Chapter 368: Oder’s Quest
*Zzzzzzzzz*
Dusk was sprawled across the twenty-seventh stair, his chest rising and falling in a deep, peaceful rhythm as he dreamed of endless feasts and feline companions.
*THUD*
“WHAT THE-!?” Dusk shrieked, his fur standing on end as he scrambled into a defensive crouch, claws unsheathed and eyes blown wide at the sudden impact.
Through the thinning remnants of the vapor, he saw a familiar figure. Leon sat heavily on the stone, his chest heaving slightly as he exhaled the last of the stale air he’d been holding.
Without a word, Leon reached into his inventory, pulled out the Frobolusent’s journal, and flipped it open with practiced urgency.
“M-Master…? You are back?” Dusk asked, his posture relaxing into a confused slump.
“Don’t get scared, it’s the real me. You aren’t inside an illusion,” Leon replied distractedly, his eyes scanning the ancient text.
’I made her read some of its pages, watching her read the pages gave me the context I needed. I’ve deciphered enough of the dialect to make sense of this mess.’ Leon thought with a neutral expression.
He turned to the thirty-seventh page and began to read.
[Day 7]
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It’s been a while since I entered this Dungeon, it seems very huge and has many floors. There are creatures here far more stronger than us Frobolusents, and I am on the 8th floor right now or that’s what the voice in my head is saying.
The voice in my head guided me to this dungeon and now it’s telling me everything about what floor this is and what kind of creatures live here. It says that this is the 8th floor and the creatures living here are called, Valu-mecent mongers.
The voice says I should stay away from them and only move when they aren’t looking at me. It says they can’t see still objects, and if they saw me moving, I will die instantly.
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“Valu-mecent mongers… Interesting,” Leon whispered, his thumb catching the edge of the page to flip it.
[Day 10]
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It’s already day ten… I have used two out of three green crystals to come to the fourth floor. I don’t know how long I will be able to hold myself. I haven’t eaten anything in three days and there is this mist coming out of the room that keeps calling me towards her.
The voice in my head is warning me to not go near the mist or it will consume me, but I am hungry and my mind is not working at all. I think using the last crystal to go back to the 8th floor is the wisest choice right now, but then it makes my purpose nil.
If I walked out of this dungeon without a solution for the Trulao-himsta, my race will be wiped out of existence. I have to keep exploring and find out more about this dungeon and the creatures that live in it.
The voice says the solution is in here somewhere.
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’Trulao-himsta? Is that some kind of plague or disease he was trying to cure?’ Leon’s brow furrowed. ’And what is that voice? It doesn’t seem like the mist’s trickery if it was actively guiding him away from danger.’
He paused, a discrepancy gnawing at him.
’The floor numbers… he says he’s on the 4th floor, but we’re on the 3rd. Lesarath said the Mongers were on the 7th, but this guy says the 8th. Does that mean there’s another level above the resting area, or has the dungeon shifted over time?’
He turned to the next entry.
[Day 11]
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I walked into the room of the mist even though the voice inside my head kept warning me. The mist entered inside my mind and created some really serious illusions, I had food and I was back at home, no one was dying and everyone was happy.
But it didn’t last long… The voice inside my head overpowered her and woke me up from the illusion.
As soon as I woke up, I felt hunger once again and all of my memories rushed back into my head, even the painful ones.
The mist started talking to me as I was writing this. I thought it was an illusion, but it wasn’t.
That’s when she offered me a deal. She offered me knowledge… She said she knows everything about the dungeon and will tell me about it, if I surrender myself to her.
I accepted.
__________________________________
Leon’s fingers flew through the following pages. They were no longer personal entries, they were dense, clinical observations.
Maps of traps, biological weaknesses of monsters on some floors, and shortcuts through the dark, the Frobolusent has traded his soul for a dungeon guide.
Finally, Leon reached the final entry on the last page.
[Day 20]
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I am definitely losing my strength and my senses. The voice in my head is shouting and telling me to get out of here.
It says it can save me, but do I want to be saved? I don’t know the answer to this.
Something is wrong with my mind… It’s ignoring all the warnings of the voice and only wants pleasure now, that the mist has already promised me. I have written down everything about this dungeon in this journal and wish that someone from my tribe finds it and brings back the solution to my kingdom.
The time estimation of my kingdom no, my race’s survival is around eight hundred years from today. I don’t know if you are from my kingdom or even from my race, but if you are reading this… I give you the responsibility to take back this book and hand it over to the king of my kingdom.
If you are not from my race and bring back this book to my kingdom… We will share something very precious with you, the recipe to make the most powerful elixir in this world, {The Crimson Flame Elixir}.
My name is Oder and I belong to the Kinhuna Kingdom. This was my life’s purpose and I have completed it.
Now… I give up.
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Leon closed the book, the heavy thud echoing in the quiet stairwell. He looked down at the mist he had just conquered, then back at the journal.
*Ting*
[SUB-QUEST DETECTED!!]
[Name: Oder’s Quest]
[Rank: B]
[Description: Take Oder’s journal back to Kinhuna Kingdom and hand it over to them.]
[Reward: Recipe to {The Crimson Flame Elixir}]
[Sub-Reward: Specific clue for the Quest {Find and Fix}]
[Time limit: 178 Years]
[Would you like to accept the Quest ?] [Yes/No ?]
“The Crimson Flame Elixir,” Leon murmured in a low voice.
“Eight hundred years… I wonder if there’s anything left of your kingdom to claim that reward, Oder.”
[QUEST ACCEPTED!!]
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