Who told you I am an NPC

Chapter : 23

Here it comes! Finally getting to the heart of the matter!

"Died? What did they all die from? And what is the curse?

Why haven't I heard the old village chief talk about this?"

Lawson's expression was complicated.

He frowned and struggled for a long time before letting out a long sigh, "Fine, I'll tell you."

"After the attack six years ago, some of the young people in the village suggested moving out with their families.

If a demonic beast of over level thirty could appear in this vicinity, it's very likely a second one could appear.

No one dared to bet on being lucky enough to survive a second time."

"The village chief also considered moving the entire village, but after reporting this matter to the Castellan of Seta, it was rejected by the higher-ups."

Sunset Village was under the jurisdiction of Seta City.

They were located between Seta City and the capital, a place where passing caravans and travelers often stopped for supplies.

Six years ago, it was once prosperous enough to rival the most bustling town in Seta City.

Lawson's younger sister, Kalenna, was the only child in the village in nearly thirty years to have been tested with magical talent.

Coincidentally, her brother Lawson was a well-known skilled hunter in the area.

Even though the siblings depended on each other, they were never short of money.

After Kalenna's talent was discovered, Lawson immediately decided to send his sister to the magic academy in Seta City to study magic.

This decision also received the support of many villagers.

The simple villagers didn't understand what a huge amount of money it would cost to send a commoner's child to a magic academy.

They only knew that if they sent Kalenna to study magic, after she returned from her studies, the children in the village who had some magical talent but were not qualified to go to the magic academy could also learn from Kalenna.

Perhaps their own children would also have the opportunity to become mages, directly crossing the class barrier and becoming a person of high status.

Lawson sold all the valuable prey in his house, and after hunting hard for two months, he barely saved up most of the tuition fee.

The remaining small portion was pooled together by other villagers.

Even the poorest families contributed a few copper coins.

Kalenna was also very promising.

She skipped grades consecutively at the Seta City Magic Academy.

At the age of seventeen, she passed the Magic Association's test and obtained the title of Junior Mage.

What should have been a glorious future, however, six years ago, not long after Kalenna had just become a Junior Mage, she suddenly returned home one day with a flustered expression and told her brother Lawson that there was a demonic beast over level thirty in Sunset Forest, and it would soon attack the village.

Lawson was just a capable hunter, not even a swordsman. Hearing about the demonic beast, he was dumbfounded.

Kalenna was a very courageous young lady.

After her panic subsided, she immediately made a decision.

She had her brother Lawson take the fast runners in the village and split into two groups.

One group would go to the closer Seta City to ask the Castellan for help, while the other group would go to the capital to ask her magic tutor for help.

She herself would stay behind to deal with the demonic beast, holding it off while waiting for rescue.

What happened next was the version Yan Yunqing already knew.

Seta City, which was closer, was slow to send aid.

Kalenna was just a seventeen-year-old girl who had just become a Junior Mage.

Facing a demonic beast more than ten levels higher was already a struggle, and to make matters worse, she encountered a Frostflame Wolf, a dual-element demonic beast with a strong constitution.

Kalenna was seriously injured while fighting the Frostflame Wolf and was forced to retreat again and again.

At this time, the Frostflame Wolf was already very close to the village.

Seeing Kalenna gradually being defeated, the guards of the village's patrol team also stood up one by one, using their lives to distract the demonic beast and give Kalenna a chance to use magic.

This cruel battle, built on human lives, lasted for a day and a night.

It wasn't until Lawson found Kalenna's magic tutor in the capital and, as Kalenna's brother, informed her of what was happening in the village, that the tutor contacted the capital's royal army and finally dispatched a rescue team.

However, by the time the rescue arrived, Kalenna had already died from her serious injuries, and seven or eight-tenths of the village's guards were also dead.

Upon returning to see his sister dead under the claws of the Frostflame Wolf, Lawson was filled with anger and rushed forward to fight the Frostflame Wolf to the death, but had one of his eyes gouged out and a leg broken.

In the end, that Frostflame Wolf was dealt with by Kalenna's tutor.

That esteemed mage lord wanted to seek justice for his student from Seta City, asking why the capital's army had arrived, yet the rescue from the closer Seta City was so late.

Lawson was also waiting for an explanation, but unfortunately, this matter was like a stone sinking into the sea, not even causing a ripple, and was just lightly passed over.

There was no news even from the capital.

Lawson tried to find that mage lord, but in the end, he was never able to see her again.

At that time, the entire Sunset Village was immersed in grief.

It wasn't just Lawson who had lost his sister; many families had also lost their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers...

In the midst of grief, people were in a state of panic.

Someone suggested that since one demonic beast had appeared in Sunset Village, a second one might appear in the future.

However, their village no longer had a second Kalenna who could stand at the forefront, nor did they have so many young and able-bodied people willing to sacrifice their lives.

The frightened villagers wanted to move away from Sunset Village, where they had lived for generations.

The village chief sent a request to Seta City on behalf of the village, hoping that Seta City could find a safe place for them, but it was rejected by the Castellan of Seta City.

The more radical villagers directly packed their luggage and left Sunset Village with their families alone.

However, without exception, all these people were attacked on the road and all died.

These attacks were from robbers, from wild beasts that appeared out of nowhere, and also from the demonic beasts they feared the most.

The remaining people in the village were scared out of their wits, and no one dared to mention the idea of moving out of Sunset Village again.

A rumor quietly spread that Sunset Village was cursed, and those born here could never leave.

For a time, people were in a state of panic.

It was only when the villagers later discovered that as long as they didn't move away from the village, a temporary departure would not lead to danger, that this rumor stopped.

After a long time, and with no more sightings of demonic beasts around the village, people from other villages were finally willing to marry into or from Sunset Village.

Coupled with its special geographical location, some people were willing to take the risk of moving into the village to do business.

After six years, the village's population had only just reached two-thirds of what it was six years ago.

Coming out of Uncle Lawson's house, Yan Yunqing looked at this piece of land that was a deeper color than other places and fell into deep thought.

"Lilian, is a seventeen-year-old junior mage considered a genius?"

Yan Yunqing asked Lilian, who was following beside him.

The levels in "Demon King" aren't much of a reference now.

After all, two thousand years have passed, and the levels of NPCs and players aren't comparable.

It's more convenient to ask a native about this kind of thing.

"Hmm? This, it depends on the person's status."

Lilian shrugged, "Among us elves, becoming a junior mage at seventeen isn't considered a genius, in fact, it could even be called mediocre.

Among humans... Hmm..."

She thought for a moment before answering:

"If it's a noble, it can't be considered a genius either. But for a commoner, it's truly a genius among geniuses."

The human race might be the one with the largest gap between social classes among all races. Being a noble meant having more resources to build oneself up from birth.

It was even possible to create a ten-year-old mage using countless heavenly treasures, let alone a seventeen-year-old junior mage.

But for Kalenna, a commoner, whose tuition was scraped together by relatives and friends in the village, becoming a junior mage at seventeen was indeed a genius among geniuses.

What's more, the time it took for her to become a junior mage after entering the magic academy was also very short.

A genius, without a doubt.

"So she's a genius.

Perhaps we should go to that Seta City to find out the reason why they didn't send rescue after receiving Sunset Village's plea for help six years ago."

Yan Yunqing looked at the content he had recorded on the parchment, "Perhaps, we can also figure out why a demonic beast of over level thirty suddenly appeared around Sunset Village, which has no record of any god falling."

Lilian paused for a moment, then reacted: "You think this was very likely man-made?"

Yan Yunqing sighed softly, "Perhaps I'm not the only one who thinks so.

The people in the village who experienced that incident six years ago more or less have such suspicions."

Perhaps they didn't realize it at first, but when the old village chief repeatedly proposed moving the entire village to live elsewhere and was repeatedly rejected, and they were never given an explanation for why the rescue was so late.

Even the mage lord who initially said he would seek justice for his student fell silent and disappeared, and the people who wanted to move out of the village died on the road one by one.

These incidents, one after another, were enough to show that the matter of the demonic beast attacking the village ran very deep.

Perhaps, the people in the village were all speculating: the demonic beast was very likely attracted by Kalenna.

Otherwise, why was it so coincidental? Coincidentally, Kalenna had just become a junior mage.

Coincidentally, Kalenna took leave to go home and share this joy with Lawson on that very day. Coincidentally...

Kalenna was the first one to discover the demonic beast.

This could also explain it clearly.

Why Old Jason, who lost his son, and Yuli, who lost her parents, received the care of the vast majority of the village, but Lawson, who lost his sister, lived alone with a blind eye and a lame leg in this area far from the village, closer to the edge of the forest.

Perhaps part of it was Lawson's desire to live closer to his sister, but it was undeniable that given Lawson's current living situation, he was indeed being subtly ostracized by the villagers of Sunset Village.

No matter what, Kalenna was the one who stood at the forefront six years ago and paid with her life to protect the village.

As her family member, Lawson should not have been treated this way.

Unless, everyone suspected that Kalenna was the culprit of this tragedy, and their anger was then transferred to the still-living Lawson.

"Then do you think there's really a curse in this village?"

Lilian asked curiously, "Those who left the village all died on the road, while those who stayed in the village are living well.

It does sound a lot like a curse."

Yan Yunqing glanced at his quest panel [Protect Sunset Village: Inquire about the events of six years ago (Completed)].

Quest updated.

[Protect Sunset Village: Investigate the truth behind the demonic beast attack on the village six years ago (In Progress)]

You have learned about the events of six years ago from the hunter Lawson.

From this, you have unraveled a lot of information.

You feel that the events of six years ago are not that simple, and you decide to explore the truth behind this matter.

[Side Quest: The Curse of Sunset (In Progress)]

The lives of all the villagers who leave Sunset Village are like the setting sun, silently buried by the night. Death follows them like a shadow.

Only by staying in the village can they escape the threat of the curse.

All the villagers are forced to continue to take root in this blood-soaked land.

Are the villagers relying on this crimson land to survive, or is the cursed land constantly drawing the villagers' blood as nutrients to grow a more luxuriant forest?

The curse of sunset, what exactly is it?

You are curious about this and decide to conduct an in-depth investigation into the curse.

"A curse?" Yan Yunqing was thoughtful, "Perhaps there really is a curse in this village."

"Eh?" Lilian was surprised, "I thought you would say that this curse was actually made up by someone?"

"Didn't you just think that the demonic beast attack six years ago was man-made?"

"Yes, there's a high possibility that the incident six years ago was man-made, but the curse does exist."

Yan Yunqing lowered his eyes, his voice very low, as if afraid of disturbing the spirits sleeping in this crimson land.

Even Lilian, who was flying beside him, couldn't hear his voice clearly.

He said:

"Poverty is the most vicious curse."