Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 148



Only Noblemtl

148

Jinseong thought that if you were to pick the most popular NPC in Slough Industrial Complex during the Anton Raid era, it would probably be Mathias Nessman.

‘If it’s the criterion that users search for the most and have the highest number of visits, then it’s almost certain.’

Unlike other NPCs, Mathias Nessmann was in charge of a ‘drawing-type mini-game’ called the ‘Crane Game’. In addition to being simply addictive, it also offered fairly good rewards, which is why users would always line up in front of Mathias Nessmann.

‘Of course, if you think about it now, it’s all meaningless. These days, they’re old-generation equipment that’s not even used… … and considering inflation, there’s no way to make money by reselling them. No, that’s not all.’

Jinseong walked quickly towards Matthias Nessmann.

There were no visible users around.

“Can I draw now?”

“Of course! We have a variety of crane game products available. Would you like to test your luck?”

The boy, Mathias Nessmann, smiled broadly and pointed to the crane installed behind him.

Jinseong looked at the crane for a moment and asked.

“Can you do it for free?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Are you ignoring me because I’m young?”

“Wh, I’m not ignoring you, but, ahem, then how much do I have to pay-.”

“If you give me five Endless Eternities, three Fused Cubes, or ten Magtonium, I’ll let you draw once.”

Matthias Nessmann stopped his running around and guided us.

Jinseong made a complicated expression.

‘The materials are the same. Strangely, the game that was running fine would sometimes lag when I tried to pull it out, and I lost a few magnoniums and fusion cubes… … .’

I thought back to the old days when I needed materials to pull out a crane once, and if I didn’t pull it out properly, it would literally fly into the air, but now was not the time to be intoxicated by those memories.

Jinseong asked again.

“You can pull it out just by giving me that? Even now?”

“Of course! Of course!”

It had to be that way.

‘… … What is this? Is it contamination?’

As of the update for the current version of the game Dungeon & Fighter, NPC Mathias Nessmann’s ‘Crane Game’ is deleted content.

Jinseong heard the commotion directed at Anton, who was belching black smoke in the distance.

“Oh my… I wish the soldiers would hurry up and do something…”

“What can we do about it? That monster is gone, and it would be good if we could at least build one power plant.”

“That’s right. The electricity is so unstable… I heard that even the imperial capital is in trouble.”

He quickly looked around, including at them, but the people Jinseong wanted were not in sight.

The only people who are visible are people with no nicknames above their heads, and at the same time, people whose appearances are not in Jinseong’s memory.

This means that they are not NPCs that you interact with in the game, but rather the natives who live here in real life.

There are no other users besides them.

Even if you are a user who is progressing through the main scenario quest related to Anton, you will not be wandering around here, in the Slough Industrial Complex.

‘In the Slough Industrial Complex, this is near Slough Erringhill Station. All the NPCs you can interact with in the full-fledged Slough Industrial Complex are near the central street. Based on the Dungeon & Fighter map, you have to go through one warp portal… … . If you just quickly pass by, then it might be okay, but near Slough Erringhill Station, now that even the crane game has been deleted, there are no proper NPCs to interact with, so there’s no way users would be here.’

Jinseong collected his thoughts.

Then he asked Matthias Nessmann.

“Are you thinking of closing the door?”

“Close the door! My dream is to grow my business here and spread crane games to the lower world!”

“Umm… Okay, I understand.”

As soon as Jinseong gave up hope that the problem might be solved if Mathias Nessmann gave up the crane game on his own, he moved away.

His steps quickened as he walked down the central street of Slough Industrial Estate.

It was a natural thing.

‘There was something like this before. In Northmire – there was a time when a contaminated incident was revealed when I met Michelle, even though there were no other users around.’

At the time, I was dumbfounded, but didn’t I eventually find it?

At the moment when Jinseong met Michelle, the female swordsman user who was proceeding with the main scenario quest was in the Duchy of Bel Myer, and Jinseong, who was moving ahead of her, discovered the contamination that occurred a little earlier.

In light of that time, we should still consider that possibility first.

‘That is, it is right to suspect that there may be a user who is currently working on a quest at the Power Station, not right here.’

Dungeon Area: Who is progressing through the Power Station?

Fortunately or unfortunately, Mathias Nessmann doesn’t attract much attention in the current game Dungeon & Fighter, so if users ignore him and pass him by!

As soon as he entered the central street of the Slough Industrial Complex, an area where NPCs related to the Celestial Empire were lined up, Jinseong looked around.

‘There are. Of course. Users… … are there. But two? Three?’

The total number of users who talk to NPC Leah Richter or talk to Niver, who was with them when repelling the cartel, is three.

They all have nicknames floating above their heads, and two of them are supporting characters, judging by the creatures, auras, and avatars they are wearing from past events, and one of them is probably a newbie.

Jinseong quickly scanned all three and figured them out, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion.

‘Whose quest was corrupted? Eeeeek… … .’

The reason he couldn’t make a quick decision was because of the doubts he still had.

The only ‘harbinger of contamination’ that Jinseong has discovered so far is Matthias Nessmann.

‘And that… what the hell does it have to do with anything?’

I couldn’t help but have complicated and subtle thoughts.

That would be the case with Matthias Nessmann’s crane game?

What effect does it have if the user can do it again?

‘Just take a bunch of screenshots and send an email to Neople Customer Service while saying ‘Why is this happening?’ and you’re done. It might even be processed the same day. Whether it’s a crane game or not will literally not have even a little bit of an effect on the flow of becoming a ‘forged blade.’

It’s not that the flow of the main scenario is broken.

Plain: Arad is not disappearing either.

It won’t be the starting point of a major change.

So, is it possible that we don’t have to worry about that pollution?

‘Ugh, but I still need to check it out. It appears to be a sign of contamination, but I also need to consider the possibility that there’s a bigger contamination behind it-. For now, I’ll go after one of the users based on my intuition-.’

“Ah! Isn’t that Jinseong?”

Jinseong was about to take action after a moment of hesitation, but soon a voice called out to him.

Jinseong naturally turned his head.

A tall man was looking at Jinseong with his hand raised.

“-Huh? Oh, hello, Lieutenant General Niver Jun!”

Jinseong also responded to him.

I already knew the background of Brigadier General Niver being promoted to Lieutenant General after virtually destroying the cartel.

Niver’s smile grew brighter, as if he was pleased with Jinseong’s precise answer.

“I was going to tell you this since it’s been a while since we last met, but as expected, you must have heard about it in the imperial capital. Haha, who would have thought that your achievements back then would be recognized and you would be promoted to lieutenant general… Actually, this badge should have belonged to an adventurer or a real person. I think I’m better suited to just drinking cola and living a leisurely life.”

“No, what are you talking about? This was possible because Lieutenant General Niver gave proper command. And the mech Giselle that Giselle rode at that time. If Lieutenant General Niver and his adjutants hadn’t handled it well, the operation probably would have failed.”

The corners of Niver’s mouth didn’t lower at Jinseong’s remarks that were so heartwarming.

Of course, Niver is not the type of person who would like simple flattery.

“That time comes to mind. I was really surprised when I was Mechanic Giselle. I had heard of your reputation as an adventurer from Zeldin, but… actually, what surprised me more at that time was you, Jinseong, than you, adventurer. And for a ‘comrade’ like you to say that about me… ”

Still, there is only one reason why he is so happy.

Because he was someone who literally watched Jinseong from the side, what kind of person he was and what kind of activities he performed.

“Hey, Lieutenant General Niver really did a good job-.”

Even Jinseong felt embarrassed at Niver’s words, which expressed their close relationship with the word ‘comrade’, but Niver’s expression soon changed to a serious one.

“I’m actually sorry. I missed that Giselle.”

It was something that Jinseong could no longer react to lightly.

“You missed Giselle? Where – here?”

“-Yes. Unfortunately… I confirmed that he was fleeing to the Eaton Industrial Complex, and I surrounded him in the Slough Industrial Complex, where his specialty would be most useful, but… I guess he’d already escaped. I’m ashamed.”

Niver flinched as he spoke.

Because I met Jinseong’s wide-open eyes.

Of course, Jinseong could not blame Niver. He could not have been surprised that he had missed it.

In the first place, if Giselle were captured or executed in the main scenario flow related to Apostle Anton, it would be an even greater contamination.

“No, no. Just saying that now has helped me a lot.”

Rather, the reason Jinseong opened his eyes wide was because of new information that he himself was not aware of.

‘Eton Industrial Area… … I see. The current Giselle is hiding somewhere in the Eton area, except for Slough.’

Was he hiding here until he showed up again?

Currently, it is a mess because of Anton, and if you think about the future where everyone’s attention will be focused on what will ‘happen’ even if Anton is subdued, hiding somewhere in the current Eaton Industrial Complex can be said to have been a pretty good strategy to take advantage of the gap.

‘Normally I would just let it go, but… … I have to be careful.’

Considering the possibility of further contamination of Giselle, who had already shown signs of contamination, Niver’s unintentional word was of great help to Jinseong.

Niver, not knowing whether Jinseong was thinking that way, suddenly changed the subject, feeling awkward for no reason.

“Ahem, right, you’re here a while ago, Adventurer. We’re dealing with the guys who occupied each power station in the Power Station and called themselves the ‘Four Guardians of Anton’. If by any chance, Jinseong-nim came to help you-”

“Oh, really? So there’s already someone running the power plant ‘right now’?”

That was also valuable information to Jinseong.

Perhaps, the ‘he’ mentioned by Lieutenant General Niver, an NPC who is currently progressing through the main scenario quest, is likely to be the person to whom contamination is applied, including Matthias Nessmann.

“-It’s spinning? Yes, if I had to put it into words… it’s spinning. There are still some leftovers at the Kore Power Plant and the Purz Power Plant… ”

Niver’s words trailed off.

There was no way Jinseong didn’t know about that intention. In fact, it was something he wanted to take the initiative on.

“Korea Power Plant and Purtz Power Plant, okay? Got it. I’ll go around them all and see what’s going on, and take care of the leftovers.”

The ‘adventurer’ has already cleared the dungeon.

But what if there are still ‘trash mobs’ left?

Shouldn’t we also check it out, as it could be a sign of contamination?

Niver said with joy, as if he were jumping for joy.

“Would you, would you please do that?! If you could do that – Lord Ferrel Wayne would be more than happy!”

Ferrel Wayne.

As one of the Seven Shaz, he is an expert in electrical and power generation systems in particular.

“Ahhhhh, I see. Then… I’m in a hurry so I’ll go first. When I get back, please introduce me to that ‘Farrel Wayne’ guy.”

“Of course! I tell you, you are the greatest comrade Niver knows!”

Jinseong nodded with a sly smile.

If a mid-level figure can push you to become friendly with one of the Seven Shards, a connection will automatically be created anywhere in the Heavens, especially with other Seven Shards figures.

Jinseong started walking straight ahead, guided by Niver.

* * *

Bbbbbb────────

Insect-shaped monsters with bodies exceeding 2 meters in length, such as granites and self-destruct granites, made eerie flapping sounds in various places.

Jinseong looked at them and let out a small sigh.

“There are certainly some monsters left.”

The starting point of the main scenario quest that users can start after reaching level 75 and completing the second awakening.

Dungeon Area: The first dungeon you enter through the Power Station, the Kore Power Plant where the boss monster ‘Fit of Upheaval’ is located.

“I originally came here after completing my second awakening.”

Jinseong let out a small breath again at the ‘trash mobs’ who had discovered him.

It wasn’t because of frustration or fear.

Rather, there couldn’t help but be a bit of a hollow laugh mixed in.

Jinseong tightened his grip on the weapon.

As usual, the mechanical sound of a chainsaw turning was not heard.

What Jinseong was holding was a greatsword the color of a bronze ware.

And that was the reason Jinseong could smile.

“Well… this is .”

He wielded the level 50 greatsword, , obtained from the Tower of Despair.