Before the Blacksmith drifted back into admiring the Sacred Spring Water, Marcus cleared his throat and added, "Blacksmith, the Village Chief said he needs to borrow your Orb of Fiery Essence to purify the Sacred Spring Water."
"Oh, right," the Blacksmith said, suddenly remembering. "Sacred Spring Water must be purified before consumption. It requires both my Orb of Fiery Essence and the Herbalist's Orb of Chilling Mist. Wait here, I will fetch it."
He disappeared into the back room. Marcus glanced down at the jar, wondering what exactly the purification process changed, but shrugged. It was not his responsibility to understand every detail. Completing the quest mattered more.
The Blacksmith returned holding a glass orb the size of a fist, crystal clear. A flame flickered within, shifting continuously like a living thing.
"Here. Take this to the Village Chief."
Marcus carefully accepted it, drawn instantly to its glow. His interface displayed the item's information, and his eyes widened.
A divine item. A genuine divine item. And a powerful one at that.
For a moment, all he could do was stare, stunned by how incredible the reward chain was turning out to be.
Orb of Fiery Essence: A Super Artifact, a treasure forged from the purest Samadhi True Fire, possessing immense power. There are no usage requirements. The wearer can cast any Fire-elemental skill without incantation. It can also activate the Fire-elemental forbidden spell, "Scorch the Heavens," three times daily. The wearer is completely immune to Fire-elemental damage. This is a Quest Item, and therefore it cannot be used, traded, or dropped.
'Damn. Such a potent artifact.'
Marcus could already imagine the possibilities. If he could equip the Orb of Fiery Essence, he could walk straight into a crowd of high-level monsters and unleash a single Scorch the Heavens. The screen would flood with experience points, and his level would rocket upward like a missile. Three battles a day, and he'd dominate the leaderboards.
The Blacksmith had claimed he had nothing good to offer him. Was this not good? If something like the Orb of Fiery Essence wasn't considered valuable, Marcus couldn't begin to imagine what the man's standards were.
Cannot be used, cannot be traded, cannot be dropped. The words felt like a slap.
He wanted to shout, "A triple-no product? Seriously? Stuff like this should be illegal!"
He could almost feel the Orb's warmth calling to him, tempting him. If it weren't for those cursed restrictions, he'd have grabbed it on the spot and never looked back.
When he realized the Blacksmith was done with him and had already gone back to hammering away, Marcus sighed and reluctantly left the forge. His next stop was the Herbalist's hut.
---
"Mr. Herbalist," Marcus said, holding out the jar. "The Village Chief sent me to bring you a jar of Sacred Spring Water."
The Herbalist's eyes went wide. "Sacred Spring Water! It truly is Sacred Spring Water! You actually retrieved it!" He leaned forward eagerly. "Stonehaven, did you manage to kill that wicked Black Bear?"
"Yes, sir," Marcus replied with a nod. "It took a lot of effort, but I finally managed to take it down."
Seriously? Marcus blinked. The Herbalist's words were almost identical to the Blacksmith's. He decided to just roll with it, thinking that if the reward was similar, he'd have no complaints.
"Wonderful, wonderful, Stonehaven," the Herbalist said with genuine delight. "You've done a great service for our Newbie Village. You've truly saved us. I must thank you."
A familiar chime echoed in Marcus's ears.
Ding! Stonehaven, the Herbalist wishes to improve your skills. Do you accept?
The same reward, as expected. Marcus grinned. This was perfect.
"I accept."
Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven, for receiving guidance from the Herbalist. Your 'Herb Gathering' skill has been upgraded to Intermediate.
Ding! Congratulations, Stonehaven, for receiving guidance from the Herbalist. Your 'Potion Making' skill has been upgraded to Intermediate.
Just like before, the Herbalist handed him an Artifact: the Orb of Chilling Mist.
It was identical in shape and size to the Orb of Fiery Essence, but it glowed with a deep sapphire hue. Faint blue droplets shimmered within its core like frozen raindrops trapped in glass.
Marcus checked its attributes:
Orb of Chilling Mist: A Super Artifact, a treasure condensed from ten thousand years of frozen essence, possessing immense power. There are no usage requirements. The wearer can cast any Water-elemental skill without incantation. It can also activate the Water-elemental forbidden spell, "Freeze the World," three times daily. The wearer is completely immune to Water-elemental damage. This is a Quest Item, and therefore it cannot be used, traded, or dropped.
He looked at both orbs resting in his hands and couldn't help feeling a pang of envy. Such incredible power, yet completely out of reach. The system's restrictions were cruel, but there was no point dreaming about what he couldn't change. With a deep breath, he decided to stop fantasizing and brought the two Artifacts back to the Village Chief.
---
"Village Chief," Marcus said, setting the orbs down carefully. "Here are the Orb of Fiery Essence and the Orb of Chilling Mist you asked for."
"Excellent," the old man said, smiling as he took them. "Now we can purify the Sacred Spring Water."
"Purify the Sacred Spring Water?" Marcus frowned. "What exactly does that involve, and what's it for?"
The Village Chief stroked his beard thoughtfully before answering. "Stonehaven, there's a very important reason behind this."
He paused, his tone turning solemn. "The Sacred Spring in our Newbie Village is called the Spring of Polaris. Its waters are formed from the Dual Energies of the earth. Drinking even a single jar can enhance one's basic attributes. However, the raw Dual Energies carry not only the world's spiritual essence but also a dangerous Volatile Energy, which makes the water impossible to drink as it is."
"Heh, Stonehaven," the Village Chief chuckled, leaning back in his chair, "if you had been greedy and drunk the unpurified Sacred Spring Water, your body would never have withstood the raw Volatile Energy. The result would have been character deletion, your body would have exploded. I am both relieved and pleased to see that you have proven yourself not only courageous and wise, the marks of a true Warrior, but also noble in honesty and integrity. That is rare, indeed."
As the Village Chief's words sank in, Marcus felt a blush creep up his neck, a mix of embarrassment and relief washing over him. He had been very tempted to drink the water earlier. Now, realizing that doing so would have ended his character permanently, he felt a shiver run through him, half fear, half astonishment at his own restraint.
"Therefore," the Village Chief continued in a calm but commanding tone, "we must purify the Sacred Spring Water. We rely on the Orb of Fiery Essence and the Orb of Chilling Mist to absorb the Volatile Energies respectively. Only then can the water be consumed safely, without harm."
With that, he carefully placed both Sacred Orbs into the jar of Sacred Spring Water. The moment the orbs touched the surface, they began to roll gently, sending ripples of red and blue light through the water. The red glow clung to the Orb of Fiery Essence, while the blue followed the Orb of Chilling Mist, gradually enveloping them in a dazzling display.
The two Sacred Orbs glowed as if burning from within, the light intensifying until the water itself shone like liquid fire and ice intertwined. Only after the colors faded and the orbs returned to their natural hues did the rolling stop. The purification was complete.
"It is done," the Village Chief said, a warm smile spreading across his face. "The Sacred Spring Water is purified. Stonehaven, you have solved a great problem for our Newbie Village. You are truly our savior and hero. To show our gratitude, I would like to present you with this jar of Purified Sacred Spring Water."
"Give it… to me? Are you serious?" Marcus stammered, disbelief etched across his face. The attributes of the water alone were astonishing; now it was being handed to him as a reward. Nervous excitement surged through him, and without hesitation, his hand shot out to take the jar.
He quickly examined its attributes…