Pepper Tackles the Unique Quest
Arrival, encounters, requests, and despair—all separated by a razor's edge.
Secandil, the city preparing travelers for the marsh crossing.
A treacherous marshy wilderness stretches toward Thirdrema, but the region thrives on abundant stone resources. Its unique ecosystem and exclusive minerals draw even veteran pioneers back for its riches.
—Excerpt from the Shangri-La Frontier Wiki
"Alright, I made it!"
Striking a triumphant pose at the city gate, Pepper headed straight for the inn. As usual, NPCs dodged him upon spotting his cursed hand, while other players whispered and stared.
"Damn you, Lycaon… I'll pay you back a hundredfold…"
Growling like a dog and swearing vengeance for that fateful night, Pepper kept moving, determined to update his respawn point at Secandil's inn.
"O-O-Our honored guest, w-w-would you l-like to use our s-services?"
The inn's NPC receptionist, rattled by the curse, stuttered like a glitching program. Pepper, half-worried if this was even okay, secured Room 106 and dashed inside.
The room was simple—bed, basic furniture, typical of a lower-town inn—but its austerity lent it a certain charm, enhancing the atmosphere.
"Respawn point updated, check. Now, the special quest: A Roaring Tyrant's Gambit in the Marsh. Sounds marsh-related, so probably tied to Secandil… First up, info gathering."
Pepper began exploring Secandil. Special quests like this always had flags in relevant areas, so he scoured the city.
But, as expected, Lycaon's curse sent NPCs fleeing at every turn, leaving him with zero leads.
"Seriously, what am I supposed to do?"
If progress stalled like this, maybe the quest flag was tucked away in some back alley. Clinging to that slim hope, Pepper ventured into a narrow street in a quiet corner of the city.
Between buildings, the blue sky shone vividly above a path barely wide enough for two. He walked cautiously.
"If a fight broke out here, there'd be no escape… Plus, that thing was stupidly strong."
In a city, a dead-end alley, an event—his gamer instincts screamed caution. Pepper gripped the Lock-On Breaker in his left hand, eyes scanning for danger.
As he turned a corner, the atmosphere grew heavier, more ominous. Then he spotted it: an old figure wrapped in tattered robes, head bowed, muttering softly to themselves.
"…Who's there?"
The figure noticed him, calling out.
"…Are you… there?"
Huh? 'Are you there?'
Pepper sensed something off. Normally, an NPC would beckon him closer upon noticing him. But this one spoke as if they couldn't see him.
"Uh… are you blind?"
Weapon at the ready, Pepper approached cautiously, deciding to hear them out.
"…Aye. Lost my eyes long ago… in the heat of battle…"
The figure raised their head, and Pepper's eyes widened in shock.
It was an aged goblin. A long nose, white beard on its chin—it could pass for a wise sage from certain angles. But where its eyes should've been were hollow sockets, empty voids.
"Sorry… Living day to day, blind as I am, takes all I've got…"
The frail, weary voice of the old goblin trailed off as it lowered its head again. Losing sight, whether for humans or creatures, reshapes not just daily life but one's very identity.
"…Wait, eyes?"
A spark hit Pepper. He pressed a finger to his temple, digging through memories, searching for something—anything.
There was something, right!? What was it… Eyes… eyes… eyeballs! That's it!
Checking his inventory, he found it—a drop item he'd buried deep in his memory due to its grotesque realism: Goblin's Eyeball. Who'd have thought it'd come in handy here?
"Uh, you're a goblin, right? If it's okay, take this."
From his inventory, Pepper handed over the Goblin's Eyeball, the first rare item he'd earned in Shangri-La Frontier after defeating a goblin.
"Oh… Thank you… Is this… an eye…?"
"Yeah. Got it from taking down another goblin. Sorry for killing one of your kind, but bear with me."
"…Those ones lived by nature's law, doing as they pleased. They'd be ready for death, too… Don't let it weigh on you."
The old goblin inserted the eyeball into its right socket, its right hand glowing green as it muttered something.
And, perhaps it was Pepper's imagination, but the goblin's voice seemed to regain strength.
"Thanks for helping me out."
Smoothing its beard with a finger, the old goblin rose slowly. Though only about 130 cm tall, its voice carried a commanding, boss-level gravitas, amplified by its aura, making it feel far larger.
"Oh, no problem…"
"I'm surprised, though. Familiar feeling, but… you've been marked by Kurosuke, eh?"
Spotting the faint scar of Lycaon peeking from under Pepper's Traveler's Cloak, the old goblin spoke with a nostalgic tone. Pepper didn't miss it.
"You know… Lycaon?"
"Aye. That curse on your right hand? It's him bragging to the world that you're his."
Finishing, the goblin suddenly summoned a magic circle overhead and began vanishing into it.
"Wait, what!?"
"I'm Poponga. As the heavens and stars watch over you, so will I."
With that, the goblin disappeared into the circle, which faded, leaving only silence in the alley.
"What the hell was that…?"
A grand quest flag or just dramatic flair? Pepper couldn't tell. Unbeknownst to him, this encounter with Poponga, the old goblin, would tie deeply into the special quest—and a certain unique scenario…
"No leads on the special quest at all… Ugh, what now?"
Leaving the alley and wandering the city, Pepper stewed over his lack of progress. Maybe it was time to gear up with new weapons or armor and move to the next city.
Then—
"Yah! Yaya-ya-ya-ya!" A heavyset man in pricey-looking clothes charged toward him at full speed.
Spotting the Lock-On Breaker in Pepper's left hand, the man's eyes sparkled, and he started blabbing without regard for onlookers.
"That hammer in your hand! Could it be the famed Lock-On Breaker, crafted by Fasteia's master blacksmith!?"
"Uh!?"
"And not only that, but that scar on your right hand!?"
In a crowded street, the man was about to shout about Pepper's unique weapon and Lycaon. Panicking, Pepper clamped a hand over his mouth. If this got out, it'd spiral into chaos—no question.
"Can you keep it down…!?"
"My apologies! I got carried away—after all, the key figure behind the hammer's creation was recognized by the King of the Night!"
This guy was likely one of those NPCs affected by the "conversation modifiers" from Lycaon's curse, skewed positively. Otherwise, he'd have bolted by now.
"Ahem… I got ahead of myself. I'm Rex, head of the Enhans Trading Company's Secandil branch. Pleased to meet you."
"Uh, I'm Pepper. Nice to meet you."
Rex bowed with exaggerated politeness, and Pepper returned the gesture.
"Actually, Pepper, I—and the president of our main office in Eidoruto—have a direct request for you.
Could we discuss it at our Secandil branch? Do you have time?"
Looks like a quest flag had finally triggered.
Led by Rex, unfazed by Lycaon's curse, Pepper arrived at the Enhans Trading Company's Secandil branch, a grand two-story building crafted from chiseled stone bricks.
The first floor bustled with trade in consumables, including exclusive items only sold by Enhans. Players and NPCs alike frequented it.
On the second floor, in a room labeled "Negotiation Chamber," Pepper sat across a marble table from Rex, who presented the request.
"A new product?"
"Yes. Our company is developing special orbs that activate various effects when thrown. The internal structure is complete.
The issue is the outer casing. We've tried furs and hides from other monsters, but none worked. However, tests with Mad Frog hide succeeded—the impact activates the structure, making the orb function perfectly."
So, the next quest was a gathering type. Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. But he overlooked something critical.
"Got it. Mad Frog hide will let you make a prototype throwing orb. How many do you need?"
Pepper assumed gathering quests didn't require too many materials—a fatal mistake.
"Oh, how reliable! We need—"
200 Mad Frog hides!
"S-Sorry, could you repeat that?"
"200 hides, please! We're counting on you!"
Rex's eyes gleamed with even more expectation. Pepper could only muster, "Uh, got it," before being ushered out by Rex himself.
And then he thought:
I'm screwed—
The Worst Gathering Quest, Bound by a Curse
Poponga: In the original design, this unique NPC monster spawns guaranteed in the back alleys of Thirdrema's lower district during Phase 4 of the Unique Quest: Impact of the World, serving as a key to quest progression.
Outside that, Poponga randomly appears in the back alleys of various cities but only responds to the quest holder. It seems to have a connection to the unique monster Lycaon of the Night Raid…?
Enhans Trading Company: Based in Eidoruto, Shangri-La Frontier's eighth city, this NPC-run company crafts and develops consumable items, supplying them to item shops across the game.
In Special Quest: A Roaring Tyrant's Gambit in the Marsh, after clearing Special Quest: The Secret of Rock Breaking and exploring Secandil with the unique weapon Lock-On Breaker equipped, an event triggers.
You're guided to the Enhans Trading Company's Secandil branch, where branch head Rex tasks you with collecting 200 Mad Frog hides.