man party, who had just finished off the rock-armored boar and were preparing to venture deeper, halted in their tracks.
“Huh?” The Knight player whose butt had been rammed by the rock-armored boar scratched his head in confusion. “Did I just hear someone calling for help? What's going on?”
“Captain, should we go take a look? They sound like they're in a really bad spot,” the Mage player in the party asked.
Silent Rain frowned slightly at the sound, pondering for a moment. “Could this be... a hidden storyline?”
At those words, the eyes of the other four party members lit up simultaneously.
“Captain! We definitely have to check it out!” the Knight player said excitedly.
“If it's a hidden quest, the rewards are bound to be amazing!” The Mage player was already rubbing his hands together.
“We've been grinding day and night just to reach level 21. If there's a hidden quest, we might level up several times in one go!”
They were all second beta players. Because their levels had been too low yesterday, they hadn't joined the main storyline quests like the other players. Instead, he and his party had spent a day and a night grinding in the wilderness of Starfall Forest, pushing their levels straight to level 21, reaching Bronze Rank mid-stage. Although they couldn't compare to the veteran players from the closed alpha, they were considered top-tier among the second beta players.
Normally, hidden quests in games rewarded a massive amount of experience points, enough to potentially boost them by several levels.
With that in mind, Silent Rain made a quick decision and turned to the Mage player. “Jiumeng, can you use your Eye of Detection to see what's going on?”
“No problem!” The Mage player, Jiumeng, nodded immediately. “But the distance is too far right now, so my range is limited. We need to move a bit closer.”
“Everyone, group up. Keep your footsteps light and sneak closer.”
Silent Rain nodded slightly, and at his command, the five-man party concealed their presence. Using the dense trees as cover, they crept quietly toward the source of the cries.
After a moment, Silent Rain raised his hand to signal a halt, asking in a hushed voice:
“How is this distance?”
Jiumeng poked half of his head out to peer ahead, then nodded. “Perfect, no problem at all.”
As soon as he spoke, his eyes were instantly enveloped in a faint golden light, reflecting the scene in the distance within his pupils.
...
In the distance.
Seven or eight assassins clad in pitch-black hooded robes had two girls cornered in the middle of a forest clearing. Their murderous intent was palpable, sealing off all avenues of escape.
A petite girl dressed in an exquisite, pure white maid uniform stood defiantly in front, clutching a silver dagger in her hand as she did everything she could to protect the person behind her.
Her legs trembled slightly, and her eyes were filled with terror, yet she showed no intention of backing down. Her stubborn resolve was heartbreaking to watch.
The long-skirted girl behind her possessed an elegant, noble air, but her face was currently as pale as paper. A hideous wound had been slashed across the abdomen of her delicate dress, and fresh red blood soaked the fabric, dripping steadily down the hem. Her aura was so weak she looked as if she might faint at any moment.
“Who... who sent you...” Loria bit her pale lips, forcing out a low question with what little strength she had left.
The leading black-robed man slowly pulled back his hood, revealing a sinister, grim face. His voice was cold and ruthless:
“Miss Loria, you can only blame your Silver Leaf Chamber of Commerce for being blind and offending someone you shouldn't have. If you must blame anyone, blame your own bad luck.”
“Don't you dare hurt my lady!” the maid roared, her eyes bloodshot. Even though her hands were shaking, she remained firmly in front of Loria.
“An annoying insect.”
The black-robed man snorted in annoyance, knocking the dagger from her hand with a single sword strike. He then grabbed Annie by the neck with his left hand and flung her aside.
The fragile maid crashed heavily onto the grass nearby, groaning in pain, unable to get back up for a long moment.
Having dealt with the obstacle, the black-robed man wasted no more words. He stepped in front of Loria and slowly raised his longsword.
“Rest in peace.”
Loria closed her eyes in despair, resigned to her fate.
At the critical moment just as the blade was about to fall!
A slender, upright, black-haired figure suddenly burst from the shadows!
“Shadow Blade!”
A cold voice rang out as a pitch-black blade cut through the air with a fierce gust, aiming straight for the black-robed man's neck.
“Who's there?!”
The leading black-robed man was utterly shocked. The intense threat of death made him instinctively twist his body to dodge.
He barely avoided the lethal decapitation strike, but the sharp blade still swept across, instantly tearing through his entire arm.
Slash—!
Blood sprayed out, and the intense pain caused his face to instantly turn deathly pale.
Silent Rain landed lightly on the ground. He raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised.
He clearly hadn't expected the target to be able to dodge a lethal strike under such a sudden ambush.
At the same time, a series of explosions erupted from the forest nearby!
The four other players, who had been waiting for the signal, rushed out together. The colorful lights of their skills instantly illuminated the entire clearing.
The shield-bearing player leaped forward, slamming his heavy shield down with immense force, directly knocking over two black-robed men who failed to react in time, leaving them completely dazed.
“Cross Slash!”
“Fireball!”
“Windpierce Arrow!”
Melee sword qi swept across, blazing fire erupted, and magical arrows pierced through the air!
The remaining black-robed men had no time to resist. They were hit by a barrage of skills, and their screams echoed one after another as they were left completely defenseless.
The expected pain did not arrive. Instead, deafening sounds of combat filled Loria's ears.
Loria cautiously opened her eyes, and then she froze.
Standing against the light was a black-haired, purple-eyed young man holding a long blade. His posture was tall, straight, and cold, standing firmly in front of her like a savior descending in her moment of absolute despair.
“Are you alright?”
Silent Rain turned to look at her, his voice flat and cool, devoid of much emotion.
Loria stared blankly for two seconds. Then, her eyes welled with tears, and she managed a gentle, fragile smile on her pale face:
“Thank you... Thank you for saving me.”
Beside them, Annie had struggled to crawl over. She threw her arms around her lady, tears streaming down her face. “My lady! My lady, are you alright?! You're bleeding so much... It's all my fault... It's all because I'm so useless...”
“It's fine now... Annie... We... we're safe...”
The sight of the master and maid clinging to each other and weeping was rather touching.
On the other side, the leading black-robed man saw that most of his subordinates had fallen in an instant, and panic had already set in.
However, looking at Silent Rain, he forced himself to stay calm and barked:
“Who on earth are you?! Do you have any idea what kind of catastrophe you will bring upon yourself by interfering in this matter?”
Silent Rain glanced at him indifferently. “What kind of catastrophe?”
“We are from the Count's estate of Tecabelo!” The black-robed man, finding his confidence, proudly brought up his backing and threatened fiercely. “I advise you to be smart and let me leave immediately! I can overlook what happened today, and I can even recommend you for a position in the Count's estate. Wealth, glory, and mountains of gold coins—you can have it all!”
At those words, the players who had just finished clearing the minor enemies burst into laughter, gathering around to enjoy the drama.
“Whoa, the Count's estate? Talk about a powerful faction!”
“Man, this is definitely a hidden questline, no doubt about it!”
“Trying to win over our captain? He must be dreaming!”
Hearing this, Loria's body stiffened slightly. A complex look flashed through her eyes as she watched the scene in silence.
Silent Rain's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end, without a single ripple of emotion on his face. He didn't care about the so-called Count's estate at all.
He stepped forward slowly, looking down at the blustering black-robed assassin. His cold voice carried no warmth whatsoever. “Are you done talking?”
Without waiting for a response, he slowly raised his long blade. “Since you're done, it's time for you to go.”
“You dare! The Count's estate will never—!”
The black-robed man's threat cut off abruptly.
A cold flash of light swept by as the blade slashed through.
In the next second, his vision spun wildly before plunging completely into darkness.
Having resolved the final enemy, Silent Rain sheathed his blade and turned his gaze toward the two shaken girls.
Just as he was pondering what to do next, a belated system notification chimed in his ear.
Rate on N.U.
