"It may come as a surprise to you, but the Red Giant Hornets aren't really the main reason why people refuse to leave their houses," the Mayor of Abingdon Town, Pietro, said with a bitter smile.
"In fact, this is the first time that our town has been attacked by those Giant Hornets. However, the fact remains that we have one more threat stacked against our ability to survive in this town."
Pietro sighed before closing his eyes.
"Truth be told, everything started four months ago when our former Mayor died of old age," Pietro stated. "When he was still alive, Abingdon Town prospered and thrived through trade. But after his death, the beasts in the Shaufell Plains started wandering near our town on an increasing frequency.
"At first, we didn't see this as a problem because our Town's Guards were able to repel them. However, as the weeks went by, their numbers grew and grew, which made things difficult for the travelers, as well as the Merchants from other towns in the Wanid Kingdom.
"I don't know if you encountered them along the way, but a colony of Tetramorium Ants has made their home in the plains and is terrorizing any unwary creature who is unfortunate enough to come across their nest.
"Their underground tunnels are expanding by the day, and because of this, we are now cut off from the other towns—they no longer dare to travel the Shaufell Plains in fear of getting ambushed by them."
The Mayor paused for a bit before continuing his tale.
"To make matters worse, a week ago, we were attacked by a Mosquito swarm, led by a Diabolical Doom Mosquito," Pietro stated. "It was the worst thing that happened to our town since it was founded. Hundreds of people died that day, including visitors from the nearby towns."
Lux shuddered because he had a bad history with mosquitoes. When he was still in Leaf Village, there was a Mosquito Outbreak that threatened not only the entirety of the Figaro Gardens but also the territories surrounding Leaf Village.
Fortunately, Lux was able to put a stop to them before the Abomination was successfully born. If not, Leaf Village wouldn't be standing today, and all of its residents would have turned into dried husks, deprived of all the blood in their bodies.
Unaware of Lux's inner thoughts, Pietro continued his tale.
"Before the former Mayor died, he left me some parting words," Pietro said. "He said that if the Town were to come into any great danger, we should send someone to go to the Isoptera Mountain in the West to ask an old friend of his to lend us a hand.
"I don't know who this old friend of his was because he never mentioned a name. However, he said that it was a Deimos-Ranked Alpha Beast, and it would lend our town aid once. We have already sent a contingent to go to the said mountain, but none of them have returned.
"Just now, the Town's Guards informed me that the Red Giant Hornets came from the West. It is possible that my soldiers have fallen prey to this new threat. It is also highly possible that the Giant Hornets followed the trail of my men and made their way to our town, which resulted in them attacking us."
Lux and his comrades, who were listening to the Mayor's story, felt sorry for them, but there was no way they could possibly challenge a hornet's nest on their own.
Doing so would be suicide. The power of a Deimos-Ranked Queen Hornet, which could range from an Alpha to a Field Boss Monster, was no laughing matter. Even with Ithaqua summoning a blizzard, it was highly likely that it wouldn't work.
"Let me get this straight," Cethus commented after the Mayor finished his explanation. "The favor you want to ask of us is to go to Isoptera Mountain and meet with the friend of the now-deceased Mayor of this town, correct?"
The Mayor nodded. "I know it is too much to ask, so I won't force you to go. However, if you have the ability to do so, please, I beg of you to help us. We have no one else to turn to."
The Mayor of Abingdon Town bowed his head until it touched the top of his office table.
While Lux was in the middle of coming up with a reply to the Mayor's desperate pleas for help, he and his party members heard a ringing sound inside their heads.
A moment later, several rows of text appeared in front of them, informing them of a mission that made Gerhart's, Cethus', Randolph's, Grandma Annie's, Laura's, and Livia's eyes widen in shock.
—-----------------
< Abingdon Town's Great Escape >
Mission Rating: SSS
Several Insect-Type Beasts are slowly but surely taking over the entirety of the Shaufell Plains. Because of this, Abingdon Town has been closed off from the outside world and is in dire need of help.
The way things are, the only way for the people of Abingdon Town to survive is for them to evacuate. However, by doing so, there is a high chance that they would be attacked by the Insect-Type Beasts that have made the Shaufell Plains their breeding grounds.
Find a way for the residents of Abingdon Town to survive their current predicament, by leading the people to safety!
—---------
< Abingdon Town's Great Escape >
– 1,000 Residents of Abingdon Town must survive.
– Quest Duration: 13 days.
– Quest will automatically be cleared if the townspeople safely reached the Town of Broughton.
– Quest will automatically fail if the number of evacuees drops below 1,000.
—---------
< Rewards >
+200 Wanid Kingdom Reputation Points
5,000,000 Gold Coins
500 Free Stat Points.
One Rank 5 Skill Book that matches your profession.
You will obtain the Title: Insect Slayer
—---------
< Bonus Rewards >
– Bonus Rewards will be calculated depending on your performance in this mission. The bigger the role you play, the higher the rewards will be.
—---------
< Insect Slayer >
< Deals 100% increase damage against Insect-Type Monsters >
—---------
< Will you accept this Mission? >
< Yes / No >
(Take Note that only the Party Leader can decide whether to accept this mission or not.)
—---------
After reading the details of the mission, everyone in the room glanced at the red-headed teenager who had a frown on his face.
The rating of the mission was so high, so Lux was worried that the quest was too difficult for them to clear.
However, after giving it some thought, he realized that the Forest Folk might have been aware of the threat that had befallen Abingdon Town. Because of this, they had tasked Lux to go there in order to help them survive their predicament.
'This is too much,' Lux thought. 'It's like they are sending us here to die.'
The Half-Elf closed his eyes as he pondered whether he should accept the quest or not. Even Gerhart and Cethus, who were eager to fight strong opponents, hesitated after understanding the situation they found themselves in.
Even though they were Initiates, fighting against a swarm of Mosquitoes, dozens of Red Giant Hornets, and countless Ants was too high of a hurdle, even for them.
Currently, they were thinking that they should just ditch Abingdon Town and continue their journey toward the center of the Wanid Kingdom.
