An NPC Event

"There it is! Wake up, Karina, look!" Figmond's voice pierced the peaceful ambiance of the carriage. Karina, who had decided to rest after Figmond offered her, while Figmond took the reins, stirred at the urgency in his tone.

Yawning, Karina stretched her arms above her head before rising to peer outside the carriage. The Eugine Stretch lay before them, a place notorious for its danger, often deemed more dangerous than the Forest of Dark Dreams. Despite its ominous reputation, the entrance lay plainly in view from the road to Farris, marked by warning signs cautioning travelers of its perils. A straight line of thick, dead trees obscured the view beyond, creating a foreboding aura. Within this line of trees lay a small opening, the entrance to the stretch, shrouded in an eerie silence. The area beyond was devoid of life, with no greenery or animal activity, and shrouded in a dense fog.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like it... it's really intimidating," Karina remarked, awestruck.

"I agree, but I've had this entire journey to prepare myself mentally for whatever awaits us," Figmond replied, his voice tinged with both enthusiasm and a hint of apprehension.

Puzzled, Karina wondered about Figmond's sudden enthusiasm. She readied herself by strapping her sword to her waist and donning lightweight armor, while Figmond paused to feed the horse before venturing further into the unknown of the Eugine Stretch. Once prepared, they bravely ventured into the thick fog that shrouded the entrance.

Upon entering the fog a grey prompt suddenly appeared before them: "Congratulations! First All-NPC Party. Bonus: 4x XP Boost."

"Um, hey, Karina..." Figmond's voice shaky, his confusion evident at the unexpected message.

"Yeah, I saw it too. What does it mean?" Karina inquired as she walked, sword in hand, poised to strike at any sign of danger.

Meanwhile, on the carriage, Figmond navigated cautiously through the dense fog, the horse moving at a slow, steady pace. "I'm not sure. I was hoping you might know," Figmond replied, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Well, we don't have time to figure it out now. Keep a sharp eye out for anything that moves," Karina ordered, her tone fitting the role of a party leader.

After walking for several minutes, the fog gradually dissipated, offering slightly better visibility. Less than half a kilometer stretched before them, enough to excite Karina but terrify Figmond. The landscape was devoid of trees, a desolate expanse shrouded in fog, a breeding ground for monsters. In the distance, Karina spotted two carefree goblins and four undead sitting in a circle, their swords rusted and dull from age.

"The goblins are our first priority, since they have better senses than the skeletons," Karina declared.

"Mhm," Figmond replied with a quick nod of agreement.

Dismounting from the carriage, Figmond began placing wooden stakes on the ground. This was a trick Karina had heard from the locals in Farris, a way to mark their path through the stretch and find their way back, as getting lost was easy. In the back of the carriage, Karina had several small stakes and a wooden mallet for this purpose. Besides healing, Karina tasked Figmond with driving the stakes every few meters or as needed.

Figmond, now on foot, led the horse, steering him in the right direction. The eerie atmosphere made the horse uneasy, but Figmond did his best to calm him. Karina took the lead with her sword, heading toward the two goblins. The goblins, seemingly aimless, carried wooden clubs. One held his club behind his head, resting it on his shoulders, while the other dragged his club along the ground with a single hand.

"Okay, stop here," Karina muttered, signaling Figmond to halt.

Taking a deep breath, a prelude to combat against non-human foes, Karina opened her eyes, ready to strike. But before she could move, something halted her abruptly.

"First All-NPC Party. Event:

Kill: 200 Undead

Kill: 180 Goblins

Kill: 50 Fog Spiders

...

Reward upon completion: 1 Automatic Level

Bonus: Kill: 2 Ghasts

Reward upon completion: ???"

"Karina, wait!" Figmond's voice broke through the tension, though he was careful not to alert the nearby goblins.

"Yeah, yeah, I see it. What's all this?" Karina asked, studying the lengthy list of monsters that needed to be slain, displayed on the gray prompt in front of them.

"What?! Kill 200 skeletons? These numbers are insane. There's no way we'd make that much progress in less than a day. But it says there's a reward upon completion." Karina scrutinized the list, trying to comprehend its entirety.

Unlike players, Karina and Figmond had no idea what this 'event,' meant. While such events were rare for players, they were unheard of for NPCs. In fact, Karina and Figmond were the only NPCs in Three Realms Online to receive an event, though they were unaware of this fact.

They had become somewhat familiar with the gray prompts after leveling up through training. However, unlike players, NPCs couldn't check their status, view event progress, or see the levels displayed above players and monsters. They relied solely on their gut instinct and sense of fear.

"What's a Ghast? If it's a bonus, it must be the strongest. But, ugh... there's no way we can complete this entire list. There aren't even this many monsters in this place..."

"Karina..."

"Perhaps deeper inside, but the locals warned that it becomes increasingly dangerous. Some of these monsters might be further in..."

"Um... Karina."

"But even so, it looks like there are only two goblins and four skeletons, or 'undead' as this list calls them."

"Karina!" Figmond's urgent tone cut through her thoughts.

"What!" She turned to Figmond, irritation evident in her expression.

"Look." Figmond's finger pointed to a direction they hadn't yet explored, his mouth agape.

Karina followed his gaze. In the distance, where the fog thinned, an entire army of undead, goblins, and other monsters came into view. They didn't march in formation like a typical army, but the sheer number of them resembled one.

They roamed the barren land aimlessly, their actions devoid of purpose, waiting to be triggered into violence. They gathered in hordes; for example, in one group, seven undead hacked at a dead tree while the others formed a line to do the same.

Nearby, four goblins sat around a fire, and one particularly lifeless-looking undead with armor slumped nearby. A mud crab wandered aimlessly. This chaotic scene repeated across the desolate plains of the Eugine Stretch.

Karina's eyes widened, unsure whether to be thrilled or frightened by their sheer numbers. She tried to count them but quickly gave up; there were easily thousands.

"Where do we even begin?" Figmond asked, his concern palpable.

Karina readied her sword, assuming a combat stance.

"This is it, Figmond. This is how I'm going to become stronger!" Karina declared with a smirk, her determination evident.

Karina hurled her sword at the goblin she had deemed most dangerous, the one holding his club aloft. The throw was precise and forceful, the blade piercing through the goblin's skull, killing him instantly. The other goblin reacted slowly, watching as his comrade fell. Before he could raise his club, Karina closed the distance and delivered a swift punch to his face, breaking his nose.

This was a rare sneak attack for Karina, and she knew it was risky to throw away her only weapon. However, the thrill of the moment and the goblins' apparent weakness overcame her usual caution.

As Karina turned to retrieve her sword, she found that Figmond had already dispatched the remaining goblin with a small dagger, a weapon he was still not entirely comfortable using. Figmond had no desire to take life, but he pushed through his discomfort to assist Karina, even as he fought the urge to vomit.

"Although I know you can handle these easy goblins, I can't just sit around and do nothing," Figmond stated boldly, though deep down, fear gnawed at him. He cleaned his blade with a swift motion, trying to rid it of any blood.

Karina smiled in response and swiftly turned to counter an undead creature that had approached from behind. The fluidity and ease of her movements reassured Figmond slightly subsiding his fears, but he remained determined to protect her at all costs.

"She's amazing," Figmond thought in awe, watching Karina in action.

"Two goblins and four skeletons!" Karina exclaimed, kicking a pile of bones on the ground.

"That means we have 178 goblins and 196, no, 196 skeletons to go!" Figmond replied, feeling a surge of adrenaline.

Karina nodded, turning her head to assess their next target: a goblin camp not too far away, but distant enough to avoid detection. She calculated that attacking the camp would be an efficient way to eliminate groups of monsters.

A horn suddenly sounded from the direction of the camp. Karina and Figmond exchanged puzzled glances, both realizing that the sound signaled something ominous. Karina focused on the camp and noticed a glint of light from a telescope.

"How do they have something like that?" Karina asked in shock.

"What is it?" Figmond inquired.

The horn sounded again, and this time they saw a goblin with a red jester hat atop a rickety wooden watchtower. The goblin blew into a strangely shaped horn, creating the loud, piercing sound.

"This isn't good," Karina muttered, tightening her grip on her sword.

"How did they see us?"

"They have a telescope, a device found only in large cities, that allows users to see over great distances," Karina explained.

The fog within the Eugine Stretch varied in density, concealing movements in some areas while revealing them in others. As the goblins' movements became visible, Karina began to sweat.

Close to a hundred goblins started running in their direction.