Dark Magician Isekai: Return and make Fantasy World into a VR Game

"Assassinate who?" Blossoming Strokes looked up in astonishment.

"Lord Yang, the NPC who sits in the Town Hall drinking tea. The one you're grinding reputation with!" Give Me Medicine said excitedly. "It's a quest discovered by the laborers. They saw the NPCs not returning to their tents after their shift and went to strike up a conversation. One of them said they were preparing to assassinate Lord Yang and asked if the players were willing to join!"

"Wait a moment, isn't Lord Yang the mage instructor… and resurrection master for the undead race? If that NPC dies, wouldn't we undead be unable to resurrect?" an astonished Qin Guan exclaimed.

"Don't be hasty. Which NPC issued the quest to players?" Blossoming Strokes quickly gathered up the tools she was using for her current quest.

"It's the NPC next to the armor merchant, the one who teaches the lifestyle class of skinning and butchering. Oh, his name is Manan," Give Me Medicine said.

"The lifestyle class instructor plotting against Lord Yang? What kind of bizarre plot is this?" Qin Guan couldn't help laughing out loud.

"It's not only one lifestyle class instructor. Manan also said that all the advanced human NPCs in the town have united to oppose Lord Yang. It's definitely a major plotline!" Give Me Medicine continued animatedly.

"Let me finish this quest first and we'll go have a look." Blossoming Strokes then asked Give Me Medicine, "How many people have discovered this quest?"

"Um… it's hard to say at the moment," Give Me Medicine replied hesitantly. "Those laboring players who discovered this major quest individually called their own friends. It was one of my buddies that informed me."

"Whoa!" Blossoming Strokes exclaimed. "Vanilla, hurry, gather up everyone. This quest might not actually involve assassinating someone. How can an NPC who teaches skills be killed? But there must be follow-up quests, and we mustn't fall behind!"

"Alright!" Qin Guan took off at once.

Elsewhere, after listening to the two players explain the situation, Zheng Qingyue and the others also hurriedly followed them toward the gathering place of the advanced NPCs…

"I feel like something isn't quite right. Isn't it said that when an advanced NPC dies, certain classes will become inaccessible? Lord Yang is the mage instructor, right? What would happen to players who want to play as mages if he dies?" asked Yang Ying, who was confused, while running alongside.

"Heh, NPCs in games are like the demons blocking the path in Journey to the West. Those without backing are doomed to die. Who knows, they might be sacrificed for a small quest without even getting a death scene transition animation. However, those with backing can't be killed no matter what," Tang Jia said. "Now, besides the combat class and lifestyle class instructors in town, aren't there several others who just idle about? I reckon that no matter who we charge at and call out to kill at the beginning, it will be those unimportant NPCs that will die in the end. Let's wait and see how things unfold."

"That's right. In general, NPCs with backstories or quests won't actually be killed," Jia Luo chimed in. "Take Duoduo in JX3, for example, who respawned many times and would have died long ago if she was replaced by another NPC. But because Duoduo has a special status, she can't be killed no matter what. Whenever a new version is released, the game officials bring her out to show off her lovey-dovey relationship with the player."

Yang Ying listened in bafflement. Even NPCs in the game have to rely on connections? Isn't that too realistic?!

"There are exceptions as well. If it is for the plot, even important NPCs might meet their end," Zheng Qingyue spoke up. "But if it's a true plot death, it means a new expansion pack is on the horizon and a replacement for Lord Yang's position will emerge in the ranks of the advanced NPCs. In any case, it's a plot of internal strife among the advanced NPCs in Exile Town. It wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for someone like Yang, a black mage who seems antagonistic, to meet his demise."

"Uh… Oh yes, oh yes," Tang Jia no longer held onto her original view and readily supported her childhood friend without any hesitation. "During the breakthrough mission we did before, Lord Yang even killed Morris, the male protagonist in the quest, and used his skull as an ornament."

"Or perhaps Lord Yang won't meet his end but become a boss in a dungeon," Zheng Qingyue added. "They've already introduced monster spawns in the open world, so there's no reason not to introduce a dungeon."

"Boss Entropy is right!" The two other players who were sucking up to Unceasing Entropy were convinced and gave thumbs-ups. "Boss Entropy, if a new dungeon is opened, could you take us along?"

"No problem!" Tang Jia jumped in to take charge before Zheng Qingyue even said anything. "Which instructor are you two grinding reputation with? What job do you guys plan on switching to?"

As they rushed along the road, a group of players who were preparing to log out called out to them out of curiosity, "Where are you guys headed? Grinding monsters this late at night?"

"To do a quest." Tang Jia beckoned loudly. "Do you want to join us? It's a large-scale plot quest!"

"What the heck? There's such a good thing?!"

"Count me in! Count me in!"

"Please lead me along, boss!"

With their oil lamps, Hal, Tuttle, and Finley walked in the dark night and arrived at the secret rendezvous point at the designated time.

In a secluded site overseen by a certain zombie NPC, the three extinguished their lamps and huddled in a corner, whispering furtively.

"Has everyone been informed?" Hal asked.

"Everyone's been told." Tuttle nodded.

Finley said, "I excluded Charlie Rex. That fella isn't on the same page as us. When I informed our brothers in the western part of the town, I reminded them not to alert him."

"Well done, Finley. I nearly forgot about that fella. We can't alert him, or he might tip off Yang," Hal praised. "I also gave hints to an undead to assist us in our secret operation…"

During their conversation, Knight Jerome, former tailor Anthony, Butcher Manan, and their fellow Sacred Crow brothers arrived in succession.

"I've been waiting a long time for this day!" Anthony, the tailor, eagerly swung his short sword. "Hal, when do we make our move?"

Anthony, a towering man over two meters tall, used to be an ordinary citizen of the Kenyan Empire and indeed worked as a tailor many years ago. However, he considered that part of his life a "dark history" once he discovered his talent for combat and wholeheartedly joined the ranks of mercenaries.

It was because he had chopped up a guy who mocked him by asking him to "go back to sewing women's underwear" that he, who was originally a lawful mercenary, ended up as a member of a bandit gang.

Anthony, who was very proud of his bravery and talent for combat, had been given the label of "tailor" above his head by Yang Qiu and was tasked with selling waist pouches and backpacks and mentoring players looking to switch jobs to a tailor.

Thus, it wasn't difficult to understand the humiliation that Anthony had to endure.

Compared to the high-spirited Anthony, Knight Jerome appeared worried. "Tuttle, isn't it too risky to move so quickly? We have no idea about the true strength of the Nightmare Butcher…"

"Shut up, Jerome!" Anthony glared at him. "If you're afraid, then go hide in your doghouse and don't embarrass yourself here!"

"Enough." Tuttle raised his hands to placate the duo and said solemnly, "It's true that Black Mage Yang is indecipherable and we might not be able to confront him alone. However, it's not like we don't have a chance. You all know how crazy the undead summoned by Yang are. We can use them, creatures from the dimensional realm, to our advantage."

"Ah?!" Jerome exclaimed in astonishment. "Tuttle, how can you all take such a risky approach?! Those undead are creatures summoned by Yang!"

"Don't worry, Jerome. I guarantee that we can make use of these undead." Hal smiled confidently. "In fact, I've already tried giving hints to a certain undead, telling it that we can give all that it desires if it helps us rebel against Yang. This undead was even more eager than we imagined, and it has already gone to contact its companions!"

Just as Hal said that, the group of former bandits heard the distinct sound of rattling bones approaching from the direction of the street.

"See, they've arrived. That madman Yang will pay the price for his madness—"

Hal stood up gleefully, raising his hand and gesturing for his comrades to look in the direction of the sound…

And then, he was dumbfounded.

The sight that greeted them was several dozen undead filling the entire street and audaciously rushing toward the planned meeting point of their conspiracy…

Running at the front of this crowd was the undead that had received the "hint" and happily told Hal that it would bring reinforcements to participate in this "secret operation." That same undead being was enthusiastically waving its bony arms from afar, calling out, "Hal-san! Your undead friends have come to help!"

Jerome, Tuttle, Finley, and the others stared at Hal with their mouths agape.

Hal felt a pang of regret and had to quickly make a shushing gesture. "Lower your voices! Quiet!"

The player that had unwittingly "triggered this hidden quest" immediately turned to Brother Lahong and said, "The NPC says to keep our voices down."

"Everyone, speak softly!" Brother Lahong barked out the order.

The large group of players eagerly responded, "Understood!"

"OK, Boss!"

Hal. "…"

Tuttle silently turned away while Finley put a hand to his forehead.

A pale-faced Hal looked back at his comrades and explained, "I did tell them to discreetly gather reinforcements and secretly rendezvous with us…"

Before anyone else could voice their opinion, another round of intense rattling sounds echoed.

The former bandits nervously turned their heads toward where the noise was coming from.

Yet another large group of skeletons filling out an entire street was brazenly making their way toward the "secret rendezvous point."

"Ah, found it! Over here!" The player at the front spotted the huddled group of advanced NPCs in a shady corner and proclaimed loudly.

"Gosh, we finally found them!"

"Brother Lahong and the others are here already. We didn't miss out on the plot yet, right?"

"Told you guys to move quickly instead of dragging your feet and waiting for one another. We don't have that much time to waste!"

"Manan! Your undead friends have come to help!"

The former bandits stiffly turned their necks and looked at the pale-faced Manan.

Manan was on the verge of tears. "I-I just… I just wanted to contribute a little and enlist the help of a few undead…"

Finley, one of the strategists, muttered, "O Lady Gold Coin, can this still be called a secret operation?"

Two large groups of undead, with a total of more than a hundred skeletons, surrounded the 18 advanced NPCs. The closer the two groups got, the less attention they paid to the NPCs as their focus shifted entirely to each other.

"Haha, Vanilla, you also received the mission, huh?" Brother Lahong broke the awkward silence.

"Heh heh, yeah. Give Me Medicine's friend received it." Qin Guan forced out a smile in reply.

The two locked eyes in silence, creating a tense, awkward atmosphere…

The previous hidden quest that Give Me Medicine triggered had required both teams to join forces, but the main force of the battle hadn't been the players but the zombie general. For the current hidden quest, there were 18 advanced NPCs leading the charge, and both sides firmly believed they had the absolute strength to succeed.

In addition, during the period when both teams joined up to farm in the Spider Cave, there were frequent team wipes, which made everyone restless and blaming one another became common practice… Although it had only been a few days since their last cooperation, neither Brother Lahong nor Qin Guan wanted to suggest a "mutual cooperation strategy for this quest."

A player from Brother Lahong's side couldn't hold himself back and shouted, "Vanilla Boss, even if you guys also received the quest, isn't there a 'first come, first serve' rule?"

Once one spoke up, others followed suit, "Yeah, we arrived before you guys did. It wouldn't be fair if you just swooped in and took over."

"That's right, how about forming a queue? We'll go first, and if we can't complete it, then you guys can take over."

Players on Vanilla Pudding's side weren't pushovers either. Someone immediately retorted, "That's not how it works. Didn't Brother Medicine call you guys to join him in the worldview breakthrough quest back then? Now, why are you guys trying to monopolize the quest this time around? That's no way to conduct oneself, right?"

"Yeah, Vanilla Boss didn't forget about you guys when there were spoils to be shared, but now that you guys have something, you forget all about Vanilla Boss?"

The moment the previous hidden quest was mentioned, players on Brother Lahong's side had more to say.

The player responsible for the initial outburst immediately started berating loudly, "Have some shame! When Brother Medicine received that quest, our side clearly contributed as well. And so did the few girls with Unceasing Entropy. But in the end, did you guys even ask for others' opinions when you pocketed the settlement rewards given by the zombie general all by yourselves?"

Give Me Medicine had no choice but to step in and defend himself. "Don't falsely accuse me, buddy. What do you mean pocket it all? There was only one blue-quality dagger among the rewards, and didn't I distribute money to the entire team?"

"Who are you kidding? You didn't even bother auctioning off the first blue-quality weapon with special effects in the entire game and instead gave out some copper coins to dismiss everyone else? Do you think our side is lacking in money?!"

"No, I specifically wanted to advance to a Wanderer class, and this dagger was a profession requirement!" Give Me Medicine got anxious. "At that time, no one else on the quest team was going to become a wanderer!"

"If you distributed money to others, it means you acknowledged that that weapon could be settled with coins. Then, whoever puts out more money should get the final say. Taking it for yourself is just dirty!"

"Yeah, dirty piece of trash!"

"F*ck! Watch your language!"

The bunch of former bandits was still reeling from the shock of their secret operation turning into a chaotic marketplace when they watched in astonishment as the two groups of skeletons started brandishing their blades and started hacking one another…

Hal Maxwell slowly raised his hands and grasped his head.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What is going on?!

I just wanted to get rid of Yang and maybe get a fortune before going on the run again. Why did such a simple plan turn so tumultuous?!

As the bunch of players led by Unceasing Entropy arrived at the said venue… They saw more than a hundred players engaged in a massive brawl on the streets, with occasional flashes of white light going off in the crowd.

"What the hell?!"

The group, mainly consisting of casual laborers and leisure enthusiasts, was startled and immediately came to a halt.

"What's going on? Why are they fighting?"

"Is it because of trying to snatch the quest? That's blown way too much out of proportion. Can't they discuss it properly?"

"Boss Entropy, what should we do? Do we still go over?"

"Let's wait for now." Zheng Qingyue, while also taken aback, raised a hand to signal that they shouldn't rush in.

She had assumed this mission could be completed cooperatively, just like the previous worldview breakthrough quest. The game had only been online for just a few days, and it was unlikely that there would be major conflicts among players themselves…

"Ah!" Zheng Qingyue slapped her forehead, recalling what had occurred during the settlement of the hidden quest.

The reward given by the zombie general after completing the three stages of the hidden quest had been rather decent—a pretty blue-quality dagger with a critical strike bonus effect. Give Me Medicine, who had triggered the quest, intended to play a wanderer class and could make use of the dagger, so he happily kept the weapon for himself. Of course, since it was a quest completed by eleven people, Vanilla Pudding, in order to maintain a sense of fairness, gave out a few hundred coins to those who took part as a share.

Zheng Qingyue herself wanted to become a healer, and her friends Tang Jia and Yang Ying both wanted to play warriors, so there weren't any objections to the reward distribution. However, back then, Brother Lahong visibly wasn't that pleased—he had already formed a team at that time after all, consisting of players who wanted to advance to various classes, and had indeed been covetous of that dagger.

With an understanding of the causation, Zheng Qingyue told the players who trusted her reputation and followed her, "We won't rush over first. Let's wait for them to come to a conclusion before deciding."

After pausing for a moment, Zheng Qingyue added, "Regardless of which side comes out on top, let's not try and snatch the quest. We'll just negotiate with them calmly. If they are willing to let us join, then we'll go together. There's no need for the main rewards, and just a small share would be fine. And if they are unwilling to let us join, we'll just watch the spectacle from the sidelines. How does that sound?"

The more feisty players had long gone to hang out with Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding already. The ones that played alone were more mellow and hence nodded in agreement. "Alright, Boss. We'll follow your lead."

So, these thirty-odd players found their own spots to sit down and become peaceful spectators.

Ji Tang silently observed the crowd of brainless players in the distance fighting like wild animals, then glanced at the friendly atmosphere among his group that was sitting on the ground and spectating… Hmm, it seems like players are also a diverse bunch.

Near the center of the mass brawl, the former bandits that had seen the bunch of undead start fighting without any reason started to retreat silently.

"…Hal." With some difficulty, Tuttle spoke up, "I suddenly feel… that it isn't a good idea to win over these idiots."

"I think so too," Finley stiffly agreed.

Hal's facial expressions went through several changes before he gritted his teeth with determination. "Forget it! We'll do it ourselves!"

Regardless of whether they continued with their operation or not, Yang would eventually find out about this chaotic battle. The former Sacred Crows had no way out now!

In the midst of the chaos, a player noticed that the advanced NPCs were leaving and hurriedly shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop! The NPCs are running! The quest will be lost!"

Players engaged in fierce melees turned their heads to look… and it was indeed as the player said! The advanced NPCs, who were supposed to stand by and wait for the outcome of the fight before issuing the quest, had run a short distance away!

Hadn't the reason why everyone engaged in verbal and physical clashes been to secure the quest?! As a result, many hurt players on both sides quickly ceased fighting and anxiously chased after the NPCs who were about to escape.

"Wait, don't go! Give us the quest before leaving!"

The casual players who were watching from a distance grew anxious as well when they saw the advanced NPCs collectively retreating.

"Did they stop interacting with the NPCs for too long?"

"Boss Entropy, what do we do?"

"We'll go around and get in front of them!" Unceasing Entropy said immediately. "These NPCs are heading to the Town Hall to assassinate Lord Yang. Let's get there first!"

The group of casual players began to move, while the first player that had been chasing caught up to the group of retreating former bandits.

"Issue the quest—!"

The member of the former bandit gang at the rear, who was acting as the last line of defense, had never seen such a scene where hundreds of skeletons charged at him with murderous intent. In a reflexive response, he struck back and slashed the fastest player, turning him into a flash of white light.

"The f*ck!"

Other players who had caught up were dumbfounded as they witnessed the advanced NPCs attacking.

"What's going on? Weren't these NPCs inviting us to revolt against Lord Yang's tyranny together? Why are they attacking us?"

"I don't know! Where's the one who triggered the quest? Does the quest log say anything?"

"There was nothing! Just the dialogue trigger at the start. There's no quest showing on the quest log!" The player, who had "received" the quest on Brother Lahong's side and had been consciously protected and survived the chaos, quickly spoke up now.

"No quest on the quest log?" On Vanilla Pudding's side, Blossoming Strokes, who had also been protected by her teammates and avoided death, turned to Give Me Medicine's friend who had "received" the quest.

"Um, there's none indeed. Only the dialogue where the NPC said that there will be benefits if we help kill Lord Yang," replied the other player.

A number of players immediately felt that something was off…

"Let me test it out!" Without any hesitation, Give Me Medicine picked up a stone and forcefully hurled it at the advanced NPC that was running at the back.

Players and former bandits were all within the same imprint matrix and theoretically couldn't see each other's health bars, but that didn't mean they couldn't attack each other. Otherwise, players wouldn't have been frequently cut down by advanced NPCs.

"Owww!"

The stone struck, causing the advanced NPC to stagger. He then turned around angrily, brandished his blade, and charged at the players…

"We can attack them?!"

"The heck? They have health bars now?!"

Instantly, many players roared with excitement.

Due to the difference in strength, lack of health bars, and "green IDs representing allies," players hadn't yet realized that they could attack advanced NPCs.

Blossoming Strokes had a feeling something was amiss and wanted to call everyone to discuss it in detail. However, most of the players, with their blood pumping from battle and eager for combat, weren't easily deterred. Regardless of whether it was players on Vanilla Pudding's or Brother Lahong's side, many grabbed their steel blades and rushed forward fervently.

The former bandits, who had never thought much about these "fragile" players, had always restrained themselves due to the imprint matrix's restrictions. But now that they were going against Yang, they naturally didn't care about the rules set by him. Seeing these insane undead overstep their boundaries, the ferocious nature of the former bandits surfaced, and they struck back mercilessly.

To be fair, these former bandits weren't weak. Even the lowest-ranked among them, according to Yang Qiu's "Special Level System," was at least level 3 or higher, making them stronger than the giant rat in the town's south.

However… The reason the demonized rat could still guard the exit even after players had procured weapons and equipment was because it had thick skin that couldn't be penetrated by players' attacks.

The former bandits, on the other hand, couldn't match the defensive power of a demonized creature.

Anthony, who was confident in his combat skills, killed several players in one breath. However, he received an unexpected blow to an unprotected area on his arm, causing him to drop his sword.

"Equipment drop!"

A player among those surrounding Anthony joyfully pounced on the dropped sword.

A nearby player recognized the ID of the player that had snatched up the sword and, upon identifying him as an "enemy," decisively jumped the former. With a single strike, he sent the first player's skull flying and picked up the sword.

"B*stard! What are you doing!"

"F*ck, that's looting!"

"You're asking for it!"

The players that had joined forces to besiege Anthony a few moments ago suddenly turned on each other…

Antony. "???"

Tuttle, being an archer not particularly proficient at close combat, had also received several strikes from the players who outnumbered them and showed no fear of pain or death.

"We can't do this! There are too many of them! Retreat!" he shouted anxiously.

"Retreat! Split up!" Seeing several of his comrades getting hurt made Hal worried as well. "Retreat to the east of town! All of you!"

———

October 13, 6 a.m., Earth time.

Having had a peaceful night's rest back on Earth, Yang Qiu had breakfast at a roadside stall before changing into his mage robes and opening the spatial rift to return to the magic plane.

After appearing back at his post inside the Town Hall, Yang Qiu saw the state of the room, and his body shook violently.

All the members of the former bandit gang were crouched down inside his office, every single one looking defeated, disheveled, and dirty.

Furniture in the room, including the tables, chairs, cabinets, and other furnishings, had been used to block the entrances. There were slash marks on the door and window frames.

Even through the barricade of furniture and the badly damaged door and windows, the shouts and cursing of players outside could be distinctly heard…

Yang Qiu. "…What the hell are you all doing?"