“What the hell? Why can’t the quest be cleared?” Siegfried narrowed his eyes and asked, “What’s wrong with this thing?”
Cheon Woo-Jin seemed flustered as he stuttered, “I-I have no idea...”
“Let’s try it again.”
“Okay.”
Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin opened the quest window and tapped the button to end the quest.
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
The result was the same as they were unable to clear the quest.
“What’s wrong with this thing?!”
“Try again! Again!”
Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin repeatedly pressed the button, but...
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
However, all they got was the same message notifying them of their failure to complete the quest.
“What’s wrong...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered as he tilted his head in confusion.
“Cheon Woo-Jin, you fucking scammer!” Siegfried suddenly screamed as he grabbed Cheon Woo-Jin by his collar.
“Kuheok! H-Hey! W-What’s up with you all of a sudden?!”
“You scammer!”
“Ah!”
“You scammed me, didn’t you?!”
“Hey! Why would I scam you?!”
“You’re getting back at me for dining and dashing on you!”
“Huh? Have you gone mad? Do you think I’d be so petty to get back at you like this?”
“You’re lying through your teeth, you petty bastard!”
“Hey! Let me go! Ack!”
“Give me my levels!”
“You crazy— What am I? A level vending machine?!”
“You should pay me for my work!”
“L-Let go of me first! Ack! I’m really not scamming you!”
“How can I trust you?! You scam—“
Swoosh!
Cheon Woo-Jin suddenly disappeared like a mirage.
He scammed Siegfried and disappeared!
“You damn scammer!”
Siegfried screamed in a fit of anger.
“Damn it! So this is how you want to play? Just wait and see, Cheon Woo-Jin... I’m going to have my revenge, you thieving thug!”
Ironically, Siegfried seemed to have completely forgotten about him dining and dashing on Cheon Woo-Jin.
***
“What’s going on? Why can’t I clear the quest?”
Cheon Woo-Jin teleported to a secluded mountain in the Proatine Kingdom and he looked baffled while looking at the quest message.
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
The same message appeared no matter how many times he tried, and this was proof that he had no intentions of scamming Siegfried.
“What’s wrong with this...? Why won’t it clear the quest?”
He couldn't understand the reason why he couldn't clear the quest. He was the Quest Maker and the one who had created the quest, so the entire situation was quite baffling to him.
After all, who was going to officially clear the quest if not him?
“This never happened before...”
Cheon Woo-Jin tried to figure out what the problem was, but he could not think of a reason that would affect the clearance even though he deployed his full brain power and knowledge.
“Is there a problem with the quest?”
This was the only conclusion that made sense to him as it was impossible for him not to be able to conclude the quest when the requirements had been satisfied.
“Just what in the world is going on...”
He continued to ponder when a thought suddenly popped up in his mind.
“Don’t tell me...?” His face stiffened, and he roared, “Damn it!”
He gathered his mana, and a circular warp gate appeared in front of him.
He jumped into the warp gate and disappeared along with a burst of light.
***
“Sigh... I never imagined the day I’ll be double-crossed would come...” Siegfried let out a sigh while trembling in anger.
He firmly believed that Cheon Woo-Jin had double-crossed him.
It was understandable why he would think so, as he had stabbed Cheon Woo-Jin numerous times in the back by dining and dashing on the latter. Siegfried had expected him to retaliate at least once.
“Just wait and see... I’m going to pay you back big time...”
Siegfried swore vengeance while gnashing his teeth as he seethed with rage.
It was highly likely that he would have swung Horse Fly and bashed Cheon Woo-Jin’s head open if he weren't Cheon Woo-Jin.
Why?
It was all because Siegfried had always been the type of person who preferred to do the stabbing instead of getting stabbed in the back, and he would pay back the person a hundred—no, a thousand times over if he did end up getting stabbed in the back.
However, he was willing to forgive Cheon Woo-Jin at least once. It was quite annoying that he got scammed, but he could still remember the numerous misdeeds he had committed against Cheon Woo-Jin, so he felt that he owed him that at least.
In addition, even though it was definitely not within Cheon Woo-Jin’s expectations, the Graduate Gears that Siegfried had obtained from the Sky Tower was a huge boost to his power, so losing out on a few levels wasn't that detrimental anymore.
“Hmm... Should I go see my pretties to make up for my mood?”
He decided to visit Brunhilde and his adorable daughter, Verdandi, to alleviate stress and forget about what happened, but...
“Hohoho! Look at this cute little thing!”
“Goo? Kyaaah!”
Deus was already playing with Verdandi by the time Siegfried had arrived at the palace.
“E-Elder-nim... May I hold her once? I am also her grandfa—“
Beside Deus was Lohengrin, who was looking quite pitiful as he begged for his turn to hold Verdandi.
“Kekeke! Look at this adorable little thing! You truly deserve to be this great being’s granddaughter! Nyahahaha!”
“E-Elder-nim...?”
“Oh! Your fingers are so strong already? Hoho! That’s right, this great being’s granddaughter should be at least this strong!”
“Elder-nim... May I please hold—“
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes, sir?”
“It seems you have no plans to shut up.”
“N-No...! T-That is—“ Lohengrin exclaimed as he frivolously waved his hand while sweating a bucket.
The reason was...
‘You haven’t had a taste of my fists, have you?’
‘Heok!’
‘What do you say? Do you want to have a taste of them today?’
Deus threatened him through telepathy while brandishing his killing intent.
The Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, had dedicated his entire life to becoming strong that he—forget about grandkids—he didn't even get married and had kids of his own. It seemed to be the reason he was doting on Verdandi so much.
“Ah...!” In the end, Lohengrin was forced to cry a river and walk away from his granddaughter.
“Haha... Hahaha...” Siegfried laughed in disbelief as he watched his father-in-law walk away, looking defeated.
Deus had the tendency to display an extremely bad temper that even the worst tyrant in the history of the continent wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him, and Siegfried could only deduce that dedicating his entire life to power had led to him having such nasty temper. Of course, there was also a chance that Deus was born that way.
“I have returned, Master.”
“You’re back?” Deus replied, but he didn't spare even a single glance at Siegfried. In fact, he didn't seem interested in Siegfried.
“Welcome back, dear.”
Meanwhile, Brunhilde warmly welcomed him with a smile.
“I’m home.”
“Grandfather-nim dotes on our daughter a lot.”
“Hahaha... It looks like it...”
“Our daughter is really ador—“ Brunhilde was about to say adorable, but she was interrupted.
“Papa!” Verdandi pointed at Siegfried and happily shouted papa.
“...!”
Siegfried, Deus, and Brunhilde froze after hearing that.
Then, all of them doubted their ears for a second.
‘Hmm?’
‘D-Did Verdandi speak just now?’
‘My baby...?’
They doubted that a baby less than a month old was capable of saying papa.
Why?
Because that was impossible...
A baby less than a month old speaking was unheard of from any race or creature on the continent. In fact, even the high and mighty dragons were nothing more than lizards during the first one hundred years of their lives.
“Haha... No way, I must’ve heard wrong...” Siegfried muttered.
He concluded that his ears were playing tricks on him and he was just hearing things, but...
“Papa! Papa!” Verdandi pointed at Siegfried and cried out multiple times.
“Heok!” Siegfried was shocked.
“...!”
“...!”
Even Deus and Brunhilde were shocked.
However, Verdandi didn't care about their stupefaction as she repeatedly shouted papa while pointing at Siegfried with her tiny finger.
A baby less than a month old was indeed saying papa right now!
“P-Papa?”
“Ho!”
“Omo! Our daughter already knows how to speak?”
Siegfried, Deus, and Brunhilde were at a loss for words after seeing Verdandi’s growth spurt.
A few seconds later...
“Here,” Deus said as he passed Verdandi to Siegfried.
“Goo? Papa! Papa! Kyaaah! Papa!”
“Y-Yes, I’m your father! Papa!”
“Kyaaah! Papa! Papa!”
“Yes, I’m your papa!”
“Gooo!”
“Ah...”
Siegfried gently held Verdandi close to his chest. He could not say anything, and neither could he come up with anything to say. The overwhelming emotion welling up from the depths of his emotions was too powerful to put into words.
The only thing he could do was hold her and relish the moment.
However, his happy moment was disturbed by the cruel reality.
‘If the game ends up getting reset, then...’ He suddenly remembered Cheon Woo-Jin’s warning. ‘My daughter is going to disappear... This beautiful child’s life will...’
It was just a game, but he couldn't accept such tragedy.
The main stage of the game, BNW, was the Nürberg Continent, and the game was going to reset if it ended up getting destroyed. Naturally, Verdandi would disappear along with this world if that were to happen.
The Church of Osric was no longer simply trying to destroy the world; they were threatening Siegfried’s happiness as well. They were going to destroy the future he had with his beloved daughter.
‘Do you really think I’m going to let you?’
Siegfried's animosity toward the Church of Osric burned even brighter and reached greater heights.
***
“I heard you failed your mission.”
Ulcera could sense his foreshadowing doom at the words that came out of those red lips.
This tall man who had pale white skin, red eyes, long slender lips, narrow eyes, and silver hair was known as the Red Cardinal of the Church of Osric, and his viciousness made him infamous even in the church.
If the Red Cardinal had mentioned his failure, then...
‘I guess this is it for me...’ Ulcera thought as he gave up. Had there ever been any survivors of the cruel punishment handed down by the Red Cardinal, Vladimir?
Well, yes, there were some survivors, but the majority of them begged for the release of death afterward.
Ulcera mustered his courage to face Death and replied, “Yes... I failed.”
“I see...”
“...”
“So you failed.”
“Yes, Cardinal-nim...”
Ulcera lowered his head and earnestly prayed that Vladimir was going to kill him rather than hand down a punishment that would make his life a living hell. He preferred to die a quick death rather than stay alive and experience excruciating pain that one would not even experience in hell.
“Were you aware your mission was quite important to the church?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you still failed?”
“I have... sinned...”
“Good. Work harder for our church’s cause if you know your mistake.”
“Pardon me...?”
Ulcera doubted his ears.
“What do you... mean by that...?”
“Hmm? Can’t you understand me because you’re a lowly insect?” Vladimir asked as he stared down at Ulcera with his crimson eyes filled with disgust.
“I’m giving you another chance, insect.”
“B-But...”
“Therefore, you are to live up to the expectations of the church and repay this grace.”
That was it...
Shwaaa!
Vladimir’s cape fluttered as he vanished without a trace, leaving behind only Ulcera kneeling on the ground.
“What the hell? Why can’t the quest be cleared?” Siegfried narrowed his eyes and asked, “What’s wrong with this thing?”
Cheon Woo-Jin seemed flustered as he stuttered, “I-I have no idea...”
“Let’s try it again.”
“Okay.”
Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin opened the quest window and tapped the button to end the quest.
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
The result was the same as they were unable to clear the quest.
“What’s wrong with this thing?!”
“Try again! Again!”
Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin repeatedly pressed the button, but...
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
However, all they got was the same message notifying them of their failure to complete the quest.
“What’s wrong...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered as he tilted his head in confusion.
“Cheon Woo-Jin, you fucking scammer!” Siegfried suddenly screamed as he grabbed Cheon Woo-Jin by his collar.
“Kuheok! H-Hey! W-What’s up with you all of a sudden?!”
“You scammer!”
“Ah!”
“You scammed me, didn’t you?!”
“Hey! Why would I scam you?!”
“You’re getting back at me for dining and dashing on you!”
“Huh? Have you gone mad? Do you think I’d be so petty to get back at you like this?”
“You’re lying through your teeth, you petty bastard!”
“Hey! Let me go! Ack!”
“Give me my levels!”
“You crazy— What am I? A level vending machine?!”
“You should pay me for my work!”
“L-Let go of me first! Ack! I’m really not scamming you!”
“How can I trust you?! You scam—“
Swoosh!
Cheon Woo-Jin suddenly disappeared like a mirage.
He scammed Siegfried and disappeared!
“You damn scammer!”
Siegfried screamed in a fit of anger.
“Damn it! So this is how you want to play? Just wait and see, Cheon Woo-Jin... I’m going to have my revenge, you thieving thug!”
Ironically, Siegfried seemed to have completely forgotten about him dining and dashing on Cheon Woo-Jin.
***
“What’s going on? Why can’t I clear the quest?”
Cheon Woo-Jin teleported to a secluded mountain in the Proatine Kingdom and he looked baffled while looking at the quest message.
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
The same message appeared no matter how many times he tried, and this was proof that he had no intentions of scamming Siegfried.
“What’s wrong with this...? Why won’t it clear the quest?”
He couldn't understand the reason why he couldn't clear the quest. He was the Quest Maker and the one who had created the quest, so the entire situation was quite baffling to him.
After all, who was going to officially clear the quest if not him?
“This never happened before...”
Cheon Woo-Jin tried to figure out what the problem was, but he could not think of a reason that would affect the clearance even though he deployed his full brain power and knowledge.
“Is there a problem with the quest?”
This was the only conclusion that made sense to him as it was impossible for him not to be able to conclude the quest when the requirements had been satisfied.
“Just what in the world is going on...”
He continued to ponder when a thought suddenly popped up in his mind.
“Don’t tell me...?” His face stiffened, and he roared, “Damn it!”
He gathered his mana, and a circular warp gate appeared in front of him.
He jumped into the warp gate and disappeared along with a burst of light.
***
“Sigh... I never imagined the day I’ll be double-crossed would come...” Siegfried let out a sigh while trembling in anger.
He firmly believed that Cheon Woo-Jin had double-crossed him.
It was understandable why he would think so, as he had stabbed Cheon Woo-Jin numerous times in the back by dining and dashing on the latter. Siegfried had expected him to retaliate at least once.
“Just wait and see... I’m going to pay you back big time...”
Siegfried swore vengeance while gnashing his teeth as he seethed with rage.
It was highly likely that he would have swung Horse Fly and bashed Cheon Woo-Jin’s head open if he weren't Cheon Woo-Jin.
Why?
It was all because Siegfried had always been the type of person who preferred to do the stabbing instead of getting stabbed in the back, and he would pay back the person a hundred—no, a thousand times over if he did end up getting stabbed in the back.
However, he was willing to forgive Cheon Woo-Jin at least once. It was quite annoying that he got scammed, but he could still remember the numerous misdeeds he had committed against Cheon Woo-Jin, so he felt that he owed him that at least.
In addition, even though it was definitely not within Cheon Woo-Jin’s expectations, the Graduate Gears that Siegfried had obtained from the Sky Tower was a huge boost to his power, so losing out on a few levels wasn't that detrimental anymore.
“Hmm... Should I go see my pretties to make up for my mood?”
He decided to visit Brunhilde and his adorable daughter, Verdandi, to alleviate stress and forget about what happened, but...
“Hohoho! Look at this cute little thing!”
“Goo? Kyaaah!”
Deus was already playing with Verdandi by the time Siegfried had arrived at the palace.
“E-Elder-nim... May I hold her once? I am also her grandfa—“
Beside Deus was Lohengrin, who was looking quite pitiful as he begged for his turn to hold Verdandi.
“Kekeke! Look at this adorable little thing! You truly deserve to be this great being’s granddaughter! Nyahahaha!”
“E-Elder-nim...?”
“Oh! Your fingers are so strong already? Hoho! That’s right, this great being’s granddaughter should be at least this strong!”
“Elder-nim... May I please hold—“
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes, sir?”
“It seems you have no plans to shut up.”
“N-No...! T-That is—“ Lohengrin exclaimed as he frivolously waved his hand while sweating a bucket.
The reason was...
‘You haven’t had a taste of my fists, have you?’
‘Heok!’
‘What do you say? Do you want to have a taste of them today?’
Deus threatened him through telepathy while brandishing his killing intent.
The Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, had dedicated his entire life to becoming strong that he—forget about grandkids—he didn't even get married and had kids of his own. It seemed to be the reason he was doting on Verdandi so much.
“Ah...!” In the end, Lohengrin was forced to cry a river and walk away from his granddaughter.
“Haha... Hahaha...” Siegfried laughed in disbelief as he watched his father-in-law walk away, looking defeated.
Deus had the tendency to display an extremely bad temper that even the worst tyrant in the history of the continent wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him, and Siegfried could only deduce that dedicating his entire life to power had led to him having such nasty temper. Of course, there was also a chance that Deus was born that way.
“I have returned, Master.”
“You’re back?” Deus replied, but he didn't spare even a single glance at Siegfried. In fact, he didn't seem interested in Siegfried.
“Welcome back, dear.”
Meanwhile, Brunhilde warmly welcomed him with a smile.
“I’m home.”
“Grandfather-nim dotes on our daughter a lot.”
“Hahaha... It looks like it...”
“Our daughter is really ador—“ Brunhilde was about to say adorable, but she was interrupted.
“Papa!” Verdandi pointed at Siegfried and happily shouted papa.
“...!”
Siegfried, Deus, and Brunhilde froze after hearing that.
Then, all of them doubted their ears for a second.
‘Hmm?’
‘D-Did Verdandi speak just now?’
‘My baby...?’
They doubted that a baby less than a month old was capable of saying papa.
Why?
Because that was impossible...
A baby less than a month old speaking was unheard of from any race or creature on the continent. In fact, even the high and mighty dragons were nothing more than lizards during the first one hundred years of their lives.
“Haha... No way, I must’ve heard wrong...” Siegfried muttered.
He concluded that his ears were playing tricks on him and he was just hearing things, but...
“Papa! Papa!” Verdandi pointed at Siegfried and cried out multiple times.
“Heok!” Siegfried was shocked.
“...!”
“...!”
Even Deus and Brunhilde were shocked.
However, Verdandi didn't care about their stupefaction as she repeatedly shouted papa while pointing at Siegfried with her tiny finger.
A baby less than a month old was indeed saying papa right now!
“P-Papa?”
“Ho!”
“Omo! Our daughter already knows how to speak?”
Siegfried, Deus, and Brunhilde were at a loss for words after seeing Verdandi’s growth spurt.
A few seconds later...
“Here,” Deus said as he passed Verdandi to Siegfried.
“Goo? Papa! Papa! Kyaaah! Papa!”
“Y-Yes, I’m your father! Papa!”
“Kyaaah! Papa! Papa!”
“Yes, I’m your papa!”
“Gooo!”
“Ah...”
Siegfried gently held Verdandi close to his chest. He could not say anything, and neither could he come up with anything to say. The overwhelming emotion welling up from the depths of his emotions was too powerful to put into words.
The only thing he could do was hold her and relish the moment.
However, his happy moment was disturbed by the cruel reality.
‘If the game ends up getting reset, then...’ He suddenly remembered Cheon Woo-Jin’s warning. ‘My daughter is going to disappear... This beautiful child’s life will...’
It was just a game, but he couldn't accept such tragedy.
The main stage of the game, BNW, was the Nürberg Continent, and the game was going to reset if it ended up getting destroyed. Naturally, Verdandi would disappear along with this world if that were to happen.
The Church of Osric was no longer simply trying to destroy the world; they were threatening Siegfried’s happiness as well. They were going to destroy the future he had with his beloved daughter.
‘Do you really think I’m going to let you?’
Siegfried's animosity toward the Church of Osric burned even brighter and reached greater heights.
***
“I heard you failed your mission.”
Ulcera could sense his foreshadowing doom at the words that came out of those red lips.
This tall man who had pale white skin, red eyes, long slender lips, narrow eyes, and silver hair was known as the Red Cardinal of the Church of Osric, and his viciousness made him infamous even in the church.
If the Red Cardinal had mentioned his failure, then...
‘I guess this is it for me...’ Ulcera thought as he gave up. Had there ever been any survivors of the cruel punishment handed down by the Red Cardinal, Vladimir?
Well, yes, there were some survivors, but the majority of them begged for the release of death afterward.
Ulcera mustered his courage to face Death and replied, “Yes... I failed.”
“I see...”
“...”
“So you failed.”
“Yes, Cardinal-nim...”
Ulcera lowered his head and earnestly prayed that Vladimir was going to kill him rather than hand down a punishment that would make his life a living hell. He preferred to die a quick death rather than stay alive and experience excruciating pain that one would not even experience in hell.
“Were you aware your mission was quite important to the church?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you still failed?”
“I have... sinned...”
“Good. Work harder for our church’s cause if you know your mistake.”
“Pardon me...?”
Ulcera doubted his ears.
“What do you... mean by that...?”
“Hmm? Can’t you understand me because you’re a lowly insect?” Vladimir asked as he stared down at Ulcera with his crimson eyes filled with disgust.
“I’m giving you another chance, insect.”
“B-But...”
“Therefore, you are to live up to the expectations of the church and repay this grace.”
That was it...
Shwaaa!
Vladimir’s cape fluttered as he vanished without a trace, leaving behind only Ulcera kneeling on the ground.
