As Blue Maple was late by close to an hour and Crippled Feather was the center of attention for that hour, he was about to go crazy. When he saw the strolling Blue Maple, it was already quite a feat that he didnât go up to kill Blue Maple.
âAre these people here to see you?â Blue Mapleâs greatest attribute was that he was practically immune to anyone cursing him. At the same time, he took out a drink in a bamboo bottle. As he consumed the drink, he looked at the people around him.
âYou! You are here to compete with me and to submit the quest. Please be more serious!â Crippled Feather was already shouting.
âI know,â Blue Maple answered. At the same time, he passed his quest plaque to the NPC under the furious glare of Crippled Feather.
âAlright, please wait a minute. Iâll tabulate the numbers.â The NPC took out another quest plaque just as she finished speaking with Blue Maple. Obviously, the second plaque belonged to Crippled Feather. After this, both plaques shone with dim white lights in the NPCâs hand. It was noon time, so the lights werenât very bright in comparison.
Blue Maple also took the opportunity to look around him. There are really a lot of people here. Seems like they are here to join in the crowd. There are truly a lot of people who are too bored.
âOh?â Blue Maple was suddenly startled as he was sipping his drink through a straw.
He had discovered that there was a beautiful lady in the crowd jumping up and down while waving her hands at him. After that⌠Blue Maple continued to sip his drink and pretend that he had not seen her. He also turned his head in another direction.
Crippled Feather was also astonished when he saw how Blue Maple reacted. He turned his head in the direction that Blue Maple was looking earlier. He discovered an angry but pretty girl rushing over from that direction. On closer look, that girl appeared rather familiar...
Just as Crippled Feather was pondering whether he knew this girl, the NPC had already gotten the numbers. The comparison was complete.
âAlright, I already know the results. ItâsâŚâ Before the NPC could even finish speaking, she was interrupted.
âLittle Gangster, whatâs wrong with you? Why did you act like you didnât see me?â The voice came from Blue Snow, who was quite incensed.
Not only were the NPC and Crippled Feather confused by this sudden outburst, the players around were also equally astonished.
They were just about to learn the result after having waited for an hour, but Blue Snow suddenly barged in and interrupted the proceedings. If not for the fact that she was pretty, everyone around would have cursed at her.
âDo you know her?â Crippled Feather asked Blue Maple. He sounded a little startled. He knew Blue Snowâs true identity. After all, assassins were highly aware of information regarding people with wealthy backgrounds like Blue Snow. He would be even more informed about someone like her.
âNo.â Blue Maple acted like he didnât really know her.
ââŚâŚâ Crippled Feather.
ââŚâŚâ The NPC.
ââŚâŚâ The surrounding players.
ââŚâŚâ Blue Snow. Blue Snow was angry as she exclaimed, âLittle Gangster, you are such a big liar! You even secretly snuck away that night!â
âOh!â the surrounding players exclaimed.
âŚâŚ
âThis idiot.â Blue Maple was speechless. How is it that she dares to say something so misleading?
Crippled Feather observed Blue Mapleâs weird expression. There was a tinge of respect in his eyes, and his hostility dipped slightly.
âEh?! No, I donât mean that. Itâs just thatâŚâ Blue Snow suddenly turned red. She knew that she had said something wrong. She immediately tried to defend herself, but Blue Maple instantly stuffed a new bottle into her mouth to shut her up.
Things will get even worse if I let this idiot continue speaking. Blue Maple was thinking of this as he stuffed it into her mouth.
Whereas Blue Snow also coordinated with him by lowering her head and sucking on the unknown drink. She seemed to realize that she would only explain herself into a worse situation if she continued trying to prove her innocence. The self-blaming look that she wore right now was rather cute, but Blue Maple didnât notice it.
Blue Maple quickly switched the topic and said to the NPC, âAnnounce the results.â
âOh, about that, the winner of the challenge mode isâŚâ the NPC intentionally tried to build suspense.
The surrounding players eagerly held their breath.
âThe player who came back later!â The NPC didnât mention Blue Mapleâs name. Blue Maple heaved a small sigh of relief. Although he knew that an NPC wouldnât reveal a playersâ name, he was still slightly worried. As for the result, Blue Maple wasnât too concerned about it. After all, this was just fun and games to him.
âWhat? How is that possible? How could he have possibly won when he took so much longer to return?â
âImpossible. The difference in timing is too huge.â
âGive an explanation. Otherwise, we wonât be convinced.â
âYes, give an explanation. I placed five gold coins on Crippled Feather to win!â...
All the surrounding players started to become unsettled. Even Blue Snow appeared curious. How did Blue Maple win even though he returned so late?
âReason?â Crippled Feather was also a little indignant as he asked. Although he knew that Blue Maple strolled back, it wasnât possible that he took so much longer.
âIn fact, this player did the same thing as you from the first to the last goblin. He was just slower returning than you by a bit,â the NPC explained to Crippled Feather.
âDo you mean that he performed statistically better than me in other aspects?â Crippled Feather continued to ask indignantly.
âYes,â the NPC answered honestly.
âWait a minute, then why did the Little Gangster return so late?â Blue Maple couldnât understand as she asked.
âYes, why did he return so late? Even if he slowly walked, he shouldnât be an hour slower.â (At least there was a tool that could teleport one back in a Rank 3 Main City. Such a tool wasnât available in a small town like this.)
From the town to the forest required about one hour of walking. Even if one walked slower, he wouldnât take an hour longer, unless Crippled Feather ran back. However, Crippled Feather was killing monsters along the way. He couldnât have been running back.
âI went to the weapon shop to fix my sword before going to buy the drink you are holding now,â Blue Maple said to Blue Snow.
âDrink? Where did you buy it?â Blue Snow looked at the drink in her head and curiously asked after taking another sip.
âFrom a restaurant to the west of the town.â Blue Maple answered.
âSo you mean that you went to the north of town to get your weapon fixed, which is the opposite direction from the south where the Mercenary Union is located, before going to a bustling street in the west to get a drink? Did you also have lunch?â Crippled Feather asked Blue Maple. The killing intent in his voice was getting stronger and stronger.
âI ate before I accepted the quest. Did you not?â Blue Maple seemed to realize Crippled Featherâs killing intent, and even posed a question back.
âFuck off. Are you telling me that you strolled back, passed the Mercenary Union, but didnât submit your quest, and even decided to go to the weapon shop in the opposite direction to fix your weapon? If that wasnât enough, you even went to get a drink? If you didnât eat beforehand, would you have gone to get something to eat first too?! Yes?!â Crippled Feather roared.
These were the reasons why Crippled Feather and the bunch of players had waited for close to an hour? As this matter affected everyone, the Mercenary Union was bursting at its seams and couldnât operate properly. The union even sent the NPC outside to wait with Crippled Feather and the rest, while the other NPCs in the union replaced her to continue receiving and sending out quests. All of them had been standing in the sun for close to an hour.
Crippled Feather was already controlling himself well by not laying a hand on Blue Maple yet. However, it was going to happen soon.
Blue Maple thought for a moment before answering, âI guess?â
âFucking hell!â Crippled Feather lost his mind. However, it was really inappropriate for a Thief to lay a hand on someone else in broad daylight. Otherwise, he wouldnât have cared at all.
âBloody hell, thatâs the reason why we were waiting here for one hour. Fuck!â
âHe didnât even give a shit about the quest.ââŚ
The surrounding players couldnât blame Blue Maple, either. After all, Blue Maple didnât tell them to wait. They all came over willingly. However, Crippled Feather didnât appear too good right now.
Blue Snow was a little unimpressed as she said to Blue Maple,âLittle Gangster, you are really naughty.â
âWhen I came, I saw that there were lots of people around and thought that Iâd just come at a later time. I didnât expect them to be waiting for me,â Blue Maple explained.
ââŚâŚâ The surrounding players were like, âSo... itâs our fault?â
âUghâŚâ Blue Snow stuttered.
ââŚâŚâ Crippled Feather was speechless.
âAs for why heâs the winner, take a look for yourself and youâll know.â The NPC came to Blue Mapleâs aid.
Challenge mode statistical comparison:
Time taken to complete quest:
Crippled Feather: 117 minutes 46 seconds.
Unknown player: 119 minutes 27 seconds
Final usage:
Crippled Feather: Ordinary large health potion â 54, ordinary medium health potion â 16, ordinary medium mana potion â 27.
Unknown player: Health potion usage â 0, mana potion usage - 0
Final damage sustained:
Crippled Feather: -31,528 HP, Damage â 21%
Unknown player: -0 HP, Damage â 0% âŚ
Crippled Feather sustained about 300 damage every time he was attacked by a goblin. This meant that Crippled Feather was actually attacked less than a hundred times. On average, Crippled Feather was only attacked once every five goblins. It was rather impressive.
Why is itâŚâŚall zeroesâŚ
Freak! The surrounding players all thought.
Little Gangster is really impressive. However, he was already impressive in the Newbie Village. Uh, Iâm not that astonished anymore, Blue Snow thought to herself as she sipped her drink.
âThis is impossible! Letâs not even harp on the fact that you werenât attacked even once. How is that you can finish the quest so quickly without using your Skills or mana potion?!â Crippled Feather asked indignantly.
âBerserk Goblin is a passive skill that goblins possess which allow them to increase their speed when their HP reaches a certain low. Even I cannot avoid them. As a swordsman, how much stronger can you be compared to me? How can it be that you werenât attacked even once?!â Thieves and Archers were innately faster than any other Classes.
âAnd did you manage to successfully attack me when we received the quest?â Blue Maple asked in return.
His question left Crippled Feather a little stunned. Blue Mapleâs agility and terrifying reflexes were both attributes that Crippled Feather had been exposed to before.
âHow is that you can beat me in terms of progress even though you didnât ordinarily use Skills?â Crippled Feather was still unconvinced as he asked.
âThe upper limit of my attack is 700+. There are fewer restrictions on someone with a Hidden Class,â Blue Maple answered.
To be honest, Blue Mapleâs answer and his previous explanation were already a little beyond usual. Given his character, he usually didnât bother to say anything.
â700+âŚhowâŚâŚâ Crippled Feather was astonished.
Crippled Featherâs attack power could only reach 500 at most. In fact, Blue Maple could have completed the quest at a quicker pace given his attacking strength and the natural advantages of his Class. However, he didnât actively seek any goblins to kill. He proceeded in a fixed direction at a slow pace. Naturally, he faced goblins along the way and killed them.
Blue Snow twisted her lips and was a little angry as she said, âDonât pit your attack power against the Little Gangster. Heâs a freak when it comes to that.â After she saw Blue Mapleâs attributes, she was also keen on switching to a Hidden Class.
Crippled Feather opened his mouth, but eventually said nothing.