Seong looked at the female ghost before opening his quest window.
First, he needed to check what kind of quest it was.
『Bloodstains in the Alley』
→ 《Rare - Chain Quest》
→ You have discovered a bloodstained floor in a quiet alley of PentaGrid City.
Given the city's generally peaceful security, these traces suggest that something terrible has happened to someone.
However, no corpse has been found, and apart from the crime scene, there are few clues.
Uncover the identity of the victim and unravel the hidden truth.
Find evidence of the murder.
→ Requirement: Must have discovered the bloodstains in the alleys of PentaGrid.
→ Reward: Experience, next quest in the chain.
"Hmm."
From what he had heard, this was a quest that triggered upon passing through the alleyway.
For a Rare-grade quest, it was surprisingly easy to obtain.
However, almost everyone had given up on it because no one had been able to find a single clue.
It made sense.
How could someone deduce additional traces of a murder when all they had was a bloodstain in an alley?
Seong examined the scene just in case.
There were only the remnants of the murder itself—no footprints or any other clues left behind.
It was no wonder people gave up.
But Seong was different.
He could see her.
The ghost of a woman with a haggard expression.
That alone gave him an overwhelming advantage over others.
Ghosts in the game were all NPCs.
That meant this woman had to be the NPC who had been murdered.
The moment Seong laid eyes on her, she seemed to tremble as tears welled up in her eyes.
It must have been an unbearably unjust death.
However, seeing Seong seemed to put her at ease. Her expression steadied as she spoke.
— Hic... Meeting a noble soul like you... I feel as though my pain is finally easing.
"May I ask what happened to you?"
Even as he asked, he was already preparing to absorb her memories.
Listening to her story would take far too long.
Perhaps sensing this instinctively, the ghost woman hesitated for a moment before giving a shy nod.
The thought of having her memories read must have been embarrassing, but ghosts always held goodwill toward Seong.
Not a single one had ever refused.
As Seong accepted the ghost woman’s consent, her memories flooded into him.
[『Unknown Power』 has allowed you to accomplish an impossible feat at your current level.]
[Intelligence +5, Wisdom +5 have permanently increased.]
"Oh?"
The stats he gained were far higher than he expected.
For someone with such high attributes, she had been killed surprisingly easily.
It was strange.
But as her memories unfolded before him like a panorama, the reason became clear.
"Ah..."
She had been an incredibly skilled alchemist.
She had a research lab deep within a labyrinth but had returned to the city due to a shortage of materials.
And that was when she had been murdered.
Brutally.
The memories were gruesome, but Seong remained unfazed as he examined them further.
He needed to find any clue he could.
"Hmm..."
— Carrying something like this around instead of leaving it in your lab... That's why you got yourself killed, Melisia.
— Khk... G-Give it back... Lint...
So they knew each other?
Seong immediately sifted through the victim, Melisia's memories for any recollection of a Lint.
And he found it.
"The underworld?"
— H-Hehe... I-I may look like this, but I was an alchemist working in the underworld...
"I see."
An alchemist active in the underworld.
That explained why she had set up her research lab inside a labyrinth.
The man named Lint had also been part of that world, but he had been particularly close to Melisia.
Melisia had trusted him.
And that was why this happened.
She had been completely absorbed in her research, leaving her combat abilities severely lacking.
When Lint ambushed her, she hadn’t stood a chance.
"Hmm."
Seong now knew who the murderer was.
The problem was...
"The quest requires me to obtain evidence, doesn’t it?"
He could go straight to Lint right now.
But if he confronted him without proof, accusing him outright would accomplish nothing.
The quest clearly stated that he needed to find evidence.
That meant the priority was locating solid proof before going after Lint.
— M-My memories end here... but... I do know the tavern Lint frequents, as well as the places he usually disposes of evidence after handling a target!
"That sounds like a solid lead."
Seong nodded.
Since he had a clear memory of the location, heading there to look for clues seemed like the best course of action.
Just as he was about to move, Melisia’s ghost called out to him.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
— Thank you! If you retrieve my belongings from him, you can keep them all! Ah! And you can also take everything in my research lab!
"Oh."
A bonus reward outside of the quest itself?
Now this was worth it.
A pleased smile crossed Seong's lips.
Alright.
Time to head to the place where Lint disposed of his evidence.
‘I shouldn’t draw too much attention.’
He’d only summon Fiora for this.
— S-Summoned... L-Lord... T-Thank you for calling me...
With Fiora by his side, Seong moved toward his next destination.
5.
Finding disposed evidence was no easy task.
And if the evidence was thrown into a river, it became even harder.
Diving in and spotting something submerged in murky waters was never simple.
Seong expected this to be a grueling process.
But then—
Splash!
— L-Lord! I-Is this the right one?
Fiora shot up from the river, triumphantly holding a dagger.
She had transformed into a mermaid, dove to the riverbed, and retrieved it.
Seong immediately recognized it.
It was the dagger from Melisia’s memories.
A smile crept onto his face.
‘This should count as evidence, right?’
Just as he thought that—
[ Quest Item 『Bloodstained Dagger』 has been obtained. ]
As expected!
Fiora was the best.
"Fiora, you're the best!"
— Hehehe.
She fidgeted, clearly flustered by Seong’s praise.
And then, another system message appeared before him.
[ Rare Chain Quest 『Bloodstains in the Alley』 has been completed. ]
[ You have received experience points as a reward. ]
[ You have obtained the next quest. ]
[ Rare Chain Quest 『Traces of the Bloodstained Dagger』 has been acquired. ]
"Oh."
The quest cleared immediately.
That was satisfying.
Seong read through the notifications with contentment before opening his quest log.
『Traces of the Bloodstained Dagger』
→《Rare - Chain Quest》
→ While investigating the bloodstains in a quiet alley of PentaGrid, you deduced that the victim was stabbed with a sharp weapon.
You prioritized finding the murder weapon first.
PentaGrid, being a well-policed city, has few places where criminals could safely dispose of a weapon.
Among those locations, you discovered a bloodstained dagger near a secluded riverbank.
At this stage, you have no way to confirm that the dagger matches the alley's bloodstains.
However, your sharp instincts tell you they are connected.
Now, you must uncover who possessed this dagger.
And once you do—find them.
→ Requirement: Must possess 『Bloodstained Dagger』.
→ Reward: Large amount of experience, Rare Random Box.
For a Rare-grade quest, the rewards were pretty solid.
Seong wasn’t sure if they were particularly great for him, but they weren’t bad.
At least they gave something.
And the large amount of experience was definitely appealing.
‘This city really does have a lot of quests.’
The quest efficiency was incredible.
No wonder players liked it here.
Now that his objective was clear, Seong turned to Fiora.
"Fiora, let's go find the culprit."
— Hehe. Y-Yes, Lord!
Emerging from the river, Fiora transformed into a phoenix, instantly evaporating the water from her body before landing beside Seong.
Her form shifted again—this time, she looked older, more of a woman than a girl.
She now resembled a regular human, blending in with other NPCs and players.
Following Melisia’s memories, Seong set off.
Lint had a regular hangout where he picked up contracts.
That was his first stop.
If Lint wasn’t there—
‘I’ll check his house.’
Whether he was still staying there was uncertain.
A man who murdered his long-time friend for greed wouldn’t be the type to sit around waiting.
But for now, he would follow the memories.
And besides—
This was a quest.
That meant Lint had to be there.
After walking for a while, Seong arrived at the district from Melisia’s memories.
Unlike the other alleys and streets, this place felt dangerous.
Large men loitered in the area, their hulking frames impossible to miss.
Several thuggish-looking NPCs were scattered around.
‘The atmosphere is completely different.’
So this was the underworld.
Even in a well-policed city like PentaGrid, places like this still existed.
Not surprising.
Even in modern times, there were always places like this.
Seong continued walking.
"This is the first time I’ve seen a stranger on this street."
"Heh, maybe he’s looking to take on a contract?"
"Interesting..."
The thugs made their comments, but none of them moved to stop him.
Seong ignored them and walked past.
At first, he expected someone to pick a fight.
But no one did.
They seemed to know better than to harass a stranger without reason.
That suited him just fine.
Thanks to that, he reached his destination safely—
The tavern where Lint frequently met his clients.
— I-Is this the place!?
"Yeah. Let’s go inside."
— Y-Yes.
Fiora strengthened her concealment magic.
That explained why, while they had walked through the streets, only Seong had drawn attention.
If he wanted, Seong could have used Stealth or Concealment to avoid notice, but he hadn’t.
There was always a chance of triggering an unexpected event.
Once inside, all eyes turned to them.
"Hmm?"
"A foreigner?"
"Heh, if he’s here, he must be strong."
"What’s an outsider doing in this place?"
Not all of them looked curious.
Some harbored outright hostility, glaring at Seong with obvious resentment.
Others didn’t seem to care at all.
And among those who didn’t react—
There was a familiar face.
Seong smirked.
Then—
Boom!
He stomped on the wooden floor, leaving a deep footprint.
And in the next instant—
Like a cannonball, Seong launched himself forward.
The entire tavern froze in shock.
Several men instinctively reached for their weapons, ready for battle.
But Seong ignored them all.
He was already barreling toward his target.
The familiar face turned, startled, and swung a fist at him in panic.
Seong sidestepped it effortlessly.
The moment the punch missed, the man pulled out a dagger and slashed at him in desperation.
But before the blade could strike—
Seong grabbed his wrist.
Crack!
A sickening snap echoed as he twisted it.
The dagger slipped from the man’s fingers.
Seong caught it.
And confirmed it.
"Hmm. Just as I thought."
"Uaaaagh! W-What the hell are you doing, outsider!?"
The man screamed in pain, unable to move due to his twisted wrist.
The other NPCs began to stand up, ready to intervene.
But then—
Seong raised the bloodstained dagger for all to see.
"What do you think? This murder weapon looks exactly like the one I found."
Then, he narrowed his eyes at the struggling man.
"Feeling like confessing yet, Lint Spencer?"
"...H-How do you know about that!?"
Lint’s eyes widened in horror as they locked onto the dagger in Seong’s hand.