Who told you I am an NPC

Chapter : 24

Uncle Lane did not return.

Lane, who had set out for the capital early in the morning, had not returned home by the time the sun set in the evening.

The old village chief's brow was tightly furrowed.

He stood at the entrance of the village, leaning on his cane, gazing into the distance, watching the sun being swallowed by the horizon bit by bit, and the moon hanging on the treetops.

When Yan Yunqing found him, the old village chief's face was devoid of joy or sorrow, just quietly staring in the direction of the village entrance.

"Old village chief."

Yan Yunqing walked to his side, "Has Uncle Lane not returned yet?"

The old village chief tapped the ground with his cane, making a dull sound.

He sighed deeply: "Not yet."

From Sunset Village to the capital, it would take a whole day to walk normally.

It was much faster by horse-drawn carriage, taking only half a day to return.

Lane went on foot, but given the situation in the village, he must have rushed at full speed.

Adding the time to ask the army for help, he should be able to return by midnight.

Yan Yunqing thought for a moment, "Why not go to Seta City to ask?

Isn't it closer?

The garrison in Seta would also arrive faster."

The old village chief shook his head:

"Seta City... it's useless. Seta City won't provide rescue."

It seems the old village chief also realized that there was a problem with Seta City, which was why he asked Lane to go to the capital for help.

Yan Yunqing offered a word of advice, "Uncle Lane will probably need some more time to return.

Chief, you should go rest first."

The old village chief stood silently for a while longer before nodding at Yan Yunqing, "I know, you go back.

I'll wait a little longer, then I'll go back."

Yan Yunqing didn't try to persuade him further and went straight back to the blacksmith's shop.

Yuli was lighting a candle, leaning on the table and counting her little piggy bank.

During this time, Yan Yunqing often gave little Yuli spare copper coins for her to buy candy, but the sensible little Yuli had saved them all.

Seeing Yan Yunqing return, Yuli stopped what she was doing.

"Brother A-Yan? You're back!"

Yuli waved her hand. After greeting him, she looked a little worried, "Hasn't Uncle Lane returned yet?"

"Yeah," Yan Yunqing replied.

The news of a demonic beast appearing in Sunset Forest yesterday couldn't be hidden for long.

In less than half a day, it had spread throughout the entire village, causing a state of panic.

This atmosphere also affected little Yuli.

She was only a little over a year old when her parents passed away, and she had no real understanding of how terrifying demonic beasts were.

But after all, it was a terrifying creature that had killed her parents.

Coupled with the panic of those around her, little Yuli also developed some fear for the future.

She was now counting her savings to alleviate her fear.

"Ah... I hope Uncle Lane can bring the capital's army over as soon as possible." Yuli's spirits were low.

"He will."

The usually silent Old Jason spoke up. His hoarse voice was unpleasant but gentle.

He reached out and stroked Yuli's head with his rough palm, "Don't be afraid, Yuli."

"Mmm."

Yuli nodded heavily and took Old Jason's hand: "I'm not afraid, Grandpa.

I'll protect you."

Yan Yunqing went back to his room.

There wasn't much to pack in the room; all his important things were in his backpack.

"Lilian, can you set up a magic circle in this room?

To protect Old Jason and Yuli."

Yan Yunqing thought for a moment, "It would be best to add one that can conceal their presence, to make demonic beasts ignore their existence."

This wasn't difficult; it was a piece of cake for Lilian.

She nodded and took the high-grade magic stone that Yan Yunqing had pulled out from who-knows-where, "Sure, but you suddenly want to set up a magic circle.

Are you planning to leave this place?"

"Yes," Yan Yunqing said, "We'll go to Seta City and see.

First, we need to find out what Kalenna experienced in Seta City six years ago, and why that magic tutor of Kalenna's, Lord Adelaide, lost contact and never met with Lawson again after demanding an explanation for his student."

These were all important clues to solving the mystery of Sunset Village, and the quest guide had mentioned them as well.

"I thought you would stay behind to guard the village, especially since a demonic beast just appeared yesterday."

Lilian said casually while drawing the magic circle, "You've been a goody-two-shoes on call these past few days."

Yan Yunqing averted his gaze: Those were quests with experience points! How could that be a goody-two-shoes.

"It's useless to just guard the village.

If my guess is correct, then we can only completely resolve the crisis in Sunset Village by figuring out the reason for all of this."

Yan Yunqing said: "As for being a goody-two-shoes or whatever... besides, isn't saving the world the mission of a 'Descender'?"

"You're right." Lilian was quickly convinced.

After Lilian finished drawing the magic circle, Yan Yunqing led Lilian out of the room.

Old Jason was still sitting at the table with Yuli.

The flickering candlelight cast the silhouettes of the grandfather and grandson on the wall, adding a touch of warmth to the dusty blacksmith's shop.

"Yuli, Old Jason, Lilian and I are planning to go out for a while.

We don't know when we'll be back. If you encounter danger, go hide in my room."

Yan Yunqing said, "Lilian has set up some protective devices in the room."

"Brother? You're going out now?"

Yuli hesitated, "But it's dangerous at night, and there might be demonic beasts around."

"It's fine, have you forgotten that I was the one who dealt with that demonic beast yesterday?"

Yan Yunqing winked at Yuli, "I'm going to Seta City to think of a solution.

Maybe it'll be more effective than seeking help from the capital's army?"

"I see." Yuli nodded, half-understanding.

She was a very obedient and sensible child, "Then, Brother A-Yan, be careful on the road."

Old Jason glanced at Yan Yunqing a few times, then silently got up and went to the warehouse to find a long stick wrapped in black cloth, which he handed to Yan Yunqing.

He was a man of few words: "Weapon, be careful."

Yan Yunqing hesitantly pulled back a bit of the black cloth and saw that what was wrapped in it was a scabbard.

He used the game's built-in inspection function, and a panel popped up.

[Henry's Longsword] Attack Power +400

This was Henry Aval's former sword, forged by Jason Aval.

It accompanied him throughout his swordsman studies and was an indispensable friend to Henry, until his death.

『Trait: Cuts through iron like mud. The excellent forging skill gives this sword the ability to cut through iron like mud. When used, there is a 15% chance to deal 200% critical damage, with a 30s cooldown.』

"This is..." Yan Yunqing was stunned, surprised.

The base attack power of this longsword was not low, comparable to a level 20 blue weapon in the game.

Of course, this weapon couldn't compare to the max-level gold weapons in Yan Yunqing's backpack, which he had grinded for a long time to get.

But this longsword had no level restriction!

Which meant that Yan Yunqing, who was only level 12, could equip this weapon!

The dagger Yan Yunqing had been using before also had no level restriction, but its base attack power was a pitiful +5. He had relied on a 50% chance of the defense-breaking trait to cut the iron cage back then, and it was barely usable.

If he were to fight a demonic beast with that dagger now, it would be equivalent to committing suicide on the spot.

It would even be a struggle to cut a Lulu Pig.

So what Yan Yunqing was using now was a Refined Iron Sword he had bought from Old Jason's blacksmith shop.

Its base stats weren't high, but it was at least enough to cut a Lulu Pig.

"Use it well." Old Jason nodded at Yan Yunqing and sat back down, playing the role of the taciturn old man.

"This is Brother Henry's sword."

Yuli was very familiar with it and explained on behalf of her grandfather, "After Brother Henry left, this sword was put in the warehouse by Grandpa.

Grandpa took it out this afternoon and reforged it."

Yuli looked at her grandfather, seemingly reading something from his face, and said to Yan Yunqing, "Grandpa means:

Brother, you don't have a good weapon right now, you can use this for now."

Old Jason nodded silently and added, "Giving it to you is not a waste."

He urged again: "Use it well, be careful."

Like the nagging elderly in countless families, repeating the same advice.

Yan Yunqing unwrapped the black cloth strips one by one.

It was a beautifully forged sword, just like its trait, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud.

A clear and translucent blue magic stone was embedded in the scabbard.

A single junior magic stone cost a hundred gold coins, but the one embedded in this scabbard was a high-grade magic stone, its cost comparable to the entire sword.

It looked more like a precious collector's item.

Yan Yunqing took a couple more glances.

He was a little curious where Old Jason got this magic stone.

Judging from Old Jason's income, he definitely wasn't someone who could afford a high-grade magic stone.

Henry seemed to be a swordsman? He had even gone to a swordsman academy to study before. Perhaps Henry got it?

On the hilt of the sword, however, was a sword tassel woven from red string, in a style of safety knot popular in Bartovita.

It looked dusty due to its age, and was out of place with the magic stone embedded in the scabbard.

Touching the scratches on the scabbard, Yan Yunqing felt a little moved.

He looked back at Old Jason and said solemnly, "I will remember."

***

Seta City was not far from Sunset Village.

It could be reached in half a day's walk during the daytime, but it was already night, and traveling was not convenient.

Fortunately, neither Yan Yunqing nor Lilian were ordinary people.

Most of the attribute points from leveling up these past few days had been added to Constitution and Agility by Yan Yunqing. He could run to Seta City in just three hours at full speed.

Coupled with Lilian's Lightness Spell and Haste Spell, Yan Yunqing arrived at the gates of Seta City before midnight.

Seta City was not the capital, so the guards were not as strict, and the city walls were also very low.

Yan Yunqing used a stealth skill and easily bypassed the guards, entering the city.

This was a prosperous city.

Even though it was late at night, there were still many people on the streets, and many shops were open all night, especially taverns.

Yan Yunqing's sharp eyes spotted several people in mage robes coming out of a small tavern, arms around each other's shoulders, swaying as they walked, loudly bragging about their good scores in the recent assessment, and occasionally whistling at passing women.

If it weren't for the conspicuous mage robes on them, Yan Yunqing would have thought they were drunken vagrants!

Wait, so mages also drink this much?

Aren't mages supposed to be very self-important?

Yan Yunqing slowed down his pace.

With the help of Lilian's concealment spell, he eavesdropped on them for a few sentences and confirmed that these people were students of the Seta City Magic Academy.

Considering the possibility of finding the wrong school, he had inquired with Lawson beforehand.

There was only one magic academy in Seta City, so these people should be students from the same magic academy as Kalenna.

Yan Yunqing counted, a total of five people.

Although their levels were slightly higher than his, they were all drunk now. It was not a problem for him to fight one against five.

However, Yan Yunqing was well-versed in the way of the stealth, and following the guidance of the minimap, he circled around to a dark alley.

Lilian watched with her own eyes as Yan Yunqing pulled out a dusty, muddy... gunny sack from somewhere?

It looked a little familiar?

It seemed to be the gunny sack that the old man who liked to grow vegetables in his yard often used to carry the soil he dug up from outside.

Lilian: ?

Yan Yunqing made a shushing gesture to Lilian, then quietly approached the person at the very back of the group of five with the gunny sack—

Quickly reached out, gagged him with a rag, knocked him out, put him in the gunny sack, and carried him away.

Lilian: ???

Huh? Huh!! Huh???

What is he doing?!