BOOM, FLAAASH!

A ray of light struck the magic tower. Sparks came off the equipment attached to the transmitter as light particles gathered. The light particles that moved along the complicated tangle of glass tubes soon transformed into the shape of a person atop a magic circle.

It was a normal-looking youth, which was actually rare in the virtual reality game where 90% of players changed their appearances. He really couldn't be called handsome, and there was a surprising grain of truth in calling him ugly; this incomparably vague character's name was Ark.

"Pant, pant, arrived at last... bleh, BLEECH!"

Ark retched with a green face.

"I thought I was gonna go mad. I've never even been carsick, this is really..."

From Jackson to Giran, letter movement only took 3 minutes. That was the time it took for cup noodles to become done at the perfect state for eating. But that mere 3 minutes dealt Ark mental damage that he didn't want to experience a second time. Still, it was quite fresh and fun at first. When he turned into particles of light, it felt just like he was leaving his body. The sense of weightlessly becoming one with the air! Since he was cutting through the sky in such a state, it was like he had become wind. Everyone has probably imagined it once; becoming a wisp of wind and speeding over mountains, valleys, and plains. That imagination had become reality.

"Woaaaah, this is awesome!"

That sense of liberation! That freedom!

A cheer burst out of him as he looked at the scenery that was speeding past. But it didn't even take 10 seconds for his cheer to turn into a scream.

The sudden jumps, dives, and turns that unfurled!

Would riding a rollercoaster without the seat belt feel like this? No, it felt like being in a cocktail cup being swished around by a bartender. He jolted from side to side, and the sky and ground flipped countless times...

It still seemed like the floor was shaking underneath him, so he couldn't even stand up straight.

'Dammit, what the hell is this frickin' over the top reality!'

"Are you Ark?"

He heard a rough voice from behind him. Turning around with sunken eyes, he saw an old Magician with a beard that fell to his chest approaching him.

"Do you know me?"

"I just received word from the Jackson Magic Institute. But I knew of your name before that, from the crewmen of the Silver Arrow who arrived a few days ahead of you."

"Ah, did they arrive well?"

"Of course. They couldn't come meet you because they're out on other business, but they told me to send you their greetings." The old Magician laughed awkwardly as he shrugged his shoulders. "But it looks like you're not in any shape to ask aftertheirhealth. Are you okay?"

"Honestly, I can't really say that I'm alright."

"Well, letter movement is still in the testing stage, so it couldn't have been a comfortable journey."

"It's not just at the level of not being comfortable though?"

"Apparently the weather was particularly bad today so letter movement was also several times more unstable than normal. Even if we are the Magic Institute, we can't do anything about the weather. So to speak, you had bad luck."

"Ah, is that so? Thanks so much for your kind explanation. Why didn't you tell me that a few days earlier?"

Ark glared at the old Magician who was smiling as he explained. But even if his insides were heaving, Ark wasn't one to talk carelessly to a NPC.

The Magic Institute reward that he'd been waiting and waiting for was right in front of him. There was no reason to complain and lower the Magic Institute NPC's mood.

"But ah, the promised..."

Just when Ark was about to gingerly bring up the topic at hand, the old magician slapped his knee as if he had just remembered.

.

"Ah, just look at my state of mind. Introductions are late. My name is Bargenhart Shannen. I'm the president of the Giran Magic Institute."

'The Giran Magic Institute president?'

Ark swallowed what he was about to say and stared in surprise at the old magician, Shannen.

There were about 20 Magic Institute branches set up throughout the large cities of Schudenberg Kingdom. The Giran Magic Institute was the place that centralized all those branches. Therefore, it meant the Giran Magic Institute president was the NPC who had the highest status amongst the Magicians of Schudenberg Kingdom. You'd have to be a guild master affiliated with the Magic Institute to meet this top NPC.

"If it's fine with you, can you spare some time to drink a cup of tea?"

"Of course."

Ark hastily drew out his business smile as he nodded.

Truth be told, he wasn't in the mood to leisurely share idle prattle. Leaving the nausea from the aftereffects of the letter movement aside, Ark was only interested in the Magic Institute's reward right now. But in both reality and the game, personal connections were the most important aspect. What's more, it was hard for a normal player to even glimpse this high ranking NPC's face, and he had amiably approached Ark first. There was no reason to refuse.

You had to make an impression on people in lofty positions first. Also, in light of his experience so far, there was a 90% chance that a situation like this was connected to a quest.

"I was just wanting a steamy cup of tea because my stomach isn't feeling so well."

"That's a relief."

Shannen pointed to one side and a door on the opposite side automatically opened. A table with refreshments was prepared in an tidy room that emitted the atmosphere of a study.

"The heroism I heard of from the former bosun of the Silver Arrow, Jabel, made a very deep impression." said Shannen slowly as he raised his teacup. "Not only did you remember in such a crazy situation and rescue the crewmen, but you also nursed the refugees out of your own accord even though no one forced you to, yes? Everyone knows that they were the right things to do and that they should do them, but it's not easy to actually take action. I was truly touched."

"I'm flattered."

"No, no. That was something anyone would praise. Is that all? The ingeniousness and boldness you displayed when succeeding an impossible operation by using the Spear of Thor was incredible enough to make me immodestly burst into a cheer. Well, though the Spear of Thor which cost thousands of Gold to make was broken beyond repair thanks to that."

"That... I'm sorry."

Ark watched Shannen with a guilty expression. 'Surely he's not asking me to pay for it?'

Thankfully Shannen wasn't thinking about it so seriously and burst into jolly laughter. "Hahaha, I didn't bring it up to blame you. An item has to be used where it's needed to get your money's worth. There's no point if you spend ten thousand Gold to make it but you don't spend it where necessary. In any case, your deeds were great enough that it's not out of place to call you a hero. However, that is not the reason I took an interest in you. It was actually what you did after that."

"Huh? After that?"

"You took 1st place in contribution in this operation, right?"

"How did you know that?" Ark asked back in a slightly surprised voice.

Since he had the Magic Institute's Badge on him, of course the Magic Institute would be able to check how much contribution he had accumulated. Only then would they be able to prepare a reward suitable for the contribution points. But Ark hadn't fathomed that Shannen would be aware of the ranking when even the Lord of Jackson hadn't known.

With a faint smile, Shannen lowered his voice. "The 3 Great Guilds are a larger and more massive organization than you know. You might have thought you didn't reveal yourself, but the Magic Institute, the Warrior Guild, and the Merchant Guild have memorized the name of Ark. Although, I can't say if that is a good or bad thing for you."

The NPCs of New World were really not to be underestimated.

Ark hadn't registered his contribution ranking in the Hall of Fame. Of course, he had been certain that the only ones who knew that would be himself and Global Exos. However, it seemed that it wasn't such a simple issue.

Besides the historical background, New World was no different from reality. Unlike existing games, the NPCs here didn't just move and think based on the information they were given. Like people in reality, they were existences with perfect AIs that thought and gathered necessary information on their own initiative. Like players, the experiences and thoughts of these NPCs produced variables separate from the system.

'To think such a thing would be possible...'

Actually, Ha Myung-woo had already explained something like this in the reception room before. But hearing the explanation and experiencing it yourself was a completely different feeling.

'Well, I didn't register in the Hall of Fame because I didn't want to attract the attention of the players...'

It wasn't much of a problem if an NPC knew. No, this could be a good thing, since there would be more NPCs like Shannen who approached him while praising Ark's contribution.

"That's why I definitely wanted to meet you. Just why did you hide the fact that you took 1st place? And why did you suddenly hide yourself, not even showing up while the foreigners who rose to the top 10, including Sir Alan, were all being praised? Can you tell me why?"

"There wasn't a great reason for it. There wasn't really a reason to hide, but I didn't want to put myself out there and show off. Shall I say that I didn't have the confidence to deal with the attention I would receive from it? I just did my best with what I was given, and I was more than satisfied enough with the fact that I helped."

"It's just as I imagined. Admirable! I don't know about others, but I rate that attitude highly. It is never easy for a hot-blooded young man to control his ambition." Shannen nodded with a satisfied expression. Then he continued in a low voice, "In fact, I've been waiting for a person like you."

"What?"

"A warrior with the strength and courage to win in any situation, no matter how difficult, and also has the prudence to keep a secret. I thought that such a person would be able to listen to my concern. How about it? Are you such a person?"

'As expected!'

Ark's eyes glittered. He was right on the mark with his guess that this might be linked to a quest. Without delay, Ark gave the answer Shannen wanted to hear.

"Of course. I am always prepared to hear the concern of another person. In addition, I don't like speaking out in front of others, so no one will know my requester's trouble."

A request is always welcome! A thorough guarantee to safeguard the customer's information!

Ark presented words that were like the advertisement phrases of a moneylender.

It seemed like he scratched the itch properly. Shannen nodded in satisfaction. "Good, you're very much to my liking. Then let's get right to the point. I'll tell you this in advance, but this is a very delicate problem. It could easily deal a fatal blow to the Magic Institute's status if it were to get out. However, I'll believe in the actions you showed in Jackson and tell you."

'Ah, how long is he intending to go around and around dodging the point?'

Around the point when his annoyance was slowly boiling up, Shannen finally brought up the main subject. "The issue I want to discuss with you is about a stolen artifact."

"An artifact?"

"It's called the Heartsoul Bead. As one of the ancient relics, it is a dangerous item imbued with powerful and ominous magic. If this artifact were to fall into the hands of evil, there is no knowing what kind of horrible calamity it will bring about. That's why it is something that the Magic Institute has been sealing away since long ago... one year ago, it vanished completely."

Listening to the explanation, Ark tilted his head. "The Magic Institute is an extremely large organization, right?"

"Of course. It is a guild with 70 branches all over the continent. If you add in the sub-guilds founded by foreigners, then there's too many to count."

"Then are you saying that the Magic Institute wasn't able to find it for a year even with such power?"

"That's..." Shannen shook his head, looking troubled. "I understand your question. However, the Magic Institute is in a position where we cannot openly look for the Heartsoul Bead."

"What do you mean?"

"The Heartsoul Bead was being guarded by the Magic Institute, but strictly speaking, it doesn't belong to the Magic Institute. A long time ago, the Schudenberg Royal Family requested that the Magic Institute safeguard it. If it gets known that the Heartsoul Bead was stolen, the Magic Institute will have to take responsibility and will be put into a very difficult situation. That is why we couldn't openly seek the location of the artifact."

"So in the end, you mean that maintaining the secret you entrusted to me and being careful is so that the Royal Family doesn't find out."

"It's not just the Royal Family."

"Huh?"

"We have to be more careful of the Warrior Guild and the Merchant Guild than the Royal Family."

Shannen went on to explain that even if the Schudenburg Royal Family were to find out, they could use political force to soothe them to a certain degree. The Magic Institute had that much influence. But those methods wouldn't work on the Warrior Guild and the Merchant Guild, who wielded influence rivaling the Magic Institute. On the surface, the 3 Great Guilds solved the continent's problems while holding hands, but they were actually rivals waging a cutthroat power struggle. If they were to find out about the artifact robbery, there was no knowing what kind of ridiculous demand either guild might impose using the incident as an excuse.

'Hmm, I'm roughly starting to understand the power structure of New World.'

The relationship between the Schudenberg Kingdom and the 3 Great Guilds... the worldview of the New World that surrounded Ark was slowly becoming more complicated. It wasn't just New World, but most online games had a unique worldview. There were power relations between the various organizations and countries that existed within the game.

Of course, there was no need for you to give yourself headaches thinking about it in your beginner days. In addition, the power relations didn't often affect the players. But the situation would change as your level grew higher and you did harder quests. Depending on how the worldview was set up, situations would branch into countless choices, and the player's experience would be affected based on their choice. For example, doing a quest for Party A could make you the enemy of Party B.

However, Ark didn't think about it too seriously. 'I can't be afraid to build a house for fear of splinters.'

There was still more he didn't know about New World then what he did know. With the little knowledge he had, he was in no position to shirk this and that. No matter how realistic it was, New World was an online game; what the player Ark had to do and what he was interested in wouldn't change.

He would solve the quest given to him and receive a reward!

There was a need to know the NPC's inside story in order to solve a quest, but there was no reason for it to get more serious than that. Though of course, he needed to make a serious expression in front of the NPC...

"It seems like you have many concerns."

"Indeed, it has been a year since the Heartsoul Bead was stolen; it seems that the Warrior Guild and the Merchant Guild have gotten wind of it. They haven't been frankly expressing their suspicion yet, but if they've caught on, then the secret won't be kept for much longer. More so if we flounder to openly look for the artifact, of course."

"So that's why you're asking me, someone who has no direct relationship with the Magic Institute."

"That's exactly right. You proved that you aren't one to betray someone's trust because of greed with the Jackson incident. I can believe you and entrust it to you. How about it? Do you think you can help?"

"I have never turned away from a person seeking help"

"Are you saying you'll accept?"

"Of course. If it is an item that could bring about disaster to the world, we have to recover it no matter what. However, I don't know where to start since there aren't any clues."

"I wouldn't have even brought it up to you if we didn't have a clue."

"Is there something?"

"It's something that happened a while back. The Guards took care of one of the thieves that had infiltrated Giran, but something like this came from him. The Guards felt magic power from it, so they asked the Magic Institute to examine it."

Shannen showed him a small shard of iron that glittered with silver luster.

"This is...?"

"It's a shard that fell off the Ward that was sealing the Heartsoul Bead."

"So that means someone among the thieves around Giran stole the Heartsoul Bead."

"Indeed."

"Are there any other clues?"

"Unfortunately, that's all we currently know."

Ark sighed at Shannen's answer. One of the thief gangs around the extensive Giran had the artifact. Wasn't that information as vague as telling him to find a grain of sand in a desert?

'Well, whatever. There must be some way to solve it since I received the quest.'

Ark had intended to immerse himself in hunting around Giran for a while anyways. Rather than thoughtlessly hunting, he would be more motivated if there was some kind of objective. Moreover, the quest was about something very serious. Since it was such an important matter, that meant he could expect a considerable reward if he solved it. There was no reason to refuse.

"I'll do my best."

As Ark nodded, the quest information window popped up.

Find the Heartsoul Bead!