[
[Evaluation: SS]
[Receive 31.000EXP]
[Receive 19 Gold]
[Receive Scroll of Spear of Time]
[Receive Boots of the early nephilim]
[Receive Ring of Dust]
[Receive Title: Viscount of Westmarsch]
[A plot threatening the very foundation of the Southern Light Kingdom was thwarted. You received the favour of Therim Riverbell and the recognition of the king. But one question remains unanswered. Who hides behind the identity of Dust? Will they continue their plots?]
Liam was amazed by the generous rewards. This was one of the rare cases where the rewards were not uniform among the party. The more they contributed, the more rewards they received. And no one came close to Liam. It was a pity that the evaluation didn't reach SSS. However, this was understandable as Liam paused the quest for a while. The evaluation might have been even lower if he hadn't initially recognized Autumn after fighting against the mage, pushing the plot ahead.
Anyways, the veteran was quite satisfied. He briefly browsed through the list. The 'Scroll of Spear of Time' was basically a minor version of the spell Therim used in his battle against Canter. It allowed him to reset time within a certain area by 10 seconds. It depended on the user to make a spell like this shine. However, with a cooldown of two days the scroll was somewhat limited.
The boots of the early nephilim were the unique version of Liam's current boots, part of his set. They offered a small upgrade but nothing spectacular.
What amazed Liam the most was the Ring of Dust. This unique item only had a single effect. It allowed him to summon a weakened version of a random devil to fight by his side for three minutes. This might not sound too impressive, but Liam knew that everything involving devils or gods was extremely special in the game. A clone of a devil was definitely among the strongest summons one could get.
Last but not least, there was the title of a viscount. This title came with some small benefits. He would be allowed to build a personal player home, a place where he could basically do whatever he wanted. Additionally, the guards within the confines of the Southern Light Kingdom would be more lenient. Even if he stole some items or killed some players, he wouldn't be taken to jail easily. Furthermore, there were all kinds of monetary boons like better prices from merchants and better rewards for various NPCs operating on a point-based system.
"That's just not fair. I helped kill a devil. I should have received more rewards. Stingy guardian. Not even the devil was that stingy. Damn! I need to ask the expert where I can get my own unique quest..."
Suddenly low murmurs reached Liam's ears. He couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed Cyclone sulking in a corner. He could tell that she was just pretending, while secretly searching Therim's study for any valuable items or treasure chests.
"Do you really dare to steal from a guardian?"
Cyclone froze as she was caught in the act. She fake coughed:
"Well, not as long as he is present. But if Therim would coincidentally leave for some important appointment..."
The others only chuckled. After working to build up so much goodwill with the guardian, Cyclone was about to jeopardize it. Of course, the mage didn't really mean it.
Now with their rewards in hand there was nothing left to do. The party held some hope that Therim would grant them a follow-up quest to find Dust, but the guardian remained silent. Thus, the party soon left. On their way out they discussed their rewards, realizing that Liam was a step ahead of everyone else.
"You are viscount now? Sounds awesome."
"A reward worthy of a hero. Congratulations, my friend."
"Haha, I would shove it in the faces of all those haughty NPC nobles."
Liam was somewhat surprised by the reaction. In his opinion, of all his rewards the title of a viscount was the most useless.
"It's just a lame title. All it does is giving me permission to build a house. What's so great about that?"
"No, but the way I understand it this is different from using a land lease, right? You will have full jurisdiction. A house which fully belongs to you."
"I guess..."
Liam shrugged his shoulders. Noticing his disinterest the others didn't feel like continuing the topic. The conversation veered off. Soon, the friends arrived in front of the teleporter, somewhat at a loss.
"What should we do now?"
"I thought GalanTen would have cleared the dungeon by now."
"Are they even trying?"
"I have a funny idea!", exclaimed Cyclone suddenly. "What if we go levelling? We could reach level 69 before GalanTen is done with the dungeon. Afterwards we can delay the challenge because it would be unfair and tell them to catch up."
Cyclone grinned brightly. Everyone looked at her, surprised that the mage would come up with such a devious idea.
Just imagine the humiliation. You challenge someone to a fight to prove yourself, but they decline, saying 'You are not even on my level'. Henragon might just lose his head from anger.
"Or, we could even enter the dungeon a second time! Perhaps we could clear it before GalanTen does. Just imagine their faces!"
"I feel like you really don't like them, huh? Do you want to crush their morale?", asked Silver Blade, somewhat surprised by Cyclone's ideas.
"Perhaps..."
At this point Quickstep shook her head and chimed in:
"Ok, ok. We don't need to be that harsh, do we? I'm quite looking forward to the PvP matches."
The others had similar thoughts. At least no one was stoked about the idea of clearing the dungeon again. Cyclone had no choice but to drop the idea.
Quickstep's and Silent Acacia's excitement was obvious for all to see. The friends didn't want to disappoint them. They continued talking about the upcoming match and made some plans. Soon, they decided to split up. While most went to the arena to train, Liam and Balm decided to work on their professions.
Especially Liam. With the recipe for a weapon with legendary potential in hand even he was looking forward to it. It was time to push his blacksmith profession to the advanced rank. And while doing so he could also upgrade his friends' equipment somewhat before the big fight.
"Wait, I'm supposed to give you my equipment before going to the arena to fight players?"
Cyclone looked at Liam as if he was a fool. However, the others thought differently.
"No, that's a great idea. Thanks to our superior equipment we can get away with little mistakes we otherwise wouldn't. Fighting without it is a nice exercise!"
Quickstep was the most proactive. She went to an NPC blacksmith and bought the most basic common equipment. She switched quickly, appearing in front of the party in a completely unadorned, grey metal armour.
The others did the same and even Cyclone reluctantly agreed. Liam's inventory was filled with the most valuable equipment one could find on the server.
"Don't get yourself killed now!", warned Silver Blade.
Liam only chuckled as he stepped into the teleporter. In a flash he appeared in Greypine Town. The territory was flourishing and Major Vaukas's soldier were patrolling, raising the security to the level of one of the major NPC cities. All kinds of precious building and big shops were sprouting from the ground.
The territory was basically in a state of exponential growth. The rent earned from the shops allowed Dream Avenue to expand the city and improve the fortifications, which in turn attracted more shops. By now the thick city walls served as an unmistakable deterrence. Other guilds had to be crazy if they wanted to attack the territory. Thus, Greypine Town's rise as the most prosperous territory was almost unstoppable.
With such thoughts Liam was in a good mood as he holed himself up in the smithy. He concentrated himself on work for the next few hours. Thanks to a rich supply of Liquid Quavium Liam didn't need to be afraid of any items getting destroyed during the process of upgrading.
"Cyclone might never talk to you again if you destroyed her new tome.", giggled Serena, who had joined Liam at some point. Even when upgrading items the veteran could set some attention aside to converse with his sister. The siblings talked and laughed until a commotion broke out in the global chat.
"They're out! They're out!"
"Breaking news: GalanTen left the dungeon!"
"They are on their way to complete the quest!"
"Is the match starting? Any news? Where will they fight?"
Tension continued to rise. It was as if thousands of players collectively held their breaths. GalanTen went to complete their quest and finally SpireX made the official announcement in the global chat:
"We, GalanTen, challenge Hotpot to battle! Meet us in front of Svebrial Arena in one hour!"