However.
Either of these two, taken on their own, was absolutely absurd.
Based on Liam’s understanding of the game’s mechanics, there was a high probability that a third Quest Scroll existed.
And the requirement for that third Quest Scroll would likely be to slay Hanba the Drought-Bringer!
If that were the case, he could juggle three quests simultaneously.
First, destroy the Novice Village, then release Hanba the Drought-Bringer, and finally, slay Hanba the Drought-Bringer.
Of course, this third quest was merely Liam’s speculation.
As things stood, Liam couldn't complete any of these quests yet.
Consequently, he didn't plan on accepting them for the time being.
He would focus on finishing the Elder Mayor’s advancement quest first.
Regarding the quest to hunt ten bosses in the Novice Village, he had already slain three: the Hydra-Cypress, the Twisted Treant King, and The Mustelid.
So, next...
It was time to hunt down the others.
Every monster tier from Level 3 to Level 10 had a boss. If Liam hunted them sequentially, he could easily bag six more.
However, sticking to his principle of hunting the highest-level bosses possible, Liam didn't want to waste time grinding minor bosses.
He intended to farm the other hidden bosses of the Novice Village, but with his current attributes, he was still a bit underpowered for that.
Therefore, he needed to hit Level 10 first.
Along the way, he needed to upgrade his Innate Talent, Hand of Heavenly Punishment, to 3-Star Rank.
He wasn't far from the experience needed for Level 10, but reaching 3-Star Rank for Hand of Heavenly Punishment was still a long way off.
One hundred thousand Basic Attacks—that would still take a significant amount of time.
He returned to the Level 10 Twisted Treant spawn point.
The area was deserted. Level 9 players didn't train here, and most who had reached Level 10 were busy trying to clear dungeons.
Whiz!
An arrow pierced the air. A critical hit.
-2288.
A massive damage number popped up. The ordinary Twisted Treant collapsed before it could even endure a single Basic Attack from Liam.
Chain Lightning triggered.
Over a dozen Twisted Treants were pulled toward him.
The outcome was a foregone conclusion. One arrow, one kill; the aggroed Twisted Treants were dealt with in seconds.
This high-frequency clearing speed might have been great for an average player.
But for Liam, it was actually a bit problematic.
The reason was simple.
He needed to stack his maximum HP through Basic Attacks.
With these one-shot kills, he couldn't get enough hits in.
After farming the Twisted Treants for over ten minutes, Liam’s health hadn't increased much.
However, his experience bar finally hit the threshold.
Ding! You have reached Level 10. AP +5.
Ding! You have reached the level required to leave the Novice Village. You may depart after accepting the village departure quest from the Elder Mayor.
Liam ignored the departure quest.
He dumped all five AP into Movement Speed.
With enough speed, it became much easier to kite mobs.
If he were to eventually take on the quest to hunt the Novice Village NPCs, high movement speed would be essential.
With the five points added, Liam’s movement speed increased by 0.5—a small but necessary gain.
Next, he had to consider hunting the fourth boss.
Liam already had a plan in mind.
Bard wasn't the only hidden boss in the Novice Village.
His next move had the potential to slay the remaining seven bosses in one fell swoop and complete the Elder Mayor’s quest.
That move was... the struggle for the position of The Village Chief.
Within the Novice Village, Miller the Smith had coveted the position of Village Chief for a long time. Miller had been working tirelessly to topple the Elder Mayor.
Miller was secretly recruiting players within the Novice Village. The reason Liam had sent Barney to do The Iron Anvil’s quest was specifically to accept Miller’s recruitment.
The final stage of The Iron Anvil’s questline was to help Miller the Smith defeat the Elder Mayor.
Installing a new Village Chief in the Novice Village would yield massive rewards.
It was this very quest that allowed Liam to see a path toward completing the "Destroy Novice Village" objective.
Whether he helped the Elder Mayor wipe out Miller’s faction or helped Miller wipe out the Elder Mayor’s faction, the Novice Village would undergo a massive purge, significantly reducing the NPC population.
It would be even more interesting if both sides crippled each other.
He could simply sit back and reap the spoils.
However, since he had already accepted the follow-up quest from the Elder Mayor to hunt ten bosses, it seemed that for now, Miller the Smith was the one who had to die.
But before that, he needed to milk Miller for all he was worth.
Returning to the Novice Village, Liam went to the tavern first, bought two bottles of the most expensive Strong Ale, and then headed to The Iron Anvil.
Seeing the Strong Ale in Liam’s hand, Miller the Smith smiled and asked, "Adventurer, what can I do for you?"
Liam set the two bottles of Strong Ale down in front of Miller.
"I’ve heard that Miller the Smith is the greatest blacksmith under the heavens. I’d like to commission you to forge the strongest weapon in the world for me."
Flattered by the praise, Miller immediately beamed with pride.
"Heh, keep it down, keep it down. It’s enough that we know; no need to shout it out."
As he spoke, Miller discreetly swept the two bottles of Strong Ale aside.
"Forging a weapon requires coin. To get the 'strongest' weapon, it depends on whether you have enough Gold Sovereigns."
Liam took every Gold Sovereign he had and threw them onto the table in front of Miller.
"Is this enough?"
Miller’s eyes went wide. This was the Novice Village; in all his years of smithing, he had never seen so many Gold Sovereigns at once.
"Enough, more than enough."
"However, gold alone isn't sufficient. I need ten pieces of Bronze Grade equipment, fifty pieces of Black Iron Grade equipment, and two hundred pieces of Elite Grade equipment as raw materials."
Ding! Miller the Smith has issued a quest to you.
Quest Requirements: 10 pieces of Bronze Grade equipment, 50 pieces of Black Iron Grade equipment, 200 pieces of Elite Grade equipment.
Quest Penalty: Your deposited Gold Sovereigns and Strong Ale will not be refunded.
Quest Reward: You will receive a Gold Grade Longbow with no level requirement.
Liam’s eyes lit up. He had expected a Silver Grade reward, but he hadn't imagined it would be Gold Grade. This was a massive win.
"Fine. I’ll collect these items as quickly as possible."
For any other player, gathering this much equipment would be harder than climbing to the heavens.
But for Liam, it just meant clearing The Twisted Thicket on Hell Difficulty a few more times.
After accepting the quest, Liam headed back to The Twisted Thicket.
Without hesitation, he selected Hell Difficulty and began his solo grind.
Two and a half hours later!
Liam looked at the gear filling his backpack, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
Miller’s quest was ready to be turned in!
A Gold Grade weapon!
And word was that this weapon was custom-made.
With a custom Gold weapon that had no level requirement, combined with his Hand of Heavenly Punishment talent, his future growth speed would be nothing short of terrifying!
"Miller, I’ve collected everything you asked for."
Liam arrived back at The Iron Anvil.
Miller the Smith was genuinely shocked.
He gave Liam a long, meaningful look, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
"Very well. Hand the materials over. You can come back in ten hours to collect your weapon."
Liam handed over all the required equipment.
Ding! You have completed Miller the Smith’s quest. Experience +9085. Since you have not left the Novice Village, you cannot gain more experience; the excess experience is voided.
Liam didn't mind. He had known this would happen from his past life.
"Adventurer, I see you possess extraordinary talent. If you can find three more things for me, I might be able to upgrade that Gold Grade weapon to Platinum Grade."
Liam was stunned. Gold Grade was already miles ahead of the current player base, let alone Platinum Grade.
However, he could already guess what the next quest would be.
"What do you need?" Liam asked.
"My apprentice, Alvis, stole a precious ore. I’ve already sent my other two apprentices to hunt him down. If you can assist them in recovering it, I’m willing to use that ore to forge your weapon."
Ding! Miller the Smith has issued a quest to you: Recover the stolen Frost-Flame Ore.
Quest Requirements: Recover the Frost-Flame Ore, or contribute at least 20% of the damage dealt during the fight to corner Alvis.
Quest Penalty: None.
Quest Reward: Unknown.
Liam quirked an eyebrow. As expected, the conflict quest between Miller the Smith and the Elder Mayor had begun.
This so-called "apprentice betrayal" was actually a plant by the Elder Mayor. Once Miller discovered the spy, the apprentice stole the ore and fled.
On the surface, Miller and the Mayor hadn't officially broken ties yet, so Alvis could only flee into the wilderness.
If another player was lucky enough, they might receive a quest from the Elder Mayor to protect Alvis.
"Understood, Miller. I’ll get on it. Where is Alvis now?"
"My two apprentices pursued him into The Iron Grotto to the east. That rat Alvis must be hiding in some corner of the cave."
Liam’s brow furrowed. The Iron Grotto to the east.
That was the territory of the Level 8 Stone Beetles.
In his past life, Liam hadn't heard of any specific guides or secrets regarding the Stone Beetles in The Iron Grotto.
They probably existed; they just hadn't been leaked.
Twilight of the Gods was filled with hidden maps, secret bosses, Secret Realms, and Immortal Sanctums.
Liam knew a fair amount, but it was only a small fraction of the whole.
After all, most people kept their fortuitous encounters a closely guarded secret; very few were willing to publish their strategies.
Most of the guides Liam knew were released by guilds or The Regency syndicates only after they had squeezed every bit of profit from them.
Otherwise, it was quests like The Mustelid or the Twisted Treant, which triggered Server-Wide Broadcasts and were eventually reverse-engineered by others.
"Fine. I’m heading to The Iron Grotto to find Alvis now."
Leaving the Novice Village, Liam made his way toward the grotto.
Just then, a Server-Wide Broadcast echoed.
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Misty Snow for achieving the First Kill of the Hydro-Turtle King. May all players continue their hard work.
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Misty Snow for achieving the First Kill of the Hydro-Turtle King...
The announcement for Misty Snow had barely finished when another one appeared.
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Berserk for becoming the first to obtain a Hidden Class. May all players continue their hard work.
Server-Wide Broadcast: Congratulations to player Berserk for becoming the first to obtain a Hidden Class...
Liam sighed. It seemed some things from his past life remained unchanged.
Berserk had still obtained a Hidden Class this early.
It was a pity.
Berserk’s Innate Talent was decent, and his game sense and mechanics were on point. Unfortunately, he would choose his class too hastily, leading him to fade into mediocrity in the mid-to-late game.
Novice Village: The Iron Grotto.
This was an abandoned mine. Because it had been neglected for years, it had become a nest for Stone Beetles.
As soon as Liam arrived, he saw dozens of Stone Beetles wandering outside the entrance.
Stone Beetle (Common): Level 8.
HP: 1200/1200.
Attack: 52.
Skills: Armor Break, Stone Shield.
Two very simple skills, yet they were enough to make average players miserable.
Armor Break could reduce a weapon's durability. In the early game, where weapons were incredibly scarce, this skill was a nightmare.
Whiz!
-1200!
Liam loosed an arrow, and a Stone Beetle was instantly deleted.
After farming The Twisted Thicket for gear, his HP had already surpassed 50,000.
Combined with the 10,000+ HP boost from the Black Iron Treant Set, his total health was now over 60,000.
Even without the Thunder-Strike Bow’s attack power, the true damage scaled from his HP was enough to one-shot a Stone Beetle.
In less than twenty seconds, dozens of Stone Beetles were cleared out.
New Stone Beetles began to respawn, but Liam ignored them and entered the grotto.
According to Liam’s calculations, there should be three NPCs inside, possibly more.
"You?"
A startled voice rang out just as he stepped inside.
Liam looked at the speaker, equally surprised.
It was the Assassin player, Shadow-Slayer!
"What? Here to grind?"
Because of his repeated level drops, Shadow-Slayer was only Level 5 now.
With his attributes and combat skills, kiting Level 8 Stone Beetles should have been easy for him.
"No. I’m on a quest."
"From the Elder Mayor?"
Liam’s eyes narrowed. "The Mayor sent you here to meet Alvis?"
Shadow looked surprised. "You have this quest too?"
"No. I have the exact opposite quest. But what are your objectives?" Liam asked.
"My task is to retrieve the Frost-Flame Ore from Alvis and bring it back. If possible, I’m to help Alvis kill the two NPCs chasing him."
Liam smirked, a smile spreading across his face.
"My quest is to help those two NPCs kill Alvis and take back the Frost-Flame Ore."
Hearing this, Shadow-Slayer looked taken aback. "A Rival Quest?"
In traditional games, it was rare to see quests that pitted players directly against each other like this.
"It’s a Rival Quest. However, I think there’s a way for both of us to win." Liam already had a plan.
"What kind of win-win?"
"We kill all three NPCs," Liam said with a grin.
Shadow-Slayer gasped.
"Isn't that a bit too risky?"
"If we play it right, it’s completely doable. Besides, it’s not two against three. We help Alvis kill the two NPCs first, then we turn around and kill Alvis."