digital heart | minsung | ✔

08

"Tell me, kid," the shady man clad in a brown cloak speaks, slowly pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against. His face is hidden in the shadows of his hood but it's still obvious that the mysterious person is quite nervous, judging from his restless figure and the nervous glances he keeps casting around the bustling streets.

"What did you find?"

The blue question mark floating above his head goes along with every movement the person makes and I take a step back, raising an eyebrow. I kind of regret accepting this quest now that I'm further into it. It really seemed interesting; unravel the mysteries and misunderstanding to avoid a huge fight between two rivaling minor clans. In the end, it turned out to be a web of backstabbing and lies and it's way too much drama for me. It literally gives me the sensation of headache, while pain is nonexistent in this game.

Cancel Midnight? More like cancel mission.

"I didn't find anything, sir. I'm sorry," I reply, mentally rolling my eyes. Canceling missions isn't easy, it requires tactful talking and I'm usually not too good at that. I wish it was just a matter of a few clicks to get rid of it once and for all but unfortunately, that isn't the case here.

Just stay polite, Jisung.

"I'm actually here to break the bond we formed, sir," I continue, bowing slightly to show my apologies. "This task isn't the one for me, it's complicated beyond my abilities to solve it. I'm afraid that I will only make matters worse between you, hence why I think that it's more beneficial to let someone else solve this quarrel."

I can't see his face but I can imagine him narrowing his eyes at me. The person hums lowly, as if he's deep in thoughts. Then he looks up and I can almost see the shimmer of light in the shadow of his eyes. I heave out an inaudible sigh, preparing for the worst; a whole speech about me knowing their secrets and how I can't get away that easily.

"I see," the man mutters, only to hide his face in the shadows again.

"That's a shame, you've proven yourself as a good help until now. But if it's too much for you, you, we'll find someone else to solve our problems, or maybe just face each other like real men. Are you sure you want to quit this mission? You won't get your reward and the mission will be gone for good."

I sigh in relief after the NPC's words. That really went a lot easier than I anticipated. But then again, this is more like a bunch of peasants being butthurt by another bunch of peasants'; it ain't that deep and I guess they don't make a big deal out of their secrets.

"Yes, I am sure," I firmly reply and instantly, the blue question mark disappears into thin air.

"Take care, kid," the man greets me before he turns around to mind his own business again.

Nodding slowly, I step away and glance around the area I'm in. It's a small village - it doesn't even have a name- that only consists of a few wooden houses and some tiny farms scattered in the fields surrounding it. I honestly don't even know it this village is considered a safe zone or not. I can easily take on all the monsters that dwell around here so it's not like I care.

There are two things I can do now. My first option is to go all the way back to Nox to take on another mission since I can really use the credits to buy some new equipment. But the city is quite a long walk away and I've already wasted enough teleport chrystals to make up for my laziness. The second option is to visit the Nocturnal Plains, like I was already planning to. They are considerably closer than the big city and killing monsters there will also give me a nice amount of credits and XP -and hopefully some worthy loot on top of that.