'She's not an NPC!' I was awestruck, staring at her mark, 'She's not a player either. Then what is she?'
Normally, a player possesses a green mark slightly above their shoulder while the NPC possesses a yellow one. In the case of PKers, the green mark transforms into a purple one, showing that they have killed a player and had their merit decreased.
However, the woman—the successor of the Mavi Clan of Iceborns, didn't have any marks, making me wonder what exactly she was. Not to mention the sudden arrival of the quest. I was already struggling to get a grip on the reality only to be found perplexed, finding the intervention of the system.
"Oh, I was so eager to tell you my status that I nearly forgot to give you my name." She said as she walked just a little ahead of me. I was so busy figuring out the circumstances that I, as well, nearly forgot that part. "As I already told you, I am the successor of the Mavi Clan of the Iceborns. You can address me as Shika. Once again, nice to meet you Zanthrix."
"Likewise." I replied with a forcible smile, putting my baffled expression aside as I continued, "If you don't mind, can I ask you something, Shika?"
"Go ahead!"
It was only a brief moment, by the way, that passed since we encountered each other. Yet, we were being casual—perhaps too casual as if lost friends reuniting after a long time. I didn't have a complaint, though. It, however, wasn't what I intended to say to her.
"Earlier, I saw you fighting that giant Snow Bear all alone. But what exactly were you trying to do out there?"
"Oh, that? It was kinda job of mine." She replied smilingly, turning her head towards me as we continued walking.
"You mean fighting that monster? Was it for your training?"
"Not particularly." She continued with a low tone as if an inconspicuous regret was mixed with it. "But I promise you'll know everything once we reach our clan. That's why I asked you to tag along, after all."
"Ah, I see." Murmuring that, I kept quiet for a while. She didn't speak anything either.
Of course, I was curious. But more than that, I was pondering about the sudden arrival of a quest—The Dynastic Singularity Quest.
Surely, I had completed lots of quests as of now—Hidden Quests, Urgent Quests, Heaven Guardian Quests… even Rank Up Quests— but I never received such a quest unlocked the moment I talked to Shika.
'Could it be that she's the trigger of the quest?' the thought occurred to me as I continued determining the possibilities, 'That has to be it. There's no interpretation otherwise.'
*****
After walking over the cold snow for ten minutes or so, we finally reached our destination—where the Iceborns of the Mavi Clan lived.
It wasn't what I imagined it would be. More like ruins made out of a temple that used to be a place of worship. It reminded me of the Sacred Temple of Antron. Compared to that, it seemed like a pile of bricks and fallen walls—as though several fallen shrines were on the verge of extinction.
"This way, Zanthrix." She said, giving me the clue to climb the stairs after her. I followed her and climbed the stairs—old, broken, and layered with snow.
The moment we reached the top of the stairs, there was another event I didn't expect.
[Zanthrix has entered a Partial Safe Zone]
'Partial Safe Zone?' I thought as I recalled, 'Every time I entered a central city of heaven, the same notification was given to me. But in their cases, it was only Safe Zone—not partial!'
It made me wonder what exactly were the conditions that differed a Partial Safe Zone from an actual Safe Zone.
[Partial Safe Zones are subjected to provide safety features only to the players, not the NPCs residing within the premises]
Responding to my bewilderment, another notification appeared and I whispered "I guess that explains it" to myself. It also meant the NPCs within the perimeter could be killed—unlike those in the central cities.
"Wait, NPCs?" I muttered as I looked around us. Of course, Iceborns were living in the ruins—including women, children, and men. Few of them were busy with the jobs they were attending, while a few of them stared at me surprisingly—mostly the children who, in groups, tried to peek from behind the broken pillars—as we kept walking.
They were slightly distinguished from the elegant and beautiful woman walking ahead of me. Although they were from the same race, they appeared to bear some distinct traits.
While Shika had bluish skin, these ones seemed entirely made of ice. A light blue fog came off their bodies, and both their hair and nails were frozen solid. Their face, however, looked surprisingly normal.
Each one of them had the mark of an NPC. That excluded Shika—the Successor of this Clan.
"Are those members of your clan?" Not unintentionally—yet not deliberately, those words came out of my mouth.
"Yes, they are." Shika said as she halted to greet the children who gathered around her legs, "The number of members belonging to our clan, has decreased inconsiderably over the past few months. At this rate, I don't even know how much will it take for our clan to extinct."
"Decreased? But how?"
"Predators, hunters, and at times even royal army raids. I can't say what drives them to come after our clan in particular. But there's one thing I'm certain of."
"And that is…"
"The intervention of the other clans." She bit her lips and winched, "It was why I was out there fighting the beasts every day to seek someone like you."
"Someone like me?" I didn't quite grasp what she meant and looked perplexed.
"Sigh! Just follow me. There's someone who can explain you better."
She started walking again—heading toward the only temple that hadn't been destroyed. It looked like a massive shrine, actually. It reminded me of a Shinto Shrine I'd visited once with my parents.