4. A Task (3)

Serena and Violina appeared at the roadside just as the flash of Grandpa Grim's teleportation magic vanished into thin air.

Around them, yellow streetlights cast a warm glow over the black asphalt. Beside the road, a dense forest loomed behind a tall iron fence, separating them from the darkness of the untamed wilderness.

In front of them lay a wide courtyard, surrounded by three rundown shops.

The shop walls were covered in graffiti, yet strangely, not a single piece of trash or speck of dust was in sight. The place was spotless—too clean, in fact, for somewhere that looked abandoned.

Violina paced around the area, her large wolf tail swaying and brushing against the concrete surface of the courtyard. Miraculously, her tail’s fur remained pristine—no dirt clung to it.

“Serena, this is the place, right? The quest location for those food supplies?” Violina asked, eyes scanning their surroundings carefully. “Check the map. Where’s the NPC supposed to be?”

Serena wordlessly pulled a folded map from the pocket of her skirt.

The yellow light from the streetlamp illuminated the markings on the paper. Serena studied it in silence, fully focused, not immediately answering.

“This place feels weird… It's too clean, but so empty. Something’s off,” Violina muttered, uneasy.

Finally, Serena spoke. “According to the map, we need to head toward the X mark. That’s where the NPC should be.”

Violina glanced at the map in Serena’s hands. The X was behind the three abandoned buildings, down what looked like a narrow path barely visible from where they stood.

They turned their attention to the narrow street—a small alleyway tucked between two derelict buildings, just a few meters ahead.

“You sure that’s the way?” Violina asked with a hint of hesitation, her eyes tracing the eerie path.

Serena gave a quiet nod, her gaze still fixed on the map. Her dragon tail gently thumped the ground—a sign that her mind was made up.

“No doubt about it. That’s where we’re going.”

Violina let out a short sigh. “Okay, if you're sure. Let’s get this done.”

Serena slipped the map back into her dress pocket. But just as she did, Violina’s expression suddenly changed.

Her wolf ears twitched—an unmistakable sign that something was wrong. She whipped her head to the left, eyes narrowing with concern.

“A car’s coming, Serena. A police car.” Violina whispered, tugging urgently at Serena’s dress. “I can hear the siren in the distance.”

Serena shot her a glance, then looked down, tapping her chin in thought.

“We need to hide. Police usually carry rank-A weapons—those can injure us. But why are they patrolling the city border? That’s strange,” she murmured, trying to assess the situation.

“Let’s just hide! The sound’s getting closer.” Violina, growing impatient, grabbed Serena’s hand and pulled her behind a row of large iron dumpsters nearby.

There were three bins—just enough to conceal both of them.

Serena clutched her dragon tail close, making sure it wouldn’t be seen, while Violina did the same with her wolf tail, curling up as small as she could.

Through the narrow gap between the dumpsters, they saw a police car slowly driving past.

Inside were four officers. A couple of them were laughing and chatting, while one appeared to be dozing in his seat. They seemed relaxed—completely unaware they were being watched.

Serena watched the police car roll away, then her expression shifted as something came to mind.

“Grandma Ida was right. She said most human Hunters operate at night. That’s why we were told to bring a teleportation stone.”

Violina raised her index finger confidently, her wolf tail lifting as if to emphasize her words.

“No worries,” Violina said, her expression serious but with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “There has to be a merchant NPC nearby. Even if we didn’t bring a teleportation stone, we can look for one—or worst case, we head to the Hiddenama city gate in the human world.”

Serena crossed her arms and rolled her eyes slightly, sighing long and hard—clearly not convinced by Violina’s plan.

“You’re not wrong,” Serena said, her voice heavy. “But let’s hope the NPC on this quest map has already been paid by the Hiddenama Guild. Because I didn’t bring any money. And heading to the city gate sounds… far. We don’t even know where we are.”

Violina gently squeezed Serena’s hand, then looked her in the eye.

“Don’t worry, Serena. Remember what we learned at the academy—we’re not supposed to fear Human Hunters. We have to stand our ground. If not, we won’t survive, let alone find food. And the merchant NPC? Leave that to me.”

Serena smiled faintly at that. “Sorry, Violina. I was just nervous,” she admitted with a long breath. Her previously gloomy face brightened again. “Alright, you’re right. Let’s move!”

Once the police car disappeared from view, Serena and Violina didn’t waste a second.

They made their way quickly toward the narrow alley between the three abandoned shops. The atmosphere grew darker and more unsettling as they stepped into the passageway.

Trash littered the left side, piled up near overflowing iron bins. The air smelled damp and musty. Despite that, a few white lamp posts flickered along the path, casting a dim glow over the trash-strewn ground.

On the right side of the alley, a group of homeless people lay fast asleep on the cold, grimy floor.

Most had their faces covered in old newspapers. Flies and mosquitoes buzzed around their unkempt bodies. None of them stirred—as if Serena and Violina’s presence hadn’t been noticed at all.

“Serena, look over there,” Violina whispered, pointing ahead at someone who stood out from the rest of the people nearby. “That might be the quest NPC.”

A middle-aged man in tattered clothing leaned against a streetlamp, his head bowed, his body bathed in the glow of the light.

The illumination made him stand out among the other homeless figures, who all seemed to avoid the light. His face was faintly visible, but it was clear—he wasn’t just another vagrant.

“Looks like it,” Serena murmured, her eyes shifting from the man to the others nearby. “He’s the only one here who looks different.”

Seven homeless people were scattered along the roadside, sleeping under the shadowy edges of the alley, deliberately keeping their distance from the light. The silence in the area was thick and heavy, and every step they took echoed eerily in their ears.

Violina turned to Serena, her expression serious.

“Before we approach him, we should hide our monster forms. There could be Human Hunters looking for this quest too. If they see what we are, we’ll be in danger.”

Serena nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Better safe than sorry. We can’t let them know we’re not human.”

Both of them closed their eyes, taking deep breaths, slowly focusing their energy to suppress their true forms.

Serena’s dragon features—her thick blue-scaled tail, pointed horns, and long flame-like ears—flickered with magical light and vanished, leaving only her human appearance behind. Violina’s wolf tail and furry ears shimmered as a breeze swept them away, leaving no trace.

“All set,” Serena said with a relieved breath, glancing behind to make sure her tail was completely gone. Meanwhile, Violina was adjusting her hair, her fingers brushing the place where her wolf ears once were, double-checking that everything had disappeared.

Violina gave a confident nod once she was satisfied. “Let’s go check him out. Hopefully, he’s the one we’re looking for.”

They resumed walking, closing the distance between them and the man under the streetlamp.

Serena reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the quest paper, carefully tucking the map section back in. Up ahead, the man shifted slightly, though he hadn’t fully moved from his slouched position.

“Sir, are you the NPC for this quest?” Serena asked, holding out the quest sheet in her hand.

The man stirred, stretching and letting out a wide yawn.

The sound of it echoed sharply in Serena and Violina’s ears, startling them for a moment. His eyes slowly opened, weary but alert, locking immediately onto the paper Serena held.

“You’re right, miss,” he said after glancing briefly at the paper. “This is my quest. So, which reward do you want? I’ve got three options: a box of potions, madness dust, or some snacks.”

Without hesitation, Serena replied, “We’ll take the snacks, sir. What do we need to do?”

The man paused for a moment, then a strange little smirk crept onto his lips. His eyes narrowed, as if something had just clicked.

“Well, well,” he murmured softly, his gaze sharpening. “You’re not human, are you? Only monsters would choose snacks as a reward. Humans never want them.”

Serena and Violina held their composure. Even though the NPC had seen through their identity, there was no trace of panic or fear in their expressions. They stared back at him sharply, alert and cautious.

“Alright then, sir. Now that you know who we are, just tell us what we need to do,” Violina said, stepping forward to stand beside Serena. Her voice was calm, but a hidden tension laced her words.

The man gave a thin smile, lifting the quest sheet Serena had given him.

The yellowed paper looked blank—no clues, no writing. But slowly, markings began to appear, as though ink was rising from within the paper itself.

A magic circle started to form, and inside it, the images of seven grotesque zombies began to emerge.

“Your task is simple,” the man said, his voice cold and emotionless. “Defeat the seven zombies.”

Serena and Violina frowned, exchanging confused glances. The quest had suddenly become much more complicated than they’d expected. Serena bit her lip, trying to process what was actually happening. But before they could react any further, the man smiled—a cold, mysterious smile.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps echoed behind them.

Serena sensed someone rushing toward her, accompanied by a raspy, growling scream that sounded like a furious howl. Instinct took over before she had time to think.

In one swift motion, she turned around and kicked hard, her foot slamming straight into the attacker’s stomach.

The figure was flung backward, crashing into a metal dumpster with a loud bang. He tumbled to the ground, his knife clattering across the concrete.

Serena let out a slow breath, eyes fixed on the undead creature lying motionless on the ground. Its eyes were vacant, mouth agape, emitting a low, guttural moan from stiffened lips. Its body jerked unnaturally, trying to get back up.

Violina stared, wide-eyed. “Are those… the zombies?”

Serena gave a slow nod, her expression sharpening. “Looks like it. Violina, we need to be ready.”

At that moment, the other homeless figures—who had appeared to be asleep—began to rise.

Some of their bodies were mostly intact, while others were rotting, with swarms of flies circling patches of blackened flesh. A foul stench filled the air.

Several reached for weapons hidden beneath their ragged blankets—rusty knives, small katanas, iron baseball bats, and broken metal pipes. They moved sluggishly, but with enough coordination to pose a real threat.

“Don’t mind me,” said the middle-aged NPC, now lounging casually atop an old trash can. “You’ve got two hours. If you fail, these zombies will regain full awareness… and start infecting nearby humans.”

Violina glared at the NPC, irritation flickering in her eyes. “Yeah, I know the risk,” she muttered with a sigh. “This is the human world, and yet they don’t even want to handle quests like this themselves.”

Serena chimed in with a faint smirk. “Well, the reward is kind of small.”

The seven zombies began to gather in the center of the alley. Their eyes glinted under the streetlight as they gripped their rusted weapons with decaying hands.

Without warning, they let out ghastly screeches and charged at Serena and Violina, their footsteps scraping noisily against the pavement.

“I’ll go first!” shouted Serena.

Without hesitation, she rushed forward. Her fist shot out, slamming into the face of a zombie and sending its rotten teeth flying through the air.

Another zombie lunged with a knife, but Serena quickly caught its wrist and delivered a fierce kick to its stomach, hurling it across the alley. Just then, another zombie with a long screwdriver jabbed at her side.

Serena winced, but without hesitation, she retaliated with a punch to its face, striking so hard that its head snapped sideways.

The rest of the zombies stumbled into one another, their formation falling apart.

Violina didn’t hold back. She dashed in behind Serena.

Sliding low beneath a swing, she uppercut one zombie in the chin, lifting it slightly into the air. In the same motion, she spun and delivered a sidekick to another zombie wielding a pipe, sending it staggering backward.

Serena followed up, landing a punch on the zombie holding the pipe.

Meanwhile, Violina finished her combo with a sharp heel kick to the face of a zombie brandishing a meat cleaver. Within seconds, the zombies were in complete disarray, unable to maintain their already fragile formation.

As the fight settled for a moment, Serena reached for her stomach, fingers brushing the torn fabric of her dress where the screwdriver had struck.

“They weren’t carrying rank-A weapons, thankfully. Their attacks barely hurt,” she said with a small smile. “But look at my dress. It’s ruined.”

Violina chuckled and gave her a light pat on the shoulder. “Relax, Serena. We’ll find a good tailor in the city once we finish this quest.”

The zombies that had previously been defeated now lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies motionless.

Their necks were twisted—clear evidence of the brutal fight Serena and Violina had just endured. Seeing the carnage, the middle-aged NPC sitting casually atop the trash can began clapping, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

“Is it over now? Can we claim our reward?” Serena asked, slightly out of breath but still alert.

The NPC kept smiling, but didn’t answer immediately. “The strength of monster-kind is truly impressive. Far greater than that of humans, of course,” he said, his eyes gleaming with a sly light. “Which is exactly why I think this quest’s difficulty should be raised… just a little.”

With an icy tone, he clapped his hands three times. The sharp sound echoed down the silent alley, followed by a strange tremor from the zombie corpses scattered on the ground. Serena and Violina tensed, eyes narrowing.

Slowly, the corpses began to writhe, then drag themselves toward one another.

Their flesh began to melt and merge, forming a grotesque mass. Bones, limbs, and rotten tissue fused into a new form—a massive, hulking zombie with seven heads, each facing a different direction.

Violina stared in disbelief. “Monsters can evolve like this now?”

The NPC looked at them, his expression dark and foreboding. “The gods’ game has changed, girls. Many new rules are coming—ones that favor humans. You monsters would do well to be cautious.”

Before Serena or Violina could respond, the giant zombie let out a deafening roar from multiple mouths—and without warning, a massive fist came crashing toward Violina.

“Violina!” Serena shouted.

But Violina, caught off guard, couldn’t react in time. The huge fist struck her hard, launching her across the alley and slamming her into a pile of metal trash bins. A loud crash rang out as she collapsed among the debris.

Serena didn’t escape either. In the blink of an eye, the giant zombie lashed out with a brutal kick, sending her flying.

Her body slammed through the wall of an abandoned shop, smashing it apart. She landed hard inside, crashing into a metal shelf, gasping for air.

“Ugh… my hands,” Serena muttered, pain flaring in her arms. She looked down to see blue blood seeping from torn skin—wounds from blocking that devastating kick.

She lifted her gaze, eyes narrowing with sharp alertness as she studied the giant zombie from afar.

There was something different about this creature. Its body—especially around the arms and back—looked hardened, almost stone-like, with jagged spikes protruding from some areas.

Serena’s sharp eyes scanned the creature’s massive form, her expression tense and calculating.

“This isn’t normal,” she whispered, wiping the blue blood from her hand. “Quest monsters were never this enhanced before.”

Hissing quietly, Serena pushed herself up, brushing dust and debris from her dress.

The wounds on her hands began to heal rapidly, fading as time passed. She clenched her fists, then launched herself forward with force.

Serena leapt into the air, driving a powerful punch toward one of the zombie’s heads.

But the blow was immediately blocked by the creature’s enormous left hand. Serena didn’t let up. In a flash, she vaulted even higher and drove her knee into its neck.

What followed was a fierce one-on-one clash between Serena and the monstrous zombie.

Punches flew. Kicks clashed. Each blow landed with incredible speed—too fast for the untrained eye to follow.

Serena dodged most of the attacks, but a few of the zombie’s crushing blows landed. Still, every time Serena struck back, the wounds she inflicted closed almost instantly. Flesh reknit itself, sealing the damage as quickly as it appeared.

“Damn it! Its wounds are healing too fast!” Serena growled, frustrated.

In the distance, Violina's body was still half-buried in a pile of trash, with only her backside visible. While continuing her fight, Serena shouted, “Violina! Get up, now!”

The male NPC remained seated casually, watching the battle with a mischievous grin. “Go on, Miss!” he called out, his tone laced with condescension.

Serena clenched her jaw, tightening her fists. “There’s no other choice,” she muttered with quiet determination. “I have to use magic to defeat this zombie monster.”

Suddenly, a loud yell came from Violina’s direction. “You ugly piece of rot!”

Serena glanced over her shoulder to see Violina beginning to rise. A fierce wind swirled around her body, growing stronger by the second. Her wolf tail had burst out from beneath her skirt, and the trash around her lifted into the air, spinning with her rising energy.

Violina vanished in a blink, moving so fast she appeared only as a blur.

Moments later, she reappeared above the giant zombie’s head—now fully transformed into her majestic wolf-beast form. Her ears stood upright, her thick fluffy tail lashed violently, and sharp brown claws glistened on her hands, etched with glowing magical symbols under the dim light.

With a roar of fury, Violina slashed her right claw across the zombie’s face. A powerful gust of wind accompanied the attack, forming a shockwave so intense that the ground below trembled.

The wind carried by Violina’s attack tore through the monster, cleaving its massive body into four uneven pieces. The hulking form collapsed with a thunderous crash, split by the raw force of her claws. Deep scars tore through the earth where her attack landed, destroying everything in its path.

Serena, standing several meters away, stared in awe. “Incredible, Violina.”

Violina, now perched atop the remains of the zombie’s broken body, was still growling softly. “They won’t rise again. Not after this.”

The male NPC gave a slow clap, still wearing his satisfied expression. “Well done. You’ve succeeded.”

Dark shadows emerged from the ground, creeping toward the dismembered pieces of the zombie’s corpse. One by one, the limbs and torsos were consumed, dragged into the earth and vanishing without a trace.

Serena and Violina both let out long breaths, relieved that the battle was over—though their senses remained sharp and alert.

They straightened their torn, dust-covered clothes, but curiously, one of the zombie’s heads remained behind. Of the seven heads the creature had, only one hadn’t been pulled away by the shadowy void.

“Sir, can we get our reward now?” Violina asked sharply, her eyes piercing.

The NPC gave a lazy smile, raising a finger to point at the remaining head.

“Of course. But first, bring me that zombie head. Then, I’ll give you your reward.”

Violina sighed, her footsteps heavy as she walked toward the grotesque head. With a casual motion, she kicked it toward the NPC.

“Here!”

The zombie’s head flew through the air, but the NPC caught it smoothly, without flinching. “Such poor manners, Miss Wolf,” he said with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

He placed the head atop Serena’s quest paper, which had been laid on the ground. Slowly, the head melted into thick black blood, which seeped into the parchment, tracing glowing sigils and incantations across its surface.

The NPC rolled up the now-transformed quest scroll and flicked it toward Serena with a snap of his wrist. “My part is done,” he said coolly.

Startled by the sudden toss, Serena barely managed to catch it. “Eh!” she gasped, fumbling slightly as she grabbed it in both hands.

Meanwhile, the NPC began to fade away, his body swallowed by the same dark shadows as before. His voice echoed faintly, though his final message was crystal clear.

“You monsters should be careful. The humans are surely planning something big to win the rewards of the next grand quest.”

Serena tucked the scroll into the pocket of her dress, her expression shifting to something more serious. “What kind of plan?” she asked, her voice tinged with both curiosity and caution.

The NPC only shook his head, half-smiling. “You’ll see soon enough. Just look at the quests humans are chasing after.” And with that final sentence, his body disappeared completely, merging into the shadows until nothing was left behind.

Violina stepped closer, standing beside Serena. “He’s not going to say anything else.”

Serena closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. “Yeah. I know. But his words… they leave me uneasy.”