Reincarnated Avatar; I got 2 SSS-Rank Unique Skills
Chapter 129: Quest 12- The Jester’s Masquerade

Chapter 129: Quest 12- The Jester’s Masquerade

[You have accepted Quest 12: The Jester’s Masquerade!]

BZZZ!

The moment Noah accepted the quest, the world warped around him in a swirl of colors, laughter, and eerie music.

"Hihihihihihi!"

"Muahahahahaha!"

When his vision cleared, he stood in the middle of a grand masquerade ball inside a lavish yet unsettling palace.

The walls were lined with massive, distorted mirrors, their reflections twisting and shifting in ways that defied logic.

The guests, masked figures in elaborate costumes twirled and laughed, their movements just a bit too perfect, their voices just a bit too hollow.

A sinister energy hummed beneath the surface of their merriment.

At the head of the ballroom, lounging on a gilded throne sat a grotesquely grinning figure, the Jester King.

His long, mismatched limbs rest lazily over the armrests, his fingers adorned with golden rings that glinted in the dim candlelight. His jester’s hat writhe unnaturally as if alive.

He leaned forward at the sight of a new challenger, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Ahh, a new player enters the game!"

He grinned. "Welcome, welcome, oh masked wanderer".

"Do you seek the prize?"

"The game is simple. Survive my little masquerade until the final bell tolls".

"Make the right choices, solve the riddles, and perhaps, just perhaps, you’ll leave with your mind intact, hihi!" He chuckled in an eerie voice.

[Quest Objective: Unravel the secrets of the Masquerade and escape before the final bell tolls.]

’Another puzzle, huh?’ Noah sighed. ’I’m beginning to hate puzzles’.

It already started though.

A masked noblewoman glid toward Noah, offering her hand. The moment he took it, the music swelled and he was forced into a waltz.

Ballroom music played.

Every step synched with the pulse of the palace itself, as if reality was forced to bend to the rhythm of the dance.

Each of the masked guests spoke to him in riddles, mixing truth and lies in every single sentence.

Noah realized the rules of the Masquerade.

’I must identity the liars and the truth-tellers to progress’.

’Wrong choices alter the ballroom itself, shifting walls, twisting reality, and summoning grotesque masked phantoms’.

All the while, the Jester King watched with amusement, occasionally interfering with cryptic hints or maddening laughter.

’These hints..., is it my Analytical Insight passive skill in action or its just part of the game?’

Noah was not sure, and he didn’t care to confirm, focusing on what was important which was breaking this puzzle.

With keen observation, he navigated the game of deception, recognizing subtle gestures that betrayed the liars.

Once he pointed them out, the game came to an end.

All the while, the Jester King had the same amused look on his face, then...

BZZZ!

The walls slid open, revealing a hallway of countless mirrors. Each reflection there moved slightly out of sync, distorting in eerie ways.

The Jester’s voice echoed.

"Ah, but who are you, really? Find yourself before you lose yourself".

Noah almost rolled his eyes in exasperation. ’Ah shit, here we go again’.

He focused and observed, and then he noticed the patterns.

Some reflections mimic him perfectly, others grin when he does not, while some distort into monstrous forms.

If he interacted with the wrong one, his true self begins to fade, distorting his movements in the real world.

To pass, he must identify the one true reflection before the ticking clock in the background stops.

’What a devious game’. He thought.

Noah was already moving though.

By using his sharp instincts and his ability to notice inconsistences, Noah managed to choose the correct reflection, causing the others to shatter into black mist as they faded away.

And once again, he progressed through this jesterized maze, moving on to the location of his final test.

With only minutes left before the final bell tolls, Noah found himself back in the ballroom. The guests have stopped dancing.

Instead, they stood perfectly still, heads tilted, their masks grinning unnaturally. As for the Jester King?

The Jester King rose from his throne, clapping.

"Oh, you’ve done so well! But one final choice remains, my dear guest!"

In response, a massive roulette wheel appeared in the center of the ballroom, divided into two halves, gold and black.

The Jester grinned. "Spin it! If you land on gold, you walk free with your reward. Land on black... well, let’s just say you’ll be dancing here forever".

But Noah wasn’t fooled, he noticed something.

While the Jester spoke, he noticed his fingers twitch ever so slightly when gesturing toward the wheel. He also noticed that the masked guests were tensed, as if waiting for something.

And lastly, Noah noticed a subtle magical pulse that was coming from beneath the Jester’s throne.

Noah smirked. ’Almost got me there’.

Rather than playing the Jester’s game this time, Noah instead dashed forward, vaulting over the roulette wheel and striking the Jester’s throne.

The moment he does, the illusion shattered.

CRACK!

The palace warped, revealing a dark, crumbling theater. There, the Jester let out a delighted cackle, then a disappointed sigh.

"Oh, fine! You win, clever one". He grinned. "But next time, play along, won’t you?" He chuckled.

A system notification flashed before Noah’s eyes.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Jester’s Masquerade!]

[You have received rewards:]

*+6 Skill Points

*New Passive Skill: Trickster’s Insight.

>Trickster’s Insight: You are now more resistant to illusions, deception, and trickery-based effects. Your ability to see through falsehoods has increased<

The Jester tips his hat, grinning as he faded into the void.

"Farewell, oh masked wanderer. May our games continue another time".

As the world faded, Noah exhaled.

"That guy was almost as annoying as Benjamin..."

...

Noah was tired after dealing with that Jester, but still, so close to completing all the random quests already, he felt a motivation to continue.

And then he took on the Labyrinth of Echoes.

This time, since it was a quest that partly involved combat, Noah was faster than normal, finding his way through the labyrinth and quickly dispatching all the enemies before the time frame hit.

And then, he focused on the last quest.

[Quest 14: The King’s Gambit]

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