Lucoco deliberately slowed the hovercar’s speed, choosing roads that passed through villages.
As she traveled, she secretly observed the villages along the way…
Gradually, she noticed a pattern.
In villages where rivers and streams rushed past without lingering, the crops grew in an ordinary, unremarkable way.
Only in villages near lakes or ponds were the plants unusually lush.
But even among these “blessed” crops, the quality varied, though they all grew exceptionally robustly.
This further convinced her that someone must have deliberately contaminated the water sources.
She then tried asking the residents of these villages about the identity of that “god.”
Without exception, the villagers either clammed up, evaded her gaze, or changed the subject.
Some villages even subtly hinted they wanted her to leave, and even the title of Judgment Knight wasn’t enough to sway them.
—
Finally, two days later, the hovercar reached its first stop: Suomu Town.
A typical small town found in games.
Rough stone walls surrounded it, with militia patrols standing atop them, holding spears and bows, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
The wheat fields outside the town were golden like a sea, the waves of grain undulating with the wind.
Corn cobs were as thick as thighs, and fruit trees were laden with so much fruit their branches drooped low.
In the fields and woodlands, people were busy working, a scene of bountiful harvest.
Clearly, more water had been used here, almost as much as within Echo Territory.
This was the power of Lucoco’s juice—even if the season wasn’t right, if you planted it, it would definitely grow!
Lucoco’s gaze remained fixed on the busy townsfolk.
She couldn’t shake the feeling their movements were too hurried, as if they were in a great rush.
♢♦♢♦♢
Just as they neared the city gates, the System’s voice rang out.
[Training Quest: “Suomu Town Mana Tide” has been activated. Completing the quest will advance the main storyline.
Quest Reward: 50% Experience, Versadis Kingdom Reputation 500.]
At the same time, the murmurs of the townsfolk queuing for inspection below and the loud voice of the gate guard also reached her ears.
“Halt! Driving is not permitted within the city!”
A guard strode forward, standing before the gradually slowing hovercar, watching as it slowly descended in altitude.
Finally, the hovercar stopped beside the guard.
The guard’s eyes widened instantly, locking onto Lucoco in the driver’s seat without blinking!
It wasn’t that Lucoco had mesmerized him, but rather Lucoco’s height and appearance…
“Miss, are you even twenty? And you’re driving?”
The guard blurted out, looking Lucoco up and down as she jumped out of the vehicle, his brow furrowed.
“You…”
Suddenly!
He saw the Judgment Knight badge hanging around Lucoco’s neck.
The words that followed got stuck in his throat. He then glanced at the other three and noticed they were also wearing Judgment Knight badges!
“Hiss!!”
The guard sucked in a sharp breath, which then transformed into wild joy.
He raised his voice, shouting to his companions behind him: “Brothers! The Judgment Knights are here!”
“Did I hear that right? Judgment Knights?”
“Everyone, look! It really is the Judgment Knight badges!”
“Great! The Kingdom has sent knights! We have hope!”
The queuing townsfolk instantly erupted, surging forward excitedly, surrounding the four of them, their eyes burning with fervor as if they’d seen saviors.
Adrian puffed out his chest, silently accepting the crowd’s enthusiasm, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily.
Are wore a professional smile, standing elegantly to the side, subtly exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.
She had seen too many scenes like this.
“Morning Light!”
Only Amy was scared, hiding behind Lucoco.
She nervously clutched the hem of Lucoco’s robe, her purple eyes beneath the mask cautiously observing the enthusiastic townsfolk.
Adrian glanced at his sister and shook his head inwardly.
‘What, am I, your brother, that lacking in a sense of security?’
“It’s okay, they’re just very happy.”
Lucoco patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Then she turned a brilliant smile towards the surrounding crowd: “We have come here by order of the Kingdom. Could everyone please make way?”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a lingering trace of magic, ringing in everyone’s ears.
The crowd instantly fell silent, their eyes filled with awe.
“Oh! Quick, quick, make way!”
The townsfolk hastily dispersed, squeezing together to clear a path to the city gate.
“Wow~”
A little girl with braided pigtails squeezed through the crowd, looking up at Lucoco, her eyes full of mesmerized admiration.
“Sister, you’re so pretty.”
Hearing this, Lucoco turned her head, a glint of light suddenly flashing in her eyes.
She stepped forward with a smile, a bottle of potion sparkling with starlight suddenly appearing in her hand, which she placed in the little girl’s palm.
“Do your best~”
Then, under the little girl’s stunned gaze, she put away the hovercar.
“Let’s go.”
Taking the nervously fidgeting Amy’s hand, she led the way towards the city gate.
Adrian and Are followed closely behind on either side, like bodyguards.
The guards stood ramrod straight, flanking the parted crowd on both sides, respectfully welcoming the four into the city.
♢♦♢♦♢
Once inside the city, four guards immediately approached, leading them towards the mayor’s house.
“Morning Light, look.”
Are leaned close to Lucoco’s ear, gesturing for her to look at the player respawn point at the intersection.
“Mhm, there are some over there too, all Players.”
Lucoco’s gaze shifted towards the notice board in another direction.
“So many Players!”
Amy stepped forward, excitedly shaking Lucoco’s arm.
“Amy, how much do you know about the Players?”
Lucoco lowered her head, looking at her curiously.
Amy scratched her head, then started counting on her fingers.
“They’re not afraid of death, they can resurrect, but they can also act recklessly. You can’t rely on them too much. Sometimes they’re very rash and can mess things up. But they’re good helpers. As long as you have a big question mark over your head, passing Players will come to help you.”
“Mhm, well said. Who taught you these things?”
Lucoco grinned, nodding.
“How to interact with Players is what the teachers teach most often.”
Amy answered with a giggle.
…
“The townsfolk’s condition isn’t quite right.”
Adrian, who had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly spoke up.
Lucoco looked up, observing the townsfolk who hurried along, their eyes alert as if ready to face disaster at any moment.
She then looked at the group of Players gathered around the respawn point at the intersection, seemingly discussing something, and murmured, “The Players… might know something…”
Then, she looked at Are beside her.
“Sister Are, I’ll take Amy and Adrian to the mayor’s house. Could I trouble you to gather some information from those Players? Perhaps… we can even find a few qualified helpers?”
“Mhm, no problem.”
Are flashed a bright smile, readily agreeing, and walked with elegant steps towards that group of Players.
♢♦♢♦♢
Soon, the three of them arrived at the mayor’s house.
Mayor Harold, a burly, retired knight with graying hair and beard, wearing chainmail worn from years of use, came forward to greet them.
His face was lined with wrinkles, and his deep-set eyes couldn’t hide his worry.
“Welcome to Suomu Town, Sir Judgment Knight.”
How to respond to the mayor?
A. Gently inquire for details (Increases Amy’s favorability, allows more Players to join)
B. State the purpose of your visit (Increases Adrian’s favorability, triggers combat earlier)
C. Joke to lighten the mood (Lowers all NPC favorability, reduces Player death risk)
Lucoco decisively discarded the latter two options and chose A: “Sir Harold, could you tell us in detail about the monster situation? Perhaps we can help.”
Harold sighed, his voice tinged with weariness.
“Every harvest, those monsters become unusually active. Those crops attract them like a curse! Many Adventurers (Players) take tasks from the board to come and help. But… this time, the monsters surging from the dungeon are too fierce. Even with us all banding together, we can only barely hold them off. It’s said that they are gathering inside, as if to trigger a Mana Tide…”
“Dungeon?”
Lucoco frowned, opening the player map.
After a quick glance, she reached out towards Adrian.
“Adrian… Ed, give me the map.”
“Here.”
Adrian took out the map and handed it to her.
Lucoco took it, spread it out on the table, and checked the markings, her confusion deepening.
“It’s not on the map?”
When she entered the town and the fog cleared on her player map, there was definitely a dungeon icon.
But this map provided by Raymond didn’t have that marking.
“This map was updated just a year ago. The Kingdom’s maps are updated every two years.”
Amy leaned in, poking her little head forward, wearing a proud “I know this” expression.
“Ah~”
Harold sighed, stepping forward. His gaze fell on the map, his voice heavy.
“This dungeon… it suddenly appeared last year during the harvest, without any warning! If it weren’t for the Kingdom’s Black Knight Legion happening to pass by, our town would have been finished back then…”
Hearing this, the three exchanged glances, nodding silently.
Although Raymond hadn’t explicitly stated the specifics of the training mission, it now seemed this dungeon was the core problem they needed to handle.
Among the supplies Raymond had given the three of them were several [Holy Wedges] used to suppress dungeons.
As long as the Holy Wedges were driven into the dungeon’s core, for at least twenty years, this dungeon would be unable to trigger a Mana Tide.
Furthermore, during that time, the dungeon would also become a valuable Magic Crystal mining site, boosting the local economy.
♢♦♢♦♢
“Sir Harold, have you requested aid from [Ironforge Castle]?”
Adrian pointed to a marking on the map and asked.
“Yes, we sent a request for aid a week ago. We just received a reply via Communication Mechanical Pigeon yesterday. Reinforcements will probably take another two days to arrive…”
Harold nodded, but the worry on his face deepened.
“Doesn’t this place have communication crystals?”
Lucoco asked, puzzled.
Such a large town, and it had no communication crystals?
In Echo Territory, even small villages had those things!
“Uh… Sir Knight, that sort of thing… only the major cities in each territory have them.”
Harold gave an awkward smile, then resumed his worried expression.
“I see…”
Lucoco nodded thoughtfully, feeling even more perplexed inside.
‘What’s wrong with this Versadis Kingdom? Everything feels off.’
Seeing the persistent worry on Harold’s face, Lucoco thought for a moment and continued her gentle inquiry.
“Sir Harold, why are you so concerned?”
Harold gave a bitter smile, lowering his head, his voice low.
“For the past two days, no Player squad has been able to successfully enter the dungeon.”
He clenched his fists, forcing the fear in his heart out through gritted teeth.
“I’m worried… we won’t last until the reinforcements arrive…”
“…”
Lucoco’s mouth twitched.
This old man was planting a massive flag right in front of her!
Who didn’t know that in games, when an NPC plants a flag, that flag will become as solid as steel and inevitably come true!
Taking a deep breath, Lucoco forced a gentle smile onto her face.
“I will find a way to gather a Player army to come, Sir Harold…”
“You can really do that?!”
Harold whipped his head around, his eyes wide as he stared at Lucoco, filled with hope as if he’d grabbed a lifeline.
He truly hadn’t expected this petite girl before him to utter such bold words.
Gather Players?
An army?
Even he, a viscount…
No, even the territorial lords, the counts, would find it difficult to accomplish that!
“If you truly can, my lady!”
Harold suddenly stood up straight, bowing deeply, his voice firm and resolute.
“I will do everything in my power to help you compensate for the losses incurred by the gathering!”
“There’s no need for that, Sir Harold…”
Lucoco quickly supported him, but she didn’t refuse his offer of compensation.
If someone was eager to give her money, why would she refuse?
…
After some conversation, and once they understood the town’s current situation and countermeasures, the three bid farewell to Harold and headed into the town.