Chapter Seventy-Six: The Hidden NPC

Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed and Dragon Soaring Star exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of inevitable resignation. Although Left-Handed Legend had just leveled up, the experience lost upon death was even greater, and now he had surely dropped back a level. One could imagine the bitterness and grief in his heart—it was truly pitiful. As they pondered this, the way they looked at Ye Chen grew somewhat peculiar.

“Why are you all looking at me like that? I had no idea the Fire Elemental Giant would explode. Do the Fire Elemental Giants in the hard difficulty explode? They don’t, right? So it’s perfectly normal that I didn’t know,” Ye Chen shrugged innocently. “Surely you don’t think I’d intentionally harm him? How could someone as kind as me do such a thing?”

Everyone was speechless, save for Dragon Soaring Bull, who kept nodding enthusiastically.

“Other matters are trivial, but missing a holy priest—won’t that affect our progress in the dungeon?” Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed furrowed his brow. He cared nothing for Left-Handed Legend’s feelings, but whether they could clear the king-level dungeon was crucial to Dragon Soaring’s honor. If something went wrong because of this, it would be a waste.

“Relax, Left-Handed Legend’s greatest purpose was dealing with the Fire Elemental Giant. For the upcoming battles, having one more or one less holy priest won’t make much difference.” Ye Chen stepped forward, picked up the Heart of Flame dropped by the Fire Elemental Giant, and smiled. If it weren’t for this Fire Elemental Giant, he wouldn’t have let the self-assured Left-Handed Legend join the team at all. Now that his mission was accomplished, it was better that he left—no more whining, much less annoying.

“Are you sure about the Rock Lord? The king-level Rock Lord must be formidable—won’t losing a holy priest put too much pressure on us?” Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed remained uneasy.

“Brother Leave Empty-Handed, you’re worrying unnecessarily. Bull’s HP is right there—only 1,750 points. The three remaining holy priests each have an average healing output over 580 points. The three together are more than sufficient. Having one more or one less Left-Handed Legend won’t make a difference. It’s not like we’ll break the HP limit.” Ye Chen looked at him, smiled, and continued, “Relax. Once we complete the Heart of Flame quest, I guarantee you won’t be so concerned.”

Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed nodded in response. He realized he’d grown too apprehensive; otherwise he wouldn’t have overlooked such a simple calculation. Taking a deep breath, he quickly calmed down. Looking at the Heart of Flame in Ye Chen’s hand, he smiled and said, “We got the Heart of Flame when we ran the hard dungeon, too, but after searching the dungeon for ages, we never found the NPC to hand in the quest. We thought, like the Heart of Rock, we could hand it in after leaving the dungeon, but as soon as we exited, the Heart of Flame disappeared automatically. Hearing you say this, Ye Chen, it seems this quest is very important for dungeon progress?”

“Hah, the quest description spells it out—it’s an unexpected surprise. You’ll see once you turn it in,” Ye Chen nodded.

“Looks like you’re confident you’ll find the hidden NPC. I’m eager to see it for myself.” Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed’s eyes lit up. From the moment Ye Chen accepted the Heart of Flame quest, he’d been thinking about it. Dragon Soaring had expended considerable effort searching for this hidden NPC, nearly combing through every inch of the Rock Forest, yet still hadn’t found a trace.

Ye Chen smiled quietly. For others, finding this NPC was certainly difficult, but he had read a thorough guide on the Rock Forest. Locating this NPC would not be a problem.

They retraced their steps to the Bridge of Flame. To the right of the bridge was a small side path, its entrance shrouded in foliage—if one didn’t look carefully, it was easily missed. Ye Chen used his staff to push aside the stone branches blocking the way and prepared to enter.

Behind him, Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed and Dragon Soaring Star exchanged another glance, disappointment in their eyes.

“Ye Chen, you don’t think the NPC is hidden here, do you?” Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed tugged at Ye Chen, his tone slightly strange.

“Yes, what’s wrong?” Ye Chen paused, puzzled by his meaning.

“To be honest, we found this side path ages ago and searched inside already. There’s nothing there. If you’re looking here…” Dragon Soaring Star began, but didn’t finish, clearly implying Ye Chen was wasting his time.

“Oh? You searched it too? Tell me, what did you find?” Ye Chen was amused. Judging by their expressions, they were convinced the NPC wasn’t inside and thought his judgment was mistaken.

“There’s nothing but a strange little altar inside—not even a single monster. We examined the altar, but found no mechanism or hidden passage. It’s probably just decorative scenery.” Dragon Soaring Star shrugged, obviously not expecting any secrets to be hidden there.

“Oh, so you think the altar is just a prop?” Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.

Dragon Soaring Star nodded emphatically. They’d checked the altar thoroughly—he was certain there were no mechanisms or hidden passages. Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed agreed, “It really ought to be just a prop. We even invited a hunter skilled in traps to examine it, but he found nothing.”

“Then why didn’t you smash it?” Ye Chen suddenly smiled.

“Smash it? Smash it for wha—” Dragon Soaring Star wasn’t stupid. Hearing Ye Chen’s words, his eyes lit up with excitement. “Ye Chen, you mean…”

“Exactly. Smash it and the secret will be revealed.” Ye Chen laughed. That altar was meant to be destroyed, but most players, upon finding such things, cautiously explore. If they find nothing, they dismiss it as mere scenery—rarely do they think to vandalize it.

The side path wasn’t long, and soon they reached its end. Ye Chen pointed to the small red altar, barely waist-high, and said, “Bull, smash it.”

“Got it, Brother Chen!” On the way, Dragon Soaring Bull had grown increasingly excited at the prospect of unlocking a great secret. That the honorable task fell to him was unexpected. Without hesitation, he swung his heavy club and brought it crashing down on the altar.

Crash.

The sound was like breaking glass. The little red altar collapsed in ruins, and a humanoid creature engulfed in flames appeared before the party—it was the hidden NPC.

“So this is how the secret is revealed.” Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed and Dragon Soaring Star exchanged a glance, each seeing astonishment in the other’s eyes. The hidden NPC they’d searched for so painstakingly had been uncovered by Ye Chen with such ease.