Chapter 23

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 23 (23/227)

Chapter 23: Quinnze Blonde (6)

“Ah, here it is!”

Ail was spotted entering as Lisa called out to him.

Upstairs in the bustling restaurant’s second floor, she leaned on the railing waving at the table they had secured. Spotting her, Ail quickly ascended.

“Sorry I’m late. Got pickpocketed at the trading post.”

“…Really? Are you okay?”

“Of course I caught them right away. Made a little extra cash too.”

Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise as Ail chuckled and took his seat.

At that moment, the waiter arrived with the food Lisa had pre-ordered via message after Ail caught the thief.

Stew, seafood pasta, ribeye steak, roasted chicken, butter scotch cinnamon pie…

The steamy dishes were placed on the table.

Though it seemed like too much for two people, both were starving and Warode players had massive appetites, so this amount was perfectly manageable.

The presentation was absolutely flawless. Ail carefully cut into the steak before him and took a bite.

“Crazy…”

It was infinitely better than the rank 0 cooking he’d done with rabbit meat.

While basic cooked bread or fancy dishes might give similar satiation points, most players willingly paid for meals in-game for good reason.

If regular-priced food here was this good, high-end restaurants or top-ranked player-cooked meals must be incredible.

Warode replicated real-world ingredients while adding unique in-game spices and flavors, making everything taste amazing.

As Ail savored the food, he suddenly remembered and pulled out the quest item “Casano’s Sealed Letter” from his inventory.

With no location info beyond the city, this letter was their only clue.

Setting it on the table, Ail took a sip of beer and continued.

“I checked while coming here – we’re probably the first to get this item. There’s no info anywhere.”

He’d scoured every site but found nothing on “Casano’s Sealed Letter.”

While it was possible previous finders kept quiet, odds were this was an extremely rare drop.

Warode constantly generated new events, stories, items, and quests even without player intervention.

Even monster drops evolved over time. Items that never appeared before could suddenly start dropping from familiar monsters.

“Ever heard of someone named Casano?”

“Nope, doesn’t sound familiar.”

Not even the premium NPC encyclopedia had any info on Casano.

This likely meant either a completely new NPC, or a minor townsfolk-level character.

“Hmm… This seal seems important then.”

Lisa pointed at the wax stamp on the envelope as Ail nodded agreement.

Aside from the red wax seal used to close the letter, there were no other clues.

Most symbols were familiar to Ail, but this one was completely unknown – definitely not common.

“We should focus on this then.”

Ail grabbed some food while sketching the seal onto paper.

He planned to show this seal and name around town to NPCs.

“This quest seems promising. Might take some time, but signs are good.”

“Agreed.”

Between the unique quest item, mysterious name, and distinctive seal, none of these clues had been discovered by other players yet.

As they finished their meal, Lisa suddenly spoke up.

“You said this came from a Tregawl?”

“Yes.”

Indeed, this letter was a quest item dropped by the Tregawl they’d slain in the Forbidden Ruins.

And those Tregawls only started appearing after Necromancer Latma’s defeat.

“Maybe there’s a hint there somewhere…”

Chewing noodles thoughtfully, Lisa mused.

Recalling her words, Ail also considered the Tregawl and Latma connection.

“Lisa, do you know Latma’s backstory?”

“Yes.”

Latma’s story was fairly well-known among local players.

Once a prodigy, Latma became an elite royal mage at a young age, achieving great success in studies and duties.

But growing arrogant, he delved into forbidden magic.

Discovering a group of dark mages studying banned spells underground, Latma single-handedly confronted them, finding their prized forbidden tome.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened it.

Enchanted, he read through the entire book before panicking and fleeing.

But it was too late. Having mastered both theory and application, Latma now radiated dark mana.

The royal family stripped him of all magical power and exiled him upon discovering this.

Unable to rebuild his lost power, Latma was left with only faint remnants of dark mana.

Ironically, consumed by regret and hatred, he turned to the very forbidden magic that ruined him.

His genius allowed him to master the spells from that single reading.

Using the remaining dark mana, he polluted a village, raising zombies under his control…

Thus began Latma’s story and the origins of the Forbidden Ruins hunting ground.

“So… Maybe this ties back to the royal family?”

“Nah, doubt it.”

No way something this big would be handed to them so easily.

Monsters didn’t always drop related items anyway.

Having organized his thoughts, Ail continued.

“Guess we’ll have to check the back alleys first.”

“Sounds right.”

Whoever sent this letter to Necromancer Latma likely wasn’t doing anything above-board.

Plans made, Ail and Lisa finished eating and stood up.

The owner was counting today’s earnings near the register by the entrance.

Approaching, Ail rested his arms on the wooden counter to speak, when something fell from his sleeve.

“What’s this…?”

The quest item letter fell out, and before Ail could grab it, the owner saw it and reacted with shock.

Something was off.

Ail clearly put the letter back in inventory when standing.

Yet it inexplicably fell out of his empty sleeve, and the owner’s reaction suggested knowledge.

Quickly composing himself, the owner returned the letter.

Then simply said: “Follow me.”

Without waiting for questions, he opened the door and left.

Most players would be stunned in such situations.

But not them.

Seeing Lisa’s glance, Ail nodded.

The quest event had begun.