After the commotion from the PVP and the hidden route ended, I decided to form a party with the armor player.
First, we exchanged Nickname Cards. It was uncomfortable for both of us to keep calling each other “um” and “that,” after all.
[Ivelin]
[Level: 8]
[Class: Novice]
[Reputation: 6]
[I’m a newbie maining the classic server! If you want to play together for a long time, please send me a friend request! I’ll keep running until I go pro!]
For someone showing off an old-hand look by covering their entire body in armor from the tutorial zone onward, it was a rather friendly introduction.
“......Are you really a newbie?”
“Yes! I started the classic server yesterday!”
“What about the original server......?”
“I did play it for about a month first to receive the classic server linkage rewards. So I became a Bronze Player and received a costume as a reward.”
“A costume? Don’t tell me......?”
“Yes. This armor! Doesn’t it look sturdy?”
“......”
A costume was an item purely for decorating one’s appearance.
In other words, that reliable-looking plate armor,
did not increase defense by even 1 point.
“Did I perhaps do something wrong?”
“......No. So you’ve played for about a month, then?”
“That’s right! Still, I watched a ton of guides because I wanted to work hard on the classic server! I read every summary too! I even organized in advance what I should do until I reach max level!”
Ivelin spoke spiritedly while their armor clanked. ......With that appearance, anyone would mistake them for a newbie (=3,500 hours of playtime).
‘Still, if they watched a lot of guides, maybe we can communicate well enough?’
They might only be a one-month user, but the fact that they knew all the latest guides meant their information-gathering ability was better than mine.
The game may have changed while I was away, and more efficient ways to play might have been discovered.
Even so, when it came to the “precious” information of heavenly players unknown to ordinary players, like with the Gold Medal of Honor, I would be more accurate.
“If you’re done preparing, shall we head out?”
“Yes!”
“Ah, and I haven’t done the party tutorial yet, so can you send me a party request and change the party leader to me?”
“Understood! But is there a reason to change the leader?”
“Quest flags and AI interactions run based on the party leader. I have to become the leader first to synchronize things with my quest. The item you need to obtain, Ivelin, can also only be obtained if we synchronize it to my side.”
“Aha.”
This kind of trick using synchronization mode was one of the useful techniques in [Elysium Online]. It was also good to use when carrying another player like this.
In any case, I formed a party with Ivelin like that.
And from here on, we decided to prioritize my quest.
Ivelin had already finished all the Eighth Supply Base quests first, so aside from the final [Medusius Serpent] quest, they had nothing else left to do.
Next, we headed to the supply depot first to collect items.
“Oh! If it isn’t our hero! Do you need supplies? Just say the word! No, take this first!”
The moment we arrived at the supply depot, the NPC immediately began shoving items at me.
[Obtained ‘Eighth Supply Depot High-Grade Healing Potion’x10.]
Was it because I had earned the Gold Medal? Hidden elements were pouring out even from places that were not that special. They had not given me this much even with silver.
“Wow, Kylo, what did you receive? If you get the Gold Medal, NPCs just give you items even without tickets.......”
“They’re High-Grade Healing Potions.”
“H-high-grade?”
Ivelin’s voice trembled from inside the helmet.
“High-grade? They give high-grade ones here too? Just how much does a high-grade one restore.......?”
How much did a High-Grade Healing Potion restore again? I opened my inventory and checked.
[Eighth Supply Depot High-Grade Healing Potion+]
◆ Grade: Rare
◆ Category: Consumable
─[A High-Grade Healing Potion issued by the Eighth Supply Base. It boasts exceptional quality among supplies.]
─[A well-managed superior product. Recovery amount increased by 300.]
─[Restores 1,500(+300) HP.]
“It’s 1,800.”
“1,800! Wow....... That would refill my HP more than six times over.”
“That’s true.”
HP at the start of the game was 200.
In the tutorial section, even a beginner potion that restored 100 HP was sufficient.
A High-Grade Healing Potion that restored 1,500 HP here could be called excessive in every sense, but.......
‘This has its uses too.’
Elysium Online was not a game that handed out high-grade items for no reason. They gave an excessive item like this because it had a use.
Just because an item was a potion did not mean it had to be used only for recovery, did it?
“I’d also like to use the supply tickets.”
“Ohhh, of course!”
I had as many as ten supply tickets.
Originally, for each ticket, you could choose whether to exchange it for five Mid-Grade Potions, ten Low-Grade Potions, twenty Supply Potions, one Holy Water, a bundle of buff potions, or a Revival Orb, but.......
“Come now, why choose? Take everything, everything!”
Was it because of the Gold Medal? Instead of making me choose, they gave me every potion that could be received per ticket!
‘Is it okay for the difference from silver to be this huge?’
As I was feeling dumbfounded, fifty Mid-Grade Potions, one hundred Low-Grade Potions, two hundred Supply Potions, ten Holy Waters, ten buff potion bundles, and ten Revival Orbs really entered my inventory.
I had become rich in potions in an instant.
“Wow, getting the Gold Medal gives you that many potions.”
“It seems so. Do you want to take some?”
“Huh? I’d feel a little bad about that. Even gathering ten Supply Potions here takes a lot of farming.......”
“If you’re going to quest with me, you need to have potions too, Ivelin.”
As I said that, I passed half the potions I had to Ivelin.
“Trading hasn’t unlocked for me yet, so put them into your inventory directly.”
“Wow, you can give and receive items in this game even without trading?”
“Yes. In this case, it’s treated as lending, so the original owner can take them back within 24 hours.”
While I explained that, a pop-up explaining [Lending] briefly appeared. I glanced sideways at the tutorial and explained it roughly.
“But aren’t you doing the antidote potion subquest?”
Hm, good question. In this hidden area, you could receive a linked quest to manufacture antidote potions from the supply depot NPC.
“I’ll just skip it.”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
“I just have to not get hit.”
“......”
I also felt bad making Ivelin, who was going along with my preparations, wait any longer, and most poison attacks in this tutorial were easy to avoid.
Rather than collapsing because of poison, I was more likely to die outright.
“Now, let’s go next.”
In truth, the next place we would visit was more important than potion supplies.
***
Next, I visited the smithy beside the armory with Ivelin.
“......So you are the hero who slew Medusius’s vassal.”
The moment we entered the smithy, the dwarven blacksmith recognized me and reacted.
“Wow, it’s true. I guess the NPCs know you killed the [Medusius Serpent] too?”
Ivelin must have been only half-convinced about how I had acquired the Gold Medal, because they spoke in surprise after seeing the NPC’s reaction.
To think they had gone along with me even while still half-doubting it. They seemed to have quite a good personality.
“Can you revive this weapon?”
“This is.......”
When I showed him the Weapon of the Lost Battlefield, the dwarven blacksmith’s eyes darkened.
“It is a fine sword, but it has been contaminated by Medusius’s vassal. It is a mess of evil energy and miasma. Even if it is revived, it will bear the stigma of a cursed weapon. How about letting it sleep on this battlefield?”
That was the moment the dwarven blacksmith advised me to give up.
Small pop-up windows began flickering one by one around him.
[Then there’s no helping it.......]
[Your skill is terrible for a dwarf!]
[(Cry and throw a tantrum.)]
[This is my family treasure. Are you telling me to abandon my ancestors’ weapon?]
[(Grab him by the collar.)]
[A weapon containing a soul cannot be found easily.] (Hidden)
[If I abandon my weapon, what am I supposed to fight with?]
[I will think about it. I will come again.]
Each pop-up window contained a different kind of response. As for what this was.......
[Tutorial]
[Quest Choices]
[Entered AI Interaction Choice Sequence.]
[Branch choices activated and will be displayed during dialogue.]
[Continue the conversation by referring to the displayed choices! The story will develop toward the choice induced by your dialogue!]
[Choices may increase if you meet quest completion rates or hidden conditions!]
[Close]
They were choices.
Because Elysium Online used an AI interaction system, choices were not simply picked by clicking on them.
If you spoke a line close to one of the given choices, the conversation would naturally converge according to that choice. Though occasionally, there were one or two truly insane choices too.
And the choice needed here to continue the Weapon of the Lost Battlefield quest was.......
[A weapon containing a soul cannot be found easily.] (Hidden)
‘This one.’
I had done it before, so there was no doubt.
“A weapon containing a soul cannot be found easily, so I would like to restore it if possible.”
GRRK, GRRRRK─
When I recited the choice dialogue in a suitable way, the load began to strain the VR space again. Since I had a party member too, it seemed to be even more burdensome.
“......Indeed, a weapon containing a soul must itself be a comrade-in-arms who has shared life and death. I misspoke. I apologize. It seems I underestimated humans too much.”
When the loading ended, the dwarven blacksmith bowed his head and apologized.
“May I look closely at your weapon?”
Unlike his weary attitude from earlier, the dwarven blacksmith spoke with rather serious eyes.
I warned him to be careful of the poison and handed the Sword of the Lost Battlefield to the blacksmith.
“Wow, NPC reactions in hidden quests are on a completely different level, aren’t they? This is the first time I’ve seen that NPC so serious.”
“You’re doing a hidden quest right now too, Ivelin.”
“Ah, right. This is a hidden quest zone.”
As we briefly exchanged those impressions, the dwarven blacksmith, who had examined the weapon closely, slowly opened his mouth.
“Is it a coincidence, or was it intended.......”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a magic stone embedded inside this sword. It is a magic sword. Did you perhaps use power that was not yours while using this sword?”
“I did.”
When I held this weapon in the tutorial zone and its attack power rose, it was probably because of this setting, if I remembered correctly.
“That is fortunate. The sword has acknowledged you.”
“What does that mean?”
Perhaps unable to hold back their curiosity, Ivelin cut in from beside me and asked.
Due to the nature of Elysium’s AI, it reacted properly to situations like this when in a party. The dwarven blacksmith began explaining to both me and Ivelin.
“The magic stone embedded within this man’s sword appears to be a soul magic stone. A magic stone where human emotions dwell. On a battlefield like this, vengeful spirits may dwell within it and turn it into a magic sword, but.......”
“But?”
“Fortunately, proper warriors’ souls seem to dwell in this sword. If they acknowledged their owner and lent him strength, that is.”
“Ohhh! That’s what he says, Kylo!”
“Since the sword has acknowledged its owner, it may try to overcome the poison and lend its owner strength. In this situation, it should be possible to strengthen the power of the sword’s magic stone and properly regenerate it. However.......”
“Is there something you need?”
“You are quick-witted.”
When I, tired of the long explanation, immediately asked what was needed, the dwarven blacksmith smiled broadly.
“A magic stone that contains a soul, or one where a soul already dwells, is called a Soul Stone. To regenerate the weapon without damaging the Soul Stone, two things are needed.”
“I’ll bring them. Explain.”
“One is the [Medusius Serpent]’s poison. Unless I research the very poison that killed this weapon, I cannot purify the tainted Soul Stone. I will need quite a large amount.”
“Ah......!”
Then Ivelin reacted from beside me.
That was right. This was exactly where my and Ivelin’s hidden quests required the same [Medusius Serpent]’s poison.
In Elysium Online, in cases like this, the item acquisition route itself was not checked as an event trigger.
Therefore, if I followed my quest and shared the poison, Ivelin’s quest should also be resolved.
“The second is...... I would like you to find a lost wagon.”
“What kind of wagon?”
“A wagon carrying the tools and weapons of me and my companions, who were supposed to work at this base. As the front became chaotic, we eventually lost the wagon, and I no longer know the whereabouts of my other companions either.......”
The moment he mentioned his companions whose lives and deaths were unknown, the dwarven blacksmith trailed off with a troubled face.
“In any case, the tools capable of repairing it without damaging the Soul Stone are only on that wagon. Bring me anything there that looks like a blacksmith’s tool.”
“Is there a way to find it?”
“Of course. And a tool to hold the [Medusius Serpent]’s poison as well. Wait a moment.”
Hm, it seemed I had finished the conversation while satisfying all the quest triggers well enough.
“Inside that are the bottle to hold the Medusius Serpent’s poison and the Fairy Powder needed to find the wagon.”
After waiting briefly, the dwarven blacksmith returned and handed me a small bag as he spoke.
“When you find the wagon, repeat the word Kelvin.”
“Kelvin?”
“That is my name.”
The dwarven blacksmith explained.
“Tools containing the soul of a dwarven artisan remember their owner. If you keep reciting my name, the tools I used will remember me and react.”
“So in the worst case, you are telling me to retrieve at least those.”
“Yes. And I will keep your weapon here. It is embarrassing to offer this as a substitute, but use this while you search for the poison and tools.”
The dwarven blacksmith, who had taken the Weapon of the Lost Battlefield, handed me a sheathed sword.
[Top-Grade Supply Sword]
◆ Grade: Rare
◆ Category: Weapon (One-Handed Sword), Event
◆ Physical Attack Power: 10 - 40
◆ Ability Correction
[Stamina C][During combat, + is added to Strength rank]
◆ Equip Requirements
[None]
─[A supply weapon of the Holy Empire. It is a top-grade sword meant for skilled warriors and officers.]
─[Due to Blacksmith Kelvin’s modification, attack power has increased and equip requirements have been removed.]
Since it was a weapon used only in the event section anyway, its performance did not mean much, but it was still quite a decent weapon.
With this much attack power, was it around the level of a mass-produced weapon equipped at about level 30? In any case, it was definitely a performance far too good for a level 1 to equip.
Though since this was the tutorial zone, it had no meaning anyway.
“Now. Since we have a weapon too, shall we begin properly?”
“Y-yes!”
When I equipped the weapon and took the lead, Ivelin answered in a tense voice and followed me.
***
Immediately after we left the front gate of the Eighth Supply Base to start the quest in earnest.
“What... is all this......?”
Not long after we began crossing the ruined battlefield, Ivelin asked in shock.
“Is there something strange?”
“No, no, this place is black, green, and purple, glowing fluorescently and burning all over?”
HSSSS.......
Smoke was still rising around the places where the fluorescent liquid Ivelin mentioned lay.
It had completely become night while we were in the base, so it was not easily noticeable from far away.
“Is this a bug?”
“Ah, it’s not a bug.”
“It isn’t?”
“It’s poison. The [Medusius Serpent] spewed it.”
“Huuuh?”
It was nothing special. The acid rain the [Medusius Serpent] had spewed toward the sky earlier was still burning the battlefield.
Well... Ivelin’s branch was completely different from mine, so they would not have seen the [Medusius Serpent]’s poison breath turn into rain and fall. It was understandable that they would find it hard to grasp.
“Wow, but when I first passed through here, there wasn’t anything like this.”
“When the field branches through events, it changes based on the party leader’s version.”
“Ah, so this is why you asked to be party leader.”
“Yes. Well, it’s something like a trace left after the boss battle ended, so you don’t have to worry about it too much. But try not to touch it if possible. The damage judgment may still remain.”
“Yes, yes. But could we perhaps just gather this and take it? Our quest is to collect poison, isn’t it?”
Based on Elysium’s system, even picking up that poison residue seemed like it would complete the quest.
“You shouldn’t do that.”
However, I shook my head.
“The poison’s quality is poor, so the quest completion rate will drop.”
“Hm, then is there a separate method to obtain good-quality poison?”
“There is, of course. If we keep going like this, it’ll be soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Like that, we crossed the night battlefield where fluorescent poison and smoke rose from place to place.
“It’s poison, but it really has an atmosphere.”
“Does it?”
“Yes. It’s a mountain of corpses, but it feels like stars have been embedded in it. It’s really unique.......”
Screenshot icons were appearing in succession above Ivelin’s armored helmet. It seemed they liked the scenery and were continuing to take screenshots.
......To me, it looked like a mountain of corpses being burned by poison. What was this? Were our sensibilities different?
In any case, that was after we advanced quite a while farther.
“Wow, this is.......”
The place we finally reached was where the corpse of the slain [Medusius Serpent] remained.
HSSSSSS......!
The blood and poison flowing from the severed head and body of the [Medusius Serpent] had formed a pool of poison.
The poison pool, mixed with red and fluorescent colors, gave off a faint glow under the moonlight of the night.
“Wow.......”
“......”
Ivelin let out an exclamation as if genuinely moved. I kept my mouth firmly shut without tactlessly arguing.
“Ah, I’m sorry. The scenery was so pretty that I just......”
“......”
I must not argue. What was the point of arguing when a newbie liked it?
“Do we scoop up the poison from here?”
“That’s right. But be careful. If you touch it by mistake or fall in, you’ll die just like that and restart at the supply base.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll be careful!”
Ivelin answered spiritedly as their armor clanked.
Well, since the armor covered all their skin, perhaps it would be harder for them to get poisoned than expected.
“Now, then let’s hurry.......”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
I stopped Ivelin as they hurriedly prepared to put the poison into a container.
“Huh? Why?”
“You can’t gather that poison as-is.”
“What do you mean......?”
That was when it happened.
SPLAAASH!
Without any need to finish explaining, something suddenly rose from inside the poison pool.
“XUuEEEEEEEEccccccc!!!!!”
The monster whose form was made of black venom, Venom Snake, roared violently at us.
“H-huh? That is.......”
“Venom Snake. If we don’t kill that, we can’t obtain the highest-grade poison.”
[Hidden objective unlocked!]
[Additional reward unlocked!]
◆ Additional Objective
─[Defeat the Venom Serpent.]
“......Its name was Venom Serpent, apparently. In any case, if even one hit grazes you, you’ll be poisoned immediately. Be careful.”
“Huh? Huh? Even one hit?”
Then Ivelin, sounding anxious, kept glancing over me through the gap in their helmet.
“A-are you really going to be okay? Not doing the antidote potion quest?”
“It’s fine.”
I smiled at Ivelin and showed my confidence.
“Just watch. I’ll handle it quickly.”