Chapter 3 : SSS-Rank Class Quest

The place he arrived at following the directions within the frame was a large tree at the edge of the village.

Seated at a round wooden table beneath it was a female Elf.

Unlike the others, she appeared to be middle-aged, suggesting she was fairly advanced in years.

“Welcome, Immortal Alien.”

Following her guidance, Jaeho took a stiff, awkward posture and sat opposite her.

“Nice to meet you. I am Elda, the Elder of Trian.”

“Jaeho… no, Alicia,” he replied, bowing his head in greeting.

“Alicia… what a beautiful name.”

Elda smiled warmly in response.

“You mentioned ‘The Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms,’ didn’t you?”

Her question sparked a new quest to appear.

[* Class Change Quest *]

[ < The Eternal Epfeltz Flower That never blooms> is deeply connected to the legends of the Elves.

Listen to Elda’s story about the legend and safely bring about the blooming of the <Eternal Epfeltz Flower> .]

[Success Condition: Bloom the < Eternal Epfeltz Flower>. ]

[Reward: Spirit Floral Mage]

[Failure: Class change impossible.]

“Spirit Floral Mage?”

Jaeho nodded at the strangely named class.

“She is someone revered by all Elves. Spirit Floral Mage Tinlight… the one who created the current Luxi Forest.”

At her words, Jaeho glanced around at the greenery surrounding them.

“He transformed this barren wasteland into a forest. He also helped wandering Elves find a place to settle.”

“Then, where is he now…?”

“Unfortunately, he passed away two hundred years ago, returning to the embrace of nature. Unlike us, he was human.”

Sadness filled her eyes.

“But he left behind his will here in Luxi Forest, the final destination of his long journey—the first flower he planted on this vast land.”

Slowly, Jaeho began to catch on.

The Epfeltz Flower he had discovered was exactly that flower.

“If you pass the test… that existence will become the new Spirit Floral Mage and the hope for Elves still wandering across the continent, right?”

“Yes?”

A wave of pressure suddenly weighed down on him from the quest.

“Please, I beg you.”

Elda bowed her head and spoke to Jaeho.

“After the sacred tree lost its power, we Elves lost our core and scattered everywhere. The only one who can unite us again is the Spirit Floral Mage.”

Her earnest request made Jaeho nod slightly, cautiously opening his mouth.

First, he needed to clarify one thing.

“If I become this Spirit Floral Mage or whatever, can I open a flower shop?”

“Huh?”

Elda seemed momentarily confused.

“Grass.”

She suddenly chuckled softly and started to poke fun.

“Uh… maybe not?

Then there’s nothing more to say.”

“Sorry. I came here to open a flower shop…”

“Ah, of course that’s possible.”

“…Really?”

Confidence filled Elda’s eyes.

“Tinlight said the same. He only loved flowers, that was all.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Now I’m even more certain. Maybe it’s because of your appearance that Tinlight’s will is being conveyed through you.”

“But I’m not a Spirit Floral Mage yet. I don’t even know if I’ll become one…”

Elda smiled brightly at his words.

“As I already said, just finding his will hidden in this forest means you already qualify.”

“And… I can sense sincerity from the natural scent coming from you.”

Jaeho was unusually elated to meet someone who respected his own fragrance.

“Is that okay?”

Judging from Elda’s words, the class deeply connected with flowers was the Spirit Floral Mage.

And it was an Elf recognizing him.

What is an Elf?

Among all living beings, they are the species closest to and most loving of nature.

“Wow, let’s do it.”

Rubbing his hands together, Jaeho accepted the quest.

[Class Change Quest Accepted.]

“Thank you very much, Alicia.”

Elda bowed her head again to express her gratitude.

***

World Wide, the number one global company managing development and service for New World.

A mutant corporation born from Korea.

It was the developer of the artificial intelligence, Crater.

And Crater was the creator of all the history, creatures, and records spanning thousands of years in the New World.

Even the creators themselves were strictly prohibited from direct interference in the game, and Crater, as the god of New World, controlled and managed everything.

Therefore, the first rule for all World Wide employees was: [Under no circumstances may you interfere directly in the game.]

So did the employees just do nothing?

Their main job was system maintenance, ensuring Crater never stopped working even for a single moment.

For the perfect immersion of players, the place busier than anyone else, hidden beneath the surface, was that very office.

But it was still a place where people lived, so interdepartmental strife was rampant.

The department that received the largest share of blame was none other than the Observation Team.

Led by Hyeonho, the team was essentially responsible for game observation, or monitoring, often mocked by other departments as the ‘Karma Team.’

Because what use was monitoring?

After all, Crater controlled all the game’s systems, and even monitoring was done through Crater.

“No! Our Observation Team is also an important department.”

Of course, Team Leader Hyeonho firmly believed this.

Events occurring inside the game were very important affairs for New World’s publicity.

Though other department employees didn’t acknowledge this…

There was one reason.

There simply wasn’t any big event worth publicizing on a large scale by the company.

Most issues were scooped faster by various internet broadcasts.

So they were always left behind.

Ultimately, the Observation Team’s notable info was limited to rumors and incidents among players unknown to the public.

But even that was insufficient…

“Still, someday, the Observation Team boom will come…”

“Team Leader! Crater just sent an SSS rank event warning!!!”

At perfect timing, a subordinate’s shout echoed.

His mouth gaping, he jumped up from his seat.

“What?!!!”

SSS rank quests had never occurred since New World’s service began.

It was an extremely important and highly classified event in the New World community.

“It’s from the Luxi side, and everyone’s in an uproar over it.”

Taking the tablet from the employee, Hyeonho confirmed the details.

“Class change quest? Spirit Floral Mage?”

He nodded in disbelief.

“Just a class change quest and it’s SSS rank?”

Hyeonho immediately searched for related information.

“Successor class!”

Checking the class rank made him fall silent.

In New World, each player’s class had ranks.

Typically, classes were Normal, Rare, and Unique.

All players began at the Normal rank.

Depending on growth direction and personal choices, classes would evolve, and ranks would rise.

In theory, anyone could reach Unique class eventually.

Above Unique, though no one had reached it yet, was the Legendary rank.

A class rank granted only to truly legendary beings forever remembered in New World history.

In other words, was this player’s class upgraded to Legendary rank?

That meant they had reached the very top.

But there was a hidden rank outside of this usual progression.

That was the ‘Successor’ rank!

A class inheriting the will of someone from New World’s history, the Spirit Floral Mage was the first Successor class a player had appeared with.

“Alicia…”

The nickname of the protagonist who obtained this first opportunity.

Contrasting with her appearance, Hyeonho felt a strange sense of discord.

“She’s even a new user who started today.”

At the employee’s words, Hyeonho nodded.

It was truly a matter of incredible luck.

Luxi Forest, marked as a place people avoided, was where she started.

Not heading straight to the village but instead to the Epfeltz Flower Garden deep in the forest was the only way to discover the .

Simply discovering it wasn’t enough to trigger the quest.

Players had to show interest in it and start conversations with the Elves before the class change quest would fully begin.

Ordinary people had no way of meeting such quest conditions.

“Will she really be able to obtain it?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

They still weren’t sure about this class’s abilities or stability.

But as the first Successor class to appear, the difficulty of the class change would surely be high.

“Ah, this isn’t the time for this. I’m going up now.”

Hyeonho immediately stood up.

This was the largest event since the service began.

To announce this exciting news, he dashed toward the chairman’s office.

“The Observation Team boom will come…”

Soon, a large-scale publicity campaign would be launched about this incident.

Filled with certainty that the Observation Team’s existence would finally be justified, Hyeonho’s steps felt like flying.

Of course, only if the protagonist of this massive quest succeeded!

***

Back near the starting hall, Jaeho crouched before the Epfeltz Flower, deeply troubled.

– We can’t help you directly. This is Tinlight’s trial meant only for Alicia.

Though he could not get direct help from the Elves, he managed to obtain one indirect hint.

“It means the ‘never blooming’ part is wrong.”

Since the quest appeared, there had to be a way to make this flower bloom.

“…I should try raising the observation progress rate for the Epfeltz Flower.”

If he increased the percentage recorded in the encyclopedia, he might get some hints.

First, Jaeho gathered three Epfeltz flower seeds and planted them in a sunny spot.

He planned to watch their growth firsthand.

“Well, since it looks similar to dandelions, it should grow well anywhere.”

His guess was accurate.

Two days later, when he logged back into New World, he confirmed the seeds had sprouted.

A week later, stems had grown, and small buds began to form.

But it took quite some time for the flower to bloom.

It was about two weeks before the Epfeltz Flower finally bloomed.

[Lv.1 Epfeltz Flower]

[Observation Progress: 30%]

[A commonly found flower in the Luxi Forest area. The Epfeltz Flower contains… ( Read more)]

The progress percentage had risen considerably.

Clearly, directly growing the flower was very effective for raising observation progress.

Moreover, this process granted him additional benefits.

[ Lv.10 < Plant Observation>]

[Allows confirmation of the observed plant’s name.]

[Allows confirmation of the observed plant’s gathering level.]

[Allows confirmation of the observed plant’s condition.]

This was an effect added the moment skill reached level 10.

What ‘plant condition’ meant soon became clear.

[Lv.1 The Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms]

[Observation Progress: 20%]

[A still unopened Epfeltz Flower.]

[For several days, it has felt extreme fear towards the human observing it.]

Jaeho was momentarily speechless.

Reading the plant’s psychology?

“A-amazing…”

Though impressed internally, this was actually a thrill characteristic anyone could get.

It was just that no one had ever actually grown flowers in the game, so it rarely got used.

But for Jaeho, it was an enormous help.

“Uh… Hello?”

He carefully stepped back from the flower and cautiously greeted it.

“What is this…?”

Though he felt foolish, he had no choice.

Game info stated plants had consciousness and emotions.

“I-I’m Jaeho… no, Alicia.”

And so, Jaeho began a conversation with the flower.