[Another allowed the Goblin King to destroy part of the wall. The moment the damage exposed the terrain outside the registered Boss Domain. He jumped through the breach.]
Misha stared at him in disbelief. "That worked?"
[The quest never said the castle’s architecture was indestructible. That Raider managed to escape the Goblin King’s pursuit so once he stepped outside of the Boss Domain, the hidden quest was cleared nya.]
"That’s... rather scary... being chased by the Goblin King..."
One had spatial-related skills, while the other two managed to escape by running.
[They had no runes or settlement network nya. They simply discovered something later generations forgot. The Tower’s rules are very precise.] His golden eyes narrowed. [That does not mean they are always saying what people assume they were saying nya. That’s why your method lacked refinement.]
She huffed and crossed her arms. "You’re talking like you wrote the quest."
King lifted his chin with enough regal offense as one of his tails jerked. [Do not be absurd nya.]
"Still, you knew the exact hidden condition."
[A competent Guide knows the Tower nya.]
"But you also knew how many completed it."
[I have existed longer than your attention span nya.]
King floated closer until his face was only a short distance from hers. [If you intend to interrogate me every time I demonstrate intelligence beyond yours, we will accomplish very little nya.]
"That happens often enough that I’m willing to risk it."
[Arrogant brat!]
"Flying furball!"
King turned away first which Misha internally counted as a victory.
Ding!
「 〔HIDDEN QUEST REWARDS〕
Trial of the Forsaken
Clear Method: Escape
<Unique Reward Obtained>
Forsaken’s Mark (SR)
Stray Cat (SSR)
—
<Special Rewards>
Title Acquired:
The Unbound Stray
Effect:
Increases resistance against externally imposed status effects.
Status effects classified as: [Marked], [Targeted], [Isolated], [Restrained], [Abandoned], have their duration reduced by 15%
Penalties imposed through forced quest designations are slightly reduced. 」
Misha stared at her rewards, her eyes landing on her new Title and its effects. The System had bundled half its favorite ways of ruining someone’s day into one category and handed her resistance to all of them.
Was this another one of Caleb’s doing?
She had already collected enough dramatic titles to make herself sound like someone much more important than she actually was.
The Unbound Stray.
That one felt irritatingly appropriate.
No guild, no permanent party, and no settlement she considered home. People kept gathering around her anyway.
"The Unbound Stray." She tested the words quietly.
Misha dismissed the thought before it grew teeth.
Feeling something warm at the back of her left hand, she looked at it and saw three curved black lines settling beneath her skin. Gold traced their edges before fading away.
Gently rubbing her thumb along it, another window appeared.
「 〔Forsaken’s Mark〕
Grade: Super Rare (SR)
Type: Stigma
Description:
A mark granted to those who escaped the fate imposed upon them. It is bound directly to its bearer and cannot be removed, transferred, traded, or stolen.
Effect:
Spatial restriction effects are slightly weakened.
Once every 72 hours, the user may ignore one ordinary movement restriction imposed by a Floor Quest.
The Stigma becomes faintly visible when its effects are activated. 」
Her brows rose. There was no attack bonus, it was still better.
The Tower loved sealing doors, restricting retreat, trapping Raiders inside designated zones, and calling it a trial... now she had one chance to tell it no.
Ding!
This time, no window appeared before her. Instead, a white mask materialized in Misha’s hands. Small pointed ears rose from the top. A plain cat face stared back at her.
She stared at it for a while before she slowly raised her eyes toward King. She held the mask beside his face. "Do you think it comes in black?"
{Dispose of it nya.]
"It’s SSR-Grade item."
[Then dispose of it respectfully nya.]
Misha couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
Then an item description appeared.
「 〔Stray Cat〕
Grade: Super Super Rare (SSR)
Type: Mask
Description:
A plain white mask shaped like the face of a cat.
Effects:
Conceals the user’s face.
Suppresses identifying features such as voice, presence, and mana signature.
Prevents Appraisal and Identification skills from revealing the user’s Tower Name, Titles, and Class.
—
Hidden Identity: While the mask is equipped, all identification attempts below the mask’s grade return as its Unique Effect.
<Unique Effect: False Name>
The wearer may register one temporary identity to the mask.
While equipped:
The registered alias replaces the user’s Tower Name.
Identification attempts below SSR Grade will recognize the wearer only by the registered alias.
All concealed information will be displayed as:
Tower Name – [Registered Alias]
Class – [Unknown]
Titles – [Unknown]
Affiliation – [Unknown]
—
Limitations:
Registered identities cannot imitate the identity of an existing Raider.
Only one temporary identity may be registered.
Higher-identification abilities may partially bypass concealment.
Administrator Authority is unaffected. 」
Misha’s amusement slowly faded as she read.
The mask was far more valuable than it looked. Maybe more valuable than the [Forsaken’s Mark].
It turned it over her hands. "I can have a false identity..."
There was a particular part she actually liked.
<Unique Effect: False Name>
It was not simply concealment. It was misdirection with anyone using an Identification skill below the mask’s grade would receive another identity entirely.
A failed Appraisal made people curious while a successful one made them comfortable... and comfortable people tended to stop digging.
A thoughtful hum slipped from her as she turned the mask around. "So I need an alias."
King floated over her shoulder. [Obviously nya.]
She considered throwing the mask at him. Instead, she lifted it to her face.
The moment the smooth surface touched her skin, it softened. Misha flinched. There were no straps, yet the mask settled against her as if it had been made specifically for the shape of her face.
Her vision darkened for a second before the narrow eye openings became perfectly clear.
"Interesting." Her voice came out different. Still feminine, still close enough to her natural register that speaking did not feel awkward, but lower and smoother around the edges. Someone who knew her casually might hesitate and someone who had only heard her once probably would not recognize her.
"Oh." She said it just to listen. "Ohhh~"
King stared blankly at her but decided to ignore her for the sake of his sanity.
Ding!
「 〔SYSTEM NOTICE〕
<Unique Effect: False Name> activated.
No False Identity currently registered.
Would you like to create one?
Yes | No 」
"Yes." That was a no brainer for her.
「 Register False Tower Name 」
Her fingers stopped fidgeting.
She had expected to make something up. A forgettable name, perhaps. Something boring enough to disappear into a crowd.
Jane
’No, it’s too common.’
Nobody
’Somebody probably had that name already.’
Misha crossed her arms. Then another name came to mind.
It was not exactly a name. It was something that belonged to her while revealing almost nothing about who she actually was.
She placed her hand on her Ranker’s badge.
"Gravekeeper."
It had been given to her because of what she carried. Because the dead remained with her when they should have been gone.
She had never particularly liked how accurate it felt and that made it useful.
Most people hearing the name would assume it referred to a class or maybe some morbid occupation. A Necromancer, an Undertaker, or maybe a caretaker of burial grounds.
Let them. None of those assumptions led directly to Misha Apocalypse, none led to Soulbinder, and none told anyone whose souls she actually carried.
「 〔SYSTEM NOTICE〕
False Tower Name: Gravekeeper
Confirm registration?
Yes | No 」
The more she considered it, the better it fit. It was not because she wanted a dramatic name but because it was technically true. Those were always the best lies.
Give someone enough truth to satisfy them, then let them build the wrong conclusion themselves.
If someone encountered Gravekeeper and decided she was some gloomy death-class Raider wandering alone through the Tower? Wonderful.
If they assumed the mask hid scars? Even better.
If they thought the name meant she worked with corpses? Well, that one was uncomfortably close. She would refer them to Elyes.
"Yes."
「 〔SYSTEM NOTICE〕
Registration confirmed.
[Stray Cat] has recorded the alias.
False identity successfully established. 」
She hid her badge inside her subspace. "Looks like Misha Apocalypse is taking a break."
King gave her a long, unimpressed stare. [Do not begin speaking about yourself in the third person nya.]
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