Solus, on the other hand, checked the loot dropped by the five Rockhide Goblins he had just defeated.
He received a total of 60 Copper Coins, 12 Common Crafting Materials, 2 Common-tier Equipment, 1 Uncommon-tier Equipment, and—
A Skill Book Fragment.
A smile immediately appeared on his face.
He knew exactly how valuable it was.
The fragment only had a 0.2% drop rate. Most players could grind for weeks without ever seeing one.
He quickly inspected the equipment.
Worn Leather Gloves (Common)
- Defense +4
- Attack Speed +2%
Stone Boots (Common)
- Defense +6
- Movement Speed +2%
Stonebreaker Spear (Uncommon)
- Attack +28
- Strength +5
- Passive: Basic attacks ignore 5% of the target's Defense.
Without hesitation, Solus equipped everything.
The leather gloves wrapped tightly around his hands, while the heavy stone boots reinforced his footing. Finally, he replaced his old spear with the Stonebreaker Spear.
The difference was immediate.
His defense increased by 10 points, making him far sturdier than before, while the new spear dramatically boosted his offensive power. Against high-defense monsters like Rockhide Goblins, its passive ability would become invaluable.
His gaze then shifted toward the final reward.
Skill Book Fragment
- Collect 10 Skill Book Fragments to craft one Common Skill Book.
Solus shook his head.
Gathering ten fragments sounded simple in theory, but with only a 0.2% drop chance, it was practically a nightmare.
And no sane player would ever exchange Skill Book Fragments for ordinary coins. They were simply too valuable.
He opened his quest panel.
《Hidden Quest》
Quest: The Ironheart's Dilemma
Objective 1: Enter the abandoned Blackroot Mine. [Completed]
Objective 2: Defeat 5 Rockhide Goblins. [Completed]
Objective 3: Retrieve 3 Blackroot Ores.
Objective 4: Return the ores to Bromm Ironhand.
Reward: Unknown
Only three pieces of Blackroot Ore remained.
However, obtaining ordinary ore was never Solus' true objective.
From the memories he had inherited, he knew that quests with Unknown Rewards often evaluated the quality of the submitted materials.
The better the offering, the greater the reward.
His eyes slowly shifted toward the tunnel beyond the cave. Hidden at the end of that passage lay the Secret Root Chamber.
To every other player, it was nothing more than a dead end.
But Solus knew its secret.
His gaze landed on the mining pickaxe dropped by the last Rockhide Goblin.
He picked it up.
"This is the key."
Meanwhile...
Inside the Level 15 Instance Dungeon — Twilight Crypt.
After being completely wiped out inside the Regional Dungeon, Malakai and Grimfang shifted their focus toward claiming the First Clear of the Twilight Crypt instead.
Unlike Instance Dungeons, the Regional Dungeon could only be challenged once every seven days.
Both of them had already exhausted their weekly attempt.
For now...
This dungeon would become their stage.
Eight players stood before the entrance to the final chamber. Besides Malakai and Grimfang, the party consisted of:
Ironclad — Guardian Tank
Lumina — Priest
Ashveil — Mage
StormArrow — Archer
NightFox — Assassin
TitanForge — Berserker
Malakai drew his sword and turned toward the group.
"Listen carefully."
"The boss has three phases."
"Ironclad keeps him facing away from the party."
"Lumina, don't waste your mana early."
"Ashveil and StormArrow, maintain maximum range."
"NightFox, wait for my signal before going behind him."
"TitanForge..."
Malakai smiled.
"When I say break him..."
"You break him."
TitanForge laughed, cracking his massive axe against his shoulder.
"Gladly."
Grimfang rested his twin axes over his shoulders.
"The team your father assembled isn't bad."
"They can handle Elite Undead Guardians without falling apart."
Malakai nodded.
"They're enough."
His eyes burned with ambition.
"This First Clear belongs to us."
"It has to."
Only by obtaining a Guild Order dropped on the first clear could their guild be officially recognized by the Outpost Warden.
Only then could they establish their own Guild Hall. This victory, was the first step toward building an empire.
Malakai slowly pushed open the massive stone doors.
The entire throne room trembled.
Ancient braziers ignited one after another, illuminating rows upon rows of skeletal soldiers frozen in eternal kneeling positions.
At the end of the hall, upon a throne forged from black steel, sat an undead king.
King Vareth, the Forgotten
Level 17 Boss
His rusted crown still rested upon his head. An ancient greatsword lay across his lap. The moment the players entered, his empty eye sockets ignited with ghostly blue flames.
He slowly stood.
The scraping of his sword against the stone echoed throughout the throne room.
"I remember, the living."
His voice sounded like thousands of whispers layered together.
Then—
He vanished.
"Incoming!"
Ironclad barely raised his shield before the king appeared directly in front of him.
BOOM!!
The impact sent the tank sliding several meters backward.
"Hold him!"
Malakai shouted.
The battle erupted.
King Vareth fought like a master swordsman.
Every slash was precise.
Every thrust forced Ironclad backward despite his massive shield.
StormArrow continuously fired arrows from the rear while Ashveil launched waves of frost and fire.
NightFox disappeared into the shadows before reappearing behind the king.
Backstab!
-412!
Grimfang charged from the opposite side.
His twin axes crashed against the king's armor in a whirlwind of steel.
The boss's HP steadily dropped.
80%...
70%...
Then—
The entire throne room darkened.
King Vareth thrust his sword into the ground.
"I refuse, to fall alone."
Ghostly green flames erupted across the battlefield.
The corpses of fallen soldiers scattered throughout the hall suddenly twitched.
One after another...
They rose.
Undead Knights.
Dozens of them.
"Phase Two!"
Malakai roared.
"TitanForge! Crowd control!"
TitanForge charged headfirst into the undead formation. His gigantic axe spun in a full circle.
Earthshatter!
The stone floor cracked apart.
Several Undead Knights were launched into the air.
Ashveil raised both hands.
"Ice Prison!"
Walls of ice erupted from the ground, trapping half of the advancing undead.
StormArrow rained arrows into the frozen enemies while Lumina continuously healed the front line.
NightFox darted between the undead like a phantom, finishing weakened targets before they could overwhelm Ironclad.
Even so...
The battlefield became complete chaos.
King Vareth continued dueling Ironclad while simultaneously commanding his resurrected army.
The pressure doubled.
Minutes later...
The boss's HP finally dropped below 30%.
Suddenly—
Every torch inside the throne room went out. Absolute darkness swallowed the arena. Only the king's blue eyes remained visible.
A chilling laugh echoed through the void.
"The twilight, belongs to the dead."
A crimson system notification appeared.
Phase Three
Twilight Sovereign!
The boss raised both hands.
Darkness spread like liquid across the battlefield, draining the light itself. Every player felt their vision shrinking. Their mana regeneration slowed. Their stamina rapidly deteriorated.
Thin strands of black mist wrapped around their bodies, steadily siphoning away their life force.
Lumina gritted her teeth.
"My healing is being weakened!"
Ashveil cursed.
"I can't see him!"
Then...
A flash of steel erupted from the darkness.
King Vareth appeared behind StormArrow.
The archer barely managed to roll aside before the massive blade crashed into the ground, splitting the stone floor apart.
"Spread out!"
Malakai shouted.
"No one fights alone!"
The eight players immediately regrouped, forming a tight defensive formation as the Forgotten King disappeared into the darkness once more...
Waiting for his next strike.
Back inside the Blackroot Mine...
Solus finally reached the end of the hidden passage.
Only twisted black roots covered the walls ahead, making it appear as though he had reached a dead end.
But this was where the true puzzle began.
He carefully observed the walls. A faint breeze slipped through the tangled roots.
"There."
Equipping his newly acquired Stonebreaker Spear, Solus repeatedly struck the exact spot where the breeze escaped.
After several powerful thrusts...
CRACK!
Part of the wall collapsed, revealing a hidden mechanism.
A lever holder.
Solus retrieved the mining pickaxe from his backpack.
Instead of mining with it...
He inserted its handle perfectly into the mechanism.
Click.
He pulled it downward.
Deep within the mountain, ancient gears began turning. The ground trembled.
The wall slowly split apart, revealing a narrow passage hidden for centuries. Without hesitation, Solus stepped inside.
The air immediately grew heavier.
Unlike the damp mining tunnels above, these walls were smooth, ancient, and untouched by time.
Black roots stretched across the ceiling like living serpents, pulsing with a faint crimson glow as though blood flowed through them.
After several minutes of walking, the tunnel opened into an enormous underground chamber.
A system notification echoed throughout the silent cavern.
System: Hidden Dungeon Discovered.
《Secret Root Chamber》 discovered.
System: All outside communication has been cut off.
The chamber resembled an ancient throne room reclaimed by nature. Towering black pillars supported a ceiling hundreds of meters high.
Colossal roots thicker than houses intertwined to form walls, arches, and bridges surrounding the arena.
At the center stood a cracked stone platform engraved with ancient runes almost completely buried beneath moss and roots.
Solus slowly surveyed his surroundings. A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I found it."
His gaze finally settled upon the massive throne at the far end of the chamber.
Unlike the elegant architecture surrounding it, the throne itself was crudely assembled from shattered boulders, broken wagon wheels, cracked shields, and enormous monster bones.
Sitting upon that throne, was a single goblin.
《Ghorak》
Level 8 Stonehide Chieftain
Its name burned in blood-red letters wrapped in golden flames. Unlike ordinary Rockhide Goblins, Ghorak stood over three meters tall.
His obsidian-like rocky hide was covered in jagged crystal formations.
Thick black roots had fused into his flesh, wrapping around his limbs like living armor.
Resting upon one shoulder was an enormous stone maul forged from a broken mining pillar, reinforced with heavy iron chains and embedded with Blackroot Ore.
Every movement caused the cavern itself to tremble. One glowing crimson eye slowly opened. For several silent seconds...
The chieftain simply stared at Solus.
Then—
He stood.
The throne exploded beneath his weight.
ROOOAAARRR!!
The deafening roar shook the entire chamber. Dust and rocks rained from above.
Every remaining Rockhide Goblin hidden within the surrounding tunnels answered with terrified cries before fleeing, abandoning their king.
A crimson system notification appeared.
Defeat the Stonehide Chieftain to claim dominion over the Secret Root Chamber.
Ghorak slammed his maul into the ground.
Ancient runes erupted with crimson light.
The entrance sealed shut behind Solus.
There was no escape.
Only one would leave this chamber alive.