A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 874 - 615 Northern Land

"Respected adventurer, I apologize for the intrusion amidst your busy schedule, but a crisis is currently ravaging the Northern Land. The Wailing Death—a terrible plague has swept across the entire Northern Land, and even Neverwinter City, the jewel atop the crown of the Northern Land, has been tarnished because of it.

Thus, here I am, hoping that you—a distinguished warrior and adventurer—can lend your strength to Neverwinter City and save this city, as well as the innocent people of the Northern Land who are suffering. If you are willing to accept the invitation, please take this letter and proceed to the Lord’s Mansion in Neverwinter City, where we will welcome your arrival..."

Duanmu Huai put down the letter in his hand and looked ahead.

"That being said, isn’t this mission a failure?"

Standing on the street covered with thick white snow, Duanmu Huai muttered in confusion. After that, he and Ogis had arrived in this world through a portal, and then Duanmu Huai received this letter—according to logic, even if the system assigned this identity to Duanmu Huai in this world, all he had to do next was to find the person according to the mission.

However, no sooner had Duanmu Huai finished reading the letter than the system "thudded" a notification that the [Mission Failed].

Well, damn, just got here and it’s already over? What kind of nonsense is this?

Speechless, Duanmu Huai could nonetheless understand. After all, players often encountered such situations, considering Star Ocean Online’s emphasis on a dynamic model. The so-called dynamic means that whether or not the players act does not affect whether the world itself moves. So it’s not like in many games where, despite the world being on the brink of destruction, players can still find time to play cards with the tavern keeper before opening a boss fight, the latter foolishly waiting for them.

If you don’t act swiftly and instead indulge in playing cards with the tavern keeper, the world really could be destroyed.

Novice’s Village is the best example.

The mission markers were urgent, but players didn’t take it seriously. In the end, Novice’s Village exploded on the spot, and all the players got screwed.

The missions on the Mercenary system work the same way. At the time when a mission is issued, that world has already encountered problems, and from then on, whether or not players attend, the world will continue to advance the storyline on its own. Therefore, players who enter early can understand the ins and outs of the situation. Those who arrive late are left bewildered.

However, this also led players to devise a new strategy, which was to enter a given commission mission right when it starts and then find an opportunity to fully investigate the background of the story. Then, when other players come, they can narrate the investigation to the newcomers. Quite a few players enjoy doing this, feeling as if they’ve become like the wise NPC in the game who explains the background to the protagonist—it’s quite interesting..."

Anyway, better head to the Lord’s Mansion first. Duanmu Huai’s purpose in coming here was not to complete the mission but to find a way to counteract the Corrupted Foil. The failure of the mission simply meant that the other party had not resolved the issue, hence Duanmu Huai could be the one to solve it.

Duanmu Huai glanced at Ogis, who was sitting calmly on his shoulder, watching the surroundings, and strode forward.

It must be said that the state of the city looked even worse than the cities ravaged by the rat plague he had encountered in Novice’s Village. The streets were littered with corpses, and in some open areas, the bodies piled up like mountains, emitting plumes of black smoke that billowed into the sky from the flames.

The streets were deserted, with not even patrol guards in sight, save for the occasional buildings that seemed to be burning and collapsing, as if still clinging to some last vestige of life.

Luckily, when Duanmu Huai reached Central Square, guards finally stopped them.

"Hold on, who are you?! The area has been completely sealed off, forbidding entry or exit to anyone!"

Seeing Duanmu Huai in front of them, the guards were quite nervous, but they still called out loudly. Duanmu Huai then extended his hand and passed the letter. The latter, taking the letter carefully, read it, and then he sighed in relief.

"So you were invited by Lady Eribeth... Come on, you’re the last to arrive." freēwēbnovel.com

One of the guards turned and led Duanmu Huai inside, and he also explained the situation of the city to him.

Just as the letter had stated, an epidemic called the Wailing Death had broken out in Neverwinter City, and true to its name, everyone infected with the plague died painfully amidst wails and cries. Lord Nasher attempted to find the cause of the problem, but even he became infected and had to isolate himself in the castle.

In this situation, Lord Nasher’s right-hand man, Tyler the Sacred Knight Eribeth, stepped forward, gathering people to maintain order and attempting to save Neverwinter City, looking for a cure for the plague. The efforts of Sacred Knight Eribeth were indeed fruitful, as she discovered four creatures that could be used to treat the plague. All that was left was to perform a ritual to combine the ingredients into a medicine that could save the city and perhaps the Northern Land as well.

At this point, Duanmu Huai knew there was a twist, since his mission had already failed.

And sure enough, what followed was the "but" part.

The night before the ritual was to be conducted, a group of mysterious assailants attacked the Lord’s Mansion, killing many adventurers gathered by Eribeth, and during the chaos, the creatures meant for curing the plague escaped.