Chapter 81 -81-A New Hidden Quest!

Chapter 81: Chapter81-A New Hidden Quest!

John barely needed to think.

"I’m not leaving."

Loki was visibly stunned.

"Not leaving?"

"Of course not."

John didn’t even hesitate internally.

What a joke.

Go back?

He had finally managed to get himself onto the front line.

What was here?

The Dark Realm.

Countless monsters.

Countless BOSSes.

The Military Merit treasury.

And an [Eternal Night Gate] that led directly into another world!

Forget everything else.

Yesterday’s battle alone.

Had already pushed him all the way from Lv31 to Lv35.

It had also dropped piles of high-rank equipment.

He had even obtained his first permanent BOSS talent through [Plunder].

A place this good.

And you want me to leave?

Go back to Sunset City for what?

So the Church could keep investigating him?

Or so he could go back and sit in prison?

Of course.

He obviously couldn’t say any of that out loud.

John thought for a moment.

Then dug through the depths of his memory and pulled out a few lines he vaguely remembered from some hot-blooded anime he had watched long ago.

He raised his head.

His gaze gradually became "deep."

"I didn’t come here."

"Because I was waiting for the day I could leave."

Loki’s eyes shifted.

John continued.

"Only when I stand before a truly powerful enemy..."

"Can I truly feel that I’m alive."

The military tent fell silent.

John’s expression remained perfectly calm.

Inside.

He was already dying of embarrassment.

Fuck.

That was so damn edgy.

I should’ve just said, "I want to earn more Military Merit."

However.

What John didn’t know was—

The way Loki looked at him had completely changed.

At first.

There had only been appreciation.

Then surprise.

And now...

Within those eyes that had witnessed countless wars and long since grown somewhat dull.

A spark was slowly reigniting.

"Only before a truly powerful enemy..."

Loki repeated quietly.

"Can you truly feel alive..."

The next second.

Bang!

A massive hand slammed heavily onto the table!

"Good!"

John jumped.

But Loki had already burst out laughing.

"Good!"

"Hahahaha!"

"I knew I hadn’t misjudged you!"

"I told you!"

"When has my eye for people ever been wrong?!"

The more Loki spoke.

The more excited he became.

Then he suddenly seemed to remember something.

His expression darkened.

"That little bastard Rudy!"

"He had someone like you right beside him."

"And he still never introduced you to me earlier!"

"When he gets back, I’m kicking his ass into next week!"

John: "..."

Wait.

Did you misunderstand something?

He had just opened his mouth.

When Loki stepped forward.

And grabbed his hand firmly.

"Endbringer!"

"I’ve been in Dawnstar City for many years."

"I’ve met countless people."

"But someone like you, who stays purely for the sake of challenging stronger enemies—"

"Rare!"

"Far too rare!"

The more Loki spoke.

The harder he squeezed John’s hand.

John’s expression gradually became unnatural.

"Brother..."

"Mind letting go first?"

Loki didn’t hear him at all.

Instead.

His other hand came down heavily on John’s shoulder.

Smack!

"I’ve decided!"

John: "?"

"Decided what?"

Loki grinned.

"There’s been a mission I haven’t known who to assign to."

"But now."

"It looks like there’s no one more suitable than you."

For some reason.

John suddenly had a bad feeling.

The next second.

A familiar system notification rang beside his ear.

[Ding!]

[Dawnstar City Supreme Commander "Loki Horn" has greatly increased his Favorability toward you!]

[Loki Horn has issued you an A-rank Hidden Quest!]

[Accept?]

John’s eyes lit up.

A hidden quest?

And A-rank at that?

He immediately opened it.

[Hidden Quest: Behind Enemy Lines]

[Quest Quality: A]

[Quest Background:]

[According to the latest intelligence from Dawnstar City’s frontline scouts, the Dark Realm is once again mobilizing large-scale legions and attempting to continuously transport troops toward the Eternal Night Gate through the teleportation array network in Night City.]

[Once the Dark Realm completes this mobilization, Dawnstar City will face a large-scale war far greater than the previous one within a short period of time.]

[Human reinforcements have not yet completed their assembly.]

[You must lead an advance team through the Eternal Night Gate, venture deep into the Night City region of the Dark Realm, and sabotage the enemy’s teleportation network to buy sufficient time for the Human Realm!]

[Quest Requirements:]

[1. Destroy five large-scale legion teleportation arrays in Night City.]

[2. Ensure that at least one member of the advance team successfully returns to the Human Realm.]

[Time Remaining: 8 hours.]

[Quest Rewards:]

[Any Item ×1 from the Dawnstar City Treasury.]

[Large Amount of Military Merit.]

[Special Area Death Penalty: After entering the Dark Realm, if the player dies, they will be forcibly logged out immediately and will be unable to log back into Apocalypse for 24 hours in real-world time.]

The casual look on John’s face.

Gradually disappeared.

The Dark Realm.

He was really going into the Dark Realm?

When he first obtained the [Dark Realm Pass].

He had already suspected.

That sooner or later, he would truly enter that world.

He just hadn’t expected.

That day would come so soon.

And this wasn’t going to be a quick trip around the Eternal Night Gate before coming back.

He was going directly behind enemy lines.

Into Night City.

To blow up five teleportation arrays!

Most importantly—

Night City.

That clearly wasn’t some ordinary wilderness zone.

Judging from the quest description.

It was obviously an important city on the Dark Realm side.

Which meant.

He finally wouldn’t have to stand around in the Human Realm waiting for BOSSes to come to him.

He could go looking for them himself!

John immediately recalled the intelligence he had previously heard in Dawnstar City.

There was an unspoken balance in the war between the two realms.

Near the Eternal Night Gate.

Legionbreaker Tier beings could still appear as commanders.

But true Citybreaker Tier powerhouses would normally avoid stepping onto the enemy’s front line.

Because the moment a being of that level made a move.

The nature of the war would completely change.

Both sides would immediately escalate.

And in the end.

An entire city—

Or even an entire region—

Could be destroyed outright.

So.

If John remained on the Human Realm side.

It would be extremely difficult to encounter a true Citybreaker Tier BOSS.

But what if—

He entered the Dark Realm himself?

That would be completely different.

That was their territory.

Forget Citybreaker Tier.

It wouldn’t be strange for something even stronger to appear.

John stared at the quest panel.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Loki assumed he was weighing the danger of the mission.

His voice became solemn.

"Endbringer."

"This mission is extremely dangerous."

"Night City is not an ordinary battlefield outside Dawnstar City."

"Once you enter that place, the support we can provide will be extremely limited."

"And once your identity is exposed—"

"You won’t be facing just one army."

"You may end up facing the entire Night City."

Loki’s expression became deadly serious.

"So."

"You still have time to back out."