Suddenly, while walking, he heard a voice in his head.
He stared at the screen with a flat expression.
"Hollow Leaper?"
He actually knew about it because he was the one who wrote it.
But that was the problem.
Hollow Leapers were guardian creatures residing in Fogthrone.
They possessed a slender, tall humanoid form with long, grasshopper-like legs. Their chests appeared hollow, a bottomless dark cavity—hence the name "Hollow."
Their eyes were pale white, or nonexistent, with a chilling, vacant expression. Their movements were unnatural leaps, capable of covering tens of meters in a single bound. They possessed long claws and moved silently like shadows.
'Those creatures are strong.'
Defeating them alone in his current state was impossible.
He wanted to refuse the mission.
However, all his stats would plummet if he declined.
Anxiety washed over him; he bit his lip until it bled.
This was a difficult choice.
Accepting the mission meant a likely pointless death. Refusal meant a decrease of 3 in all his stats.
Improving his stats wasn't easy in his current condition.
He was still too weak.
Hastora stood still for a moment before finally making a decision.
"I'll take this Quest."
Ding!
[Quest Accepted!]
[Quest Name: Hunt in the Fog]
[Rank: B-Rank]
[Objective:] [• Eliminate 3 Hollow Leapers (0/3) ]
[Reward:] [• 50 EP] [• Potion: Pure Mist x1]
[Time Limit: 6 hours]
[Note: Hollow Leapers are creatures that only appear in thick fog. They possess illusion and short-range teleportation abilities. Beware of attacks from blind spots.]
Hastora stared at the screen, his eyes wide.
'Damn!A B-Rank Quest? Whata bastard!'
A B-Rank quest was beyond his current capabilities.
He had only just transmigrated. What kind of Quest was this?
This was insane!
'If I'd known,I would never have written this damn novel!'
Hastora massaged his head, trying to calm his mind.
After a while, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Failure is not an option. I have to complete this Quest, no matter what."
Hastora clenched his fists tightly and quickly strode towards his destination.
He was a little nervous, but that wasn't the issue.
He had already gathered the courage to complete this Quest.
Initially, he only planned to retrieve the Grimoire stored in Fogthrone.
But everything changed when he received a Quest from that damned system.
Now he had to kill 3 Hollow Leapers and retrieve the Grimoire stored there.
'Troublesome.'
He needed to devise a plan to complete the Quest.
He couldn't be reckless; the Hollow Leapers could kill him at any moment if he was careless.
---
After walking for 10 minutes, he finally reached a large forest in the western part of the capital.
He took out the materials he had bought earlier: a light bulb, Noxshade Lilies, and Solflare Moss.
He would create a secret artifact in this forest.
This was the largest forest in the imperial capital; no one dared to venture here because of the numerous powerful monsters.
Hastora appeared calm despite knowing this.
He held a Noxshade Lily in his hand.
The Noxshade Lily could mask one's magical energy upon touch.
This was due to its petals' ability to camouflage magical energy.
With this flower, the monsters in the forest wouldn't be able to detect his magical energy.
He was safe.
Hastora channeled his mana into the Noxshade Lily in his right hand and the Solflare Moss in his left.
Both flowers emitted a dazzling light.
Hastora took the light bulb he had bought from the shop and channeled the magical energy from both flowers into it.
The light bulb lit up with purple and orange light after the magical energy from the two flowers was channeled.
"I did it."
The secret artifact, known only to him, was successfully created.
'It seems the story hasn't changed completely.'
This was proven by the creation of this artifact.
If the story had changed completely, the creation of this artifact would have failed.
But, it didn't.
He created this artifact easily without any obstacles.
Most likely, the story had changed, but not entirely.
Things he never wrote suddenly existed in this world, slightly altering the story.
However, that wasn't something to worry about now.
His main goal was to retrieve the Grimoire, kill 3 Hollow Leapers, and become stronger.
Hastora channeled his magical energy into the artifact.
Hastora's jet-black mana mixed with dark red, merging with the purple and orange energy in the light bulb.
Soon, a multicolored energy enveloped the light bulb.
Hastora pointed his hand at a large tree in front of him.
A small multicolored wave shot at a normal speed towards the tree until...
Zraaaaah!
The air vibrated, and in an instant—a swirling dark green Gate appeared before him, swallowing the surrounding wind.
Hastora quickly entered the Gate with a firm and courageous stride.
A thick fog and ancient, old buildings were visible after he entered the Gate.
Hastora swallowed, his face wet with sweat.
This was far more terrifying than when he wrote it.
The thick fog and old buildings made the scenery even more frightening.
"No, I can't be afraid."
Hastora took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.
He put both arms in his pockets and stepped forward with a flat expression.
He only looked at the road ahead without diverting his gaze.
Unpleasant sights might appear if he looked away.
Although his expression was flat, he was actually very scared.
His legs began to tremble, but it quickly disappeared after he slammed them on the ground.
Returning to his objective, he first had to retrieve the Grimoire stored in this dimension.
But it wouldn't be easy; he had to traverse a secret path to reach a temple in this dimension.
He knew the location of the secret path.
But he wasn't sure if the secret path was still in the same place as in the novel.
The location of the secret path might have moved elsewhere due to changes in the story.
That needed to be confirmed first.
With calm steps, he walked towards the location of the secret path.
However, his journey wasn't smooth as several tall creatures stood in the thick fog before him.
Hastora smiled slightly with a flat expression, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
"Ha ha... Hollow Leapers, huh?... This isn't funny at all... you know that?
To be continued in the next chapter…