(( This was a collab between myself and TheWindel. ))

The hooded figure wasn't there a moment ago. In fact, it would have been near impossible for them to appear unless they were either fast or had some kind of cloaking ability. But there they were, all the same. A figure draped in gray clothing with a hood over their head, concealing their face in shadow. And they were standing right in the middle of Hyde's path.

At first, Hyde hadn't noticed the hooded figure. He was too busy focusing on his beauty of a Morningstar to see, which was now tied to his waist. But as soon as he looked up, there it was. It wasn't clear whether or not it was male or female, friendly or enemy. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the cloaked person. Slowly, but surely, his hand slid down to his weapon, unsure of the figure's next move.

The figure was all too aware of Hyde's presence but did nothing to confirm or deny if it was an enemy or not. However, the closer Hyde got, the figure's status was revealed above its head. It read NPC. It was obvious now that the figure was not going to move out of the way, seeing as it wasn't a Player.

Hyde's hand closed around the handle of his Morningstar, but he did not yet unsheathe it, though he felt his grip get tighter as he got closer. Perhaps it was nervousness since he hadn't met an NPC as strange as this one standing straight ahead of him. It wasn't blocking the road, but Hyde didn't exactly want to slip past it and have some creepy NPC attack him from behind when he wasn't looking. Instead, he called out, "Friend or foe?"

Once again, the figure showed no signs of responding to Hyde. It only stood motionless, like a ghost as Hyde approached it closer and closer. Finally, when it seemed that there was no room to manuever out of the way, a pop-up screen was notified on Hyde's user interface. It was a quest request, as average as anything else. To to find a random NPC in the middle of nowhere offering quests was a bit skeptical at the most. Still, rare stuff like this was always bound to happen in DGO.

Hyde was quite taken aback as the quest request appeared. His hand drifted away from his Morningstar, realising the figure wasn't as much of a threat as he had first assumed. He stared at the cloaked person, looking for any signs of abnormality, but he couldn't actually see his or her face to decide. Biting his lip from behind his helmet, he began to read through the quest information.
[hr]
[u][b][center]Help Required: Dead or Alive[/center][/b][/u]
[u][b]Mysterious figure with the ability to change their status indefinitely. Most likely an enemy NPC, Boss tier. Reward is 10,000 EXP. It should also be noted that the Black King, Moon Rider, has apparently come into contact with this enemy. Approach with caution.[/b][/u]
[hr]
The figure was silent though it did shift a little closer as Hyde read the quest's details. From the sound of it, it was fairly easy. Instead of hunting down a large conglamoration of Dissolutions like most quests did, it seemed that there was only one NPC to hunt down. The bit about changing statuses was no doubt interesting and would definitely be something to look out for and consider. But what was perhaps most intriguing was the mention that the Black King had encountered such a foe. Maybe this was some kind of hidden quest for a Legendary Weapon or Item?

Hyde couldn't believe what he'd just read. The ability to change their status indefinitely? That was something Hyde hadn't seen before, and certainly wasn't normal, everyday practice inside DGO. But it was interesting. And Hyde had a penchant for interesting things. It was like the easter eggs in other video games he'd played, and he'd probably end up treating this one just the same. Chances are, though, if it had something to do with the Black King, it was almost definitely an enemy. Perhaps it [i]was[/i] the Black King, but Hyde doubted it. And that EXP reward. How could he say no? Either way, he accepted the quest.

The hooded figure shifted once more, revealing just a glance of what lay beneath its cloak. No facial features were made out but two points of red flicked about before they were concealed once more. One could only assume that the NPC had red eyes. As if the experience couldn't get any more weirder, the hooded figure stepped away before fading outof sight. It was gone. Coupled with the empty roads and the darkening sky surrounding the Black District in the distance, it was just a little bit unnerving.

As he watched the figure more or less dissolve into the scenery, Hyde just stood there, dumbfounded at the experience. He spied the Black City on the horizon, and began his journey once more, planning on starting his investigation into this status-changing-NPC-thing. Though, the Black Guild and it's players weren't renowned for their welcoming attitude towards prying eyes, and, if the Black King actually did have ties to this person, Hyde doubted he'd last long anyway. Forgetting the negative thoughts, he pushed on towards the City, deciding on fate to guide him.