This Quest is Bullshit - Chapter 176

Chapter 176 - It’s Never Over

For the first time in gods knew how many millennia, the sun shined down upon the face of the Man of the Mists. He made for a sorry sight.

The corpse was blue in the face and bruised around the neck where Eve had choked the life out of it. His skin was unnaturally pale and scaly, his features distinctly humanoid yet so alien to Eve she couldn’t begin to guess at his race. No doubt his people had gone extinct long before here time. Mostly extant, she realized. Until now.

Eve let out a heaving sigh as she turned back to gaze at the battlefield. Already healers and laborers toiled to treat the wounded and catalogue the dead. No sign remained of the mistlings.

A hand touched her shoulder.

“Eve, we did it,” Preston breathed. “It’s over.”

“It’s never over,” Eve muttered, a scowl crossing her face.

“What does that mean?”

Eve shook her head. “Something he said. It’s probably nothing—the desperate pleas of a dying man. I’ll need to talk to Emily about it when we get back.” She handed Preston his scepter back. “You came for me.”

Preston took the Ar-gold artifact. “I did. Not long after you left, Primal Instinct started screaming at me to go in after you.”

“I’m glad you did. You really made the difference there.” Eve stooped down to grab the misty boy’s corpse, tossing it over her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s get back.”

Preston glanced over at Reginald. “Want a ride?”

“I’ll walk,” Eve said patting the corse she carried. “I think it’s better people see me returning with this.” Without waiting for a reply, she set off back towards Pyrindel and the battlefield in front of it. Wordlessly, Preston and Reginald fell in behind her.

They formed a funeral procession of sorts, the exhaustion of the battle taking its toll on any sense of victory. The Man of the Mists’ dying words nagged at her, but for the moment Eve couldn’t do anything about them. Whatever threat remained would have to wait until later, preferably until after her Defy came back off cooldown.

As she stepped foot back inside the perimeter Alex had kept, those few brave enough to approach her did.

Rel of all people got there first. “You did good, kid,” he—one of the male clones—said. “Of course, you’re the one who put us in this mess, but I’ll give you credit where credit’s due. I never thought anyone would actually kill that fucker.”

“We’re in your debt,” Mila growled, bowing her head respectfully. “For your heroics, and for the suspicion with which we treated you. I am sorry.”

Alex straight up knocked the corpse from Eve’s shoulder in the process of wrapping her in a great hug. “We did it,” she whispered in Eve’s ear. “You did it. I can’t believe it’s over.”

“Yeah,” Eve exhaled as she pulled away. She tilted her head down towards the man’s corpse. “Let’s get him back to the palace, then drinks are on me.”

“Deal,” Alex laughed, bending over to help bear the body. Eve let her. If anyone deserved to carry home the proof of their victory, it was Alex. Eve might’ve dealt the final blow, but was Alex who’d kept the fog at bay, who’d kept humanity alive while Eve confronted the Man of the Mists.

They walked across the battlefield together.

Again the man’s dying threat echoed through Eve’s brain, and again she set it aside for the moment. She could afford one night to revel in her victory. To distract herself from any needless worrying, Eve dove into her notifications. Two of the early ones sparked her interest.

You have slain the Aspect of Mist: +500 Intelligence!
You have slain the Aspect of Extinction: +500 Willpower!

Eve swallowed. He’d had two aspects, no doubt one for level a hundred and one for level two hundred. At two-eighty-nine, he’d only been eleven levels short of unlocking a third. Eve didn’t want to think about how poorly that fight might’ve gone if he’d had the patience to wait for it.

By sheer coincidence, the over one quadrillion exp the Man of the Mists had dropped on death happened to bring Eve up those same eleven levels, from a hundred to one-eleven. Curiously enough, it seemed they’d all given her stat scaling boosts rather than alternating with ability upgrades. All except her reward for hitting one-ten.

Ability Upgraded!
Passive Ability - Ethereal Manifestation
Can now drain other resources and convert them to Mana once a target’s Mana is depleted.

The upgrade was interesting—it would’ve allowed her to kill the Man of the Mists just by draining him rather than having to resort to choking him out—but seemed of limited utility. Eve was just contemplating the potential use cases for such a skill when a gasp rang out behind her.

She turned to find Preston standing stalk still, his face pale and his eyes shining blue with the reflection of a message screen. “Eve,” he managed, audibly short of breath. “You need to see this.”

Eve’s heart raced. “What’s wrong?” In under a second she’d dropped her half of the body and darted over to Preston. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. The words reflected in his eyes spoke volumes.

Life Quest Complete: Don’t Let Her Die.

“Preston!” Eve practically screamed as she lunged forward to give the man a hug. “Congratulations!”

He hugged her back. “I… I guess that’s it, then. I’m done.”

“You deserve it, Preston,” Eve told him, meaning every word. “I never would’ve made it remotely this far without you.”

“I know,” Preston laughed. “I have the milestones to prove it.”

“Guys…” Alex tapped Eve on the shoulder. “You might want to look around.”

Eve pulled away, casting her gaze around the battlefield to find hundreds of guards, soldiers, and adventurers standing deathly still, the same pale face, shocked expression, and blue-gleaming eyes upon them all. Channeling Mana through her eyes to enhance her vision, Eve caught a glimpse at a few of the closest ones.

Life Quest Complete: Protect Those You Love.

Life Quest Complete: Hold the Line.

Life Quest Complete: Defend Your Home.

Eve’s heart seized. All around her, hundreds of life quests reached their conclusion as the defenders of Pyrindel accomplished their greatest feat: helping defeat the Man of the Mists.

She spotted Rorick, body dripping with blood, sharing the same shocked expression. A grin stretched across Eve’s face as she looked about in awe. So many people, so many lives, had all come together to make this moment happen.

They’d done it. She let out a laugh as she took it all in. They were finished. They’d fought their fight, they’d held the line, they’d defended their home and protected those they loved with all the ferocity and fearlessness the world had ever seen.

And they’d been victorious.

But Eve’s quest continued. Somehow every man and woman who’d fought in the battle of Pyrindel had achieved their life’s purpose, but no Courier came running to deliver her a loaf of bread. In truth, Eve still knew for a fact the city’s bakers hadn’t yet recovered from the Muffin Man’s capture of the flour market.

All these people, Rorick, Mila, Rel, Preston, they’d played their parts, and now they were done.

But Eve wasn’t.

A sense of dread fell over her as the thought hit, and the Man of the Mists’ parting words struck her once more. Eve cursed.

With her mind she reached out to Emily, breaking the queen of Leshk from her own notification-fueled stupor as she sent the message, telepathically looping Preston, Alex, Reginald, and Lumy in on the conversation.

Emily! Where are the Questing Stones?

What? The confusion in Emily’s thought came through clearly. Why?

It’s something the mist-man said before Eve killed him, Preston explained. Where are the Questing Stones?

Emily paused, seemingly taking a moment to ask a nearby advisor for the information. A minute later, she replied. Out west, near the woods. Just north of some small farming village.

Eve could feel the panic in Preston’s message.

What village?

Not the one you and Wes are from, Emily sent. It’s a few days from there. Place called Ponsted. Why? What’s wrong?

Shit, Eve cursed to herself intensely enough for the others to get the message. Shit shit shit. I think I know who the Man of the Mists’ partner is.

“Eve, what is it?” Alex asked aloud. “What’s near Ponsted?”

“What isn’t the problem,” Preston breathed. “It’s who.”

I gotta go, Eve sent.

Eve, what’s going on? Emily asked one last time.

Someone’s on their way to try and destroy the Questing Stones, Eve replied. Which is a disaster in it’s own right, but there’s a much, much more immediate threat.

Eve spared Preston a sorry glance. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Go,” he said, handing the half-charged Ar-gold scepter back to her. “I’ll explain.”

Eve turned west and Charged off, vanishing from view in a pair of seconds.

Whatever’s going after the Questing Stones is biting off more than it can chew, Preston filled in the others.

That’s where Wes is hiding.