That day in Dream Land Online, Frostina encountered a legendary wanderer NPC atop the snowy summit of an unnamed mountain, a figure tied to one of the game's most elusive hidden quests.

  She had tried everything she could think of to keep the wanderer from disappearing. And the most foolish thing she did was ask the wanderer to teach her magic, an outrageous request from a total stranger.

  Frostina had thought that was it. That she’d blown her one chance at something extraordinary.

  But then, the wanderer let out a long, heavy sigh. Without a word, she walked to a nearby boulder, leaned against it, and tilted her head back to stare up at the sky.

  “I'm cursed.”

  When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter and wearier.

  “Everyone who gets close to me ends up dead.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment.

  “I won’t let anyone else die because of me.”

  She turned her gaze toward Frostina.

  “So go back. Before you die too.”

  Frostina stared at her in confusion. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “Cursed?”

  The word echoed in her mind. She looked the wanderer up and down.

  “She looked completely fine… aside from—”

  Frostina’s eyes hesitated on the wanderer’s empty left sleeve, swaying slightly in the wind.

  “—aside from the missing arm.”

  But there was something strange in the way the wanderer had said it, like she believed it deeply, even though it made no sense. The wanderer looked like a healthy human NPC.

  On instinct, Frostina activated one of her player-exclusive skills, Appraisal.

  A transparent window flickered into view, overlaying the wanderer’s silhouette.

  As expected, every stat line read as a row of question marks ‘???’, a clear sign that the NPC was leagues beyond Frostina’s level.

  But one line stood out, clear and readable.

  ? Condition: Normal ?

  Frostina blinked.

  “Normal? That didn’t match the wanderer’s claim at all.”

  Before she could think further, the status window shimmered and morphed, replaced by a glowing prompt.

  ? Hidden Quest Continued! ?

  ? Wanderer’s Identity (Part II) ?

  ? Rank: Legendary ?

  ? Rewards: ??? ?

  ? The wanderer you encountered believes she is cursed, though she is not. Convince her otherwise! ?

  “...What?”

  Frostina stared at the screen, eyes wide.

  “This… this is real?!”

  She had read dozens of forum threads about this legendary quest, hundreds of players speculating on how to trigger it.

  All of them dead ends. No one had ever made it past the first step. Most didn't even believe there was a second part.

  “And somehow… I triggered it?”

  She hadn’t followed a guide or unlocked it by design.

  “I just… used Appraisal?”

  Then she paused.

  “No… that’s not it. What made me use Appraisal in the first place?”

  She retraced the moments in her mind. The wanderer’s voice. Her words. That strange, vulnerable moment when she called herself cursed.

  “Why did she suddenly open up to me like that? What made her say those things?”

  Frostina’s eyes widened as realization struck her.

  Something had changed in that moment. And somehow… she'd earned the wanderer’s trust.

  Or at least, just enough of it for the quest to continue.

  Frostina straightened her back, her eyes locking onto the wanderer.

  Completing the second part of the quest was, surprisingly, much easier, at least in theory. The forums were full of strategies, albeit only for common or rare wanderers.

  No one had ever managed to apply them to a legendary one… until now.

  Frostina asked gently.

  “You haven’t met anyone in the past year, have you?”

  “Have you ever heard the word ‘player’ before?”

  The wanderer tilted her head slightly, confused.

  “Player? What is that?”

  A spark of hope ignited in Frostina’s chest. This was it, the conversation was flowing.

  “Most of the towns are gone now, destroyed by monsters. Did you know that?”

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  The wanderer gave a somber nod.

  “Yes… That’s why I ran. The town I lived in was overrun. Every place I passed after that was the same, monsters everywhere.”

  Frostina leaned forward, her tone more earnest now.

  “But things have changed. Tens of thousands of people have arrived in this world, people from another world. They call themselves players. They can’t die here permanently. If they die, they revive at a certain location.”

  “I’m one of them. I’m a player. So…”

  “You don’t have to worry about me dying.”

  The wanderer’s eyes widened, disbelief written across her face.

  “...What?”

  Frostina nodded with conviction.

  “It’s true. If you don’t believe me, then—”

  She stopped herself just in time. The words “follow me” had almost slipped out. It might have worked on a common or rare wanderer, but this one… this was a legendary NPC.

  According to everything on the forums, legendary wanderers never agreed to follow players. It had never happened.

  So Frostina made a different gamble.

  She opened her inventory, pulled out a dagger, and held the blade to her neck.

  “Promise me you’ll stay here until I come back.”

  The wanderer’s reaction was immediate. She lunged forward, grabbing Frostina’s wrist with alarm.

  “Wait! Wait! What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!”

  Frostina remained calm, her voice steady.

  “I’ll kill myself and revive in Stellar Town. Then I’ll come right back here. So please, just wait.”

  The wanderer’s grip didn’t loosen.

  Frostina frowned slightly, then made her next move. She unequipped her rare staff, her most valuable weapon, and dropped it on the snowy ground. With her other hand, she summoned a second, common dagger from her inventory.

  Before she could move it toward her neck, the wanderer lunged forward again, this time using the arm she already had in her grip. With surprising strength, she swung Frostina’s arm sideways, knocking the dagger from her other hand mid-motion.

  “Okay! Okay! I believe you! You don’t need to kill yourself!”

  A small, satisfied smile tugged at Frostina’s lips.

  “Gotcha!”

  Calming herself down, she asked softly.

  “Then… can I stay with you?”

  “I don’t believe you’re cursed. But if you really are, we’ll find out. If I die, I’ll come back. So there’s no need to fear.”

  The wanderer stared at her for a long moment, then let out a groan of frustration and released her grip. She ran a hand through her hair, visibly agitated.

  “Arghh! Whatever!”

  She turned away, taking a few steps across the snow.

  “You said you wanted to learn my magic, right?”

  She said over her shoulder.

  Frostina’s heart leapt, her face lighting up in disbelief and joy.

  The wanderer paused one more time and glanced back.

  “My name is Glacia.”

  And with that, the legendary wanderer, Glacia, continued on through the snow.

  Suddenly, a shimmering window popped up in front of Frostina’s eyes.

  ? Hidden Quest Completed! ?

  ? Wanderer’s Identity (Part II) ?

  ? Rank: Legendary ?

  ? Rewards: Become Glacia’s disciple ?

  ? You managed to convince the wanderer Glacia to accept you as her disciple! Congratulations! ?

  Before she could even process it, another quest window appeared, glowing with golden trim.

  ? Hidden Quest Unlocked! ?

  ? Glacia’s Legacy ?

  ? Rank: Legendary ?

  ? Rewards: Glacia’s skills ?

  ? You are now the disciple of the legendary wanderer mage Glacia. Don’t miss this opportunity, learn everything you can from her! ?

  Frostina’s eyes widened as joy surged through her chest. She clenched her fists tight at her sides, practically shaking with excitement.

  “Bingo!”

  She grinned like a maniac.

  She had a theory, an instinct, that Glacia opened up earlier because Frostina had asked to learn her magic. She thought that was the key trigger, the keyword that unlocked the next phase.

  In truth, it wasn’t. Glacia had only relented after seeing Frostina’s dejected expression. That soft flicker of empathy had done what no textbook tactic or forum strategy ever could.

  But Frostina didn’t know that.

  And frankly, she didn’t care.

  All that mattered was she did it. She became Glacia’s disciple.

  “I actually pulled it off… I really became her disciple!”

  But her victory wasn’t over yet.

  Two more windows burst into view, these, unmistakably visible to every player across the game.

  ? World Announcement! ?

  ? Congratulations to player Frostina for becoming the first to be accepted as a wanderer’s disciple! A special reward will be granted! ?

  ? A new leaderboard “Wanderer’s Disciples” has been unlocked. Daily rewards will be distributed based on ranking. ?

  ? World Announcement! ?

  ? Congratulations to player Frostina for becoming the first disciple of a legendary wanderer! A special reward will be granted! ?

  ? A new leaderboard “Legendary Wanderer’s Legacy” has been unlocked. Daily rewards will be distributed based on ranking. ?

  “YEAHHHHHH!!!”

  Frostina threw both arms into the air, her cheer echoing across the snowy peak.

  “What are you yelling for? Hurry up and follow me.”

  Glacia called back with a huff. Frostina turned to her, beaming.

  “Yes, Teacher!”

  She sprinted after Glacia, but not before flipping open the newly unlocked leaderboards.

  ? Wanderer’s Disciples ?

  ? Legendary Wanderer’s Legacy ?

  For the first time ever, Frostina had triggered a World Announcement. For the first time, her name was on a leaderboard, no, two leaderboards, at the very top.

  And from that moment on, the entire forum exploded.

  “Congrats, Frostina!! Absolute legend!”

  “WHAT?! He cleared that impossible quest?!”

  “No way! Did he actually do it?!”

  “Bro must be max luck stat or something.”

  “Wait, who even is Frostina?? That sounds like a girl!”

  “Maybe it’s just bait. Probably a guy.”

  “Could be a dude with a waifu name.”

  “Still a legend tho.”

  “GUYS what if she’s actually a girl???”

  “Frostina! QUEEN!!”

  “SOMEONE FIND HER!”

  “Frostina! Teach me your ways, sensei!”

  “I haven’t even seen a wanderer NPC…”

  “How the hell did she convince a legendary NPC?!”

  “Frostina! Where are you?!”

  “Guide! Guide! GIVE US THE GUIDE!!”

  “GIVE! US! THE! GUIDE!!”

  “We need a walkthrough! NOW!”

  “Player of the Year right there.”

  “She’s gotta be a dev undercover.”

  “Legendary NPCs aren’t even supposed to talk to us…”

  The forums exploded with theories, memes, and frantic questions. Friend requests hit her inbox like a flood, dozens, hundreds, piling up by the second.

  But Frostina?

  She just laughed.

  She watched it all unfold in silence, smiling to herself.

  No guild. No forum account. No friends on her friend list. No one even knew who she was.

  And that was exactly how she liked it.

  That night, while the forums burned and chaos erupted in her wake, she sat quietly in the dark, reading while grinning.

  At that moment, Frostina felt like the true protagonist of Dream Land Online.

  Her smile turned wicked as she scrolled through the cries of the noobs on the forums.

  “Hah. Amateurs.”