Vol 1 Chapter 25

"But the god I serve is not Lugh, the god of healing, love, and compassion, but Skaga, the god of battle and punishment. I'm one of the few remaining servants of the god, so it's honestly unavoidable that you haven't seen one before. But even though I may look like this now, in my heyday, I never lost to even the most skilled swordsmen."

"What? Is that really true?"

As Kion stood there in disbelief, the old man stood up and waved his hand, gesturing for him to follow.

"You seem like a very kind person. I think you might be able to believe. Would you like to discuss the teachings of Skaga with me?"

At that moment, a semi-transparent notification window appeared in front of Kion with a ding.

- You have received an invitation to the path of 'Priest of the Battle God' from Magor, a priest of a forgotten god. Do you accept?

Surprised by reading that notification, Kion, overwhelmed by the old man's strength he had just experienced, found himself nodding without realizing it.

"Ah, yes..."

Ding.

- The quest 'Prove the Power of a Forgotten God' has begun.

"...Huh?"

After that, Kion was dragged along without properly realizing it was a job change quest, engaged in conversation, and after an endless dialogue that could have been an ethics test or a philosophy test, he ended up receiving his current job without being able to do anything about it.

"...It was just recently that I found out the quest that started then was actually an S-rank or higher quest of enormous scale."

Hyung continued speaking with a slightly furrowed brow, as if in distress.

"I don't know if that old geezer pulled me in knowing how indecisive I am... But the next step of that quest I received today is, get this, to fly to a city in the western part of the Mist continent I've never heard of and deal with an enormous amount of troublesome tasks. And it doesn't even seem to end there."

Kapros had actually thought hyung's personality, far from being indecisive, was very suitable for a cleric, being affectionate, expressive, and prone to acting strongly for others. He had no idea there were circumstances like this...

"So do you have to leave right now?"

Kapros asked blankly. Hyung lowered his eyes.

"I think I have to."

But Kapros grasped at hope.

"Then I could go with you..."

"...No, you can't."

With a pained expression, hyung ruffled his hair vigorously.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what this is all about either... But you're just starting your 4th class, right? I know you won't be able to leave the tower until you finish it. And... this damn quest turns out to be for solo progression. Hahaha."

"But you said it was S-rank?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"Can't you give it up?"

Surely, that quest reward...

But that was just Kapros's shallow thinking.

"Kar."

Hyung's eyes sharpened.

"You know, even though that old man is just an NPC that exists only in the game, I didn't want to dismiss him as just that. The decisive reason I accepted this job and quest was because of their sad story. It's just a game, but... if I can, I want to help those people through this quest."

Kapros, who had thought he could finally relax his mind...

"I'll definitely solve this damn quest quickly and come find you again."

"..."

"Don't make that face, kid. It's not like someone's really leaving forever. Hahaha. I'll finish it as quickly as possible, so until then, you just need to focus on magic to become the best mage. Who knows, I might solve everything and come back in the blink of an eye while you're concentrating?"

Kion-hyung laughed lightly and ruffled Kapros's hair, but Kapros felt his heart keep wavering, feeling like he wouldn't see the person he had become closest to in a very long time. But Mist was just a game after all... As hyung said, who knew if he might solve it and come back in just a week?

Still, he couldn't help feeling depressed at the thought of losing someone he had been seeing for most of each day. It seemed he had grown quite attached to Kion-hyung during this time.

"Will we really be able to see each other again?"

When Kapros asked after a long while, hyung smiled.

"Of course. Definitely. I'll leave the security of this city to you, so take good care of it while I'm off having fun elsewhere, okay?"

What security, deciding on his own. Kapros smirked and nodded.

"Then..."

Whoosh!

Kion-hyung seemed about to say something, but finally waved his hand and disappeared with a flash of light.

"..."

Kapros couldn't leave and kept staring at the spot where hyung had vanished like a dream without a proper goodbye. There was an emptiness in a corner of his heart. But if hyung had asked for his real home address or email address, Kapros would probably have refused. Thinking about it that way, he felt it was rather fortunate that hyung had left quickly with the nuance of coming back soon without asking anything. Hyung probably knew that and spoke that way.

"..."

The feeling of being alone again and standing on the street felt as heavy and cold as his immobile right leg when he logged out.

From that day on, Kapros started focusing solely on magic again. Except for occasional hunting trips to recharge money and walks around the city, he was holed up in the tower all the time. Whatever was happening outside was none of his concern. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he tried not to care.

In any case, as Mist approached its six-month mark, it had become virtually the undisputed best VT game. Other game companies had started to cry out in distress, but unless they could create a game with technology surpassing THE MIST, there was no possibility of changing the solidified situation. Even Korea, known as the top VT powerhouse, was in this state, so the situation in other countries was even more obvious. It was inevitable. Gamers could no longer escape from the world of Mist.