In my past life, the hidden quest guide only mentioned how the player discovered it—there was no detail on who the quest NPC was.
So I never expected her to be a loli barely older than I was.
Thankfully, I’d already built up an immunity to lolis, so I quickly gathered myself and pulled out a dozen herbs from my inventory.
“Miss Triss, I’m here on behalf of the Matisse Trading Company to deliver some materials.”
Unlike the blacksmith Macaven, this high-ranking alchemist named Triss wouldn’t normally interact with players. In fact, the player who discovered this quest in my past life only did so by sheer luck after receiving a merchant guild request.
This time, though, I was playing the protagonist.
Just as I’d hoped, once Triss saw the herbs I offered, her guard dropped instantly. She opened the door and welcomed both me and Syl inside.
“You came just in time! I was running low on these for my next batch.”
The inside of the alchemy workshop was utter chaos. Stacks of junk everywhere, ingredients strewn about like she was making soup with a blindfold on. The messy state of the place screamed “eccentric scholar.”
And that weird thud sound I’d heard earlier? Yeah, I had a pretty good guess now about her soot-smudged cheeks and the mess.
…Weirdly adorable.
“What are you smiling at?” Triss turned, tilting her head in confusion.
I quickly wiped the grin off my face. “Oh, nothing. Just remembered something that made me happy.”
She pouted slightly. That cute little face twisted into one of envy. “You adventurers really have it easy, huh? Carefree and relaxed all the time… Not like me, constantly on edge.”
Wait, what?
Something about that phrasing felt off. Most NPCs spoke with general scripts, but “constantly on edge” was oddly specific.
It made me wonder—was there some hidden backstory behind her?
NPCs in Epoch weren’t just background furniture. They had their own personalities, memories, and often, their own fates. But even so, using a phrase like that…
Still, when nothing else triggered—no quest prompt or dialogue branch—I figured it was probably just flavor text.
Syl, on the other hand, had fallen into silent thought after hearing it.
Meanwhile, Triss just stepped over a mess of books on the floor and returned to her workbench, which—unlike the rest of the chaos—was surprisingly neat and orderly.
Guess that saying was true: even the messiest scholar keeps their desk tidy.
“If you’re done delivering the materials, the reward’s with the guild. You planning on leaving anytime soon?” Triss asked, setting up her alchemy instruments with surprising precision for someone who looked like a walking explosion victim.
“I was hoping to watch your alchemy process for a bit.”
I came up with a decent excuse. After all, you can’t exactly point a sword at an NPC and yell “Gimme the hidden quest!” That’s how you get yourself deleted.
…And besides, looking at the two massive magitech golems guarding the side of her workshop, I really didn’t want to test her combat stats.
They weren’t made from cheap scrap, either—those were high-grade materials. Meaning this girl was a mechanical alchemist, and a pretty advanced one at that.
“Suit yourself.”
Without wasting more time, she ground up the herbs and began brewing the potion following a strict sequence.
As the mixture simmered, Triss leaned forward anxiously. The vibrant violet hue slowly dulled into a murky gray.
She frowned. “Tch… No good. It still won’t neutralize properly. That means I’m missing an ingredient…”
“Is something wrong, Miss Triss? Perhaps I could be of assistance.” I seized the chance and whipped out my best quest dialogue voice.
She paused for a moment before nodding.
“I’m missing a specific type of material—something with a mild toxic property. The most common one would be bat venom sacs. If you could collect some, I’ll pay you 1 copper per 5 sacs.”
System Prompt:
Do you want to accept the quest [Triss the Alchemist’s Request]?
It was nearly identical to Macaven’s task. No wonder players in the past assumed the two quest-givers were connected. Whether it was a dev-side setup or just an absurd coincidence, the resemblance was uncanny.
I handed over all the venom sacs I’d stored in my warehouse. The payout? A whopping 220 silver coins.
And, yes, more wasted EXP.
As I stared at the nearly five gold coins sitting in my inventory, I could barely contain my excitement. That kind of money in the early stages of the game opened up a lot of possibilities.
“My Lord, shall we head back now?”
I turned to Syl after handing over the final batch of materials—only to find her still deep in thought.
She’d been acting strange all day, and it made me wonder if something had happened.
But I didn’t have to wait long.
“…Miss Triss,” Syl suddenly spoke up.
Triss, who’d been organizing ingredients, looked up curiously. “Hm? What is it?”
And then Syl dropped the bombshell.
“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”