Chapter 154 The Impossible Task
"An Epic Level item fragment?" Eric echoed, surprise flickering across his face.
Epic Level items were a big deal in the previous life. In over ten years since Divine Realms: Legends launched, less than three thousand Epic Level items had ever shown up in the game.
Now that Divine Realms: Legends had just launched, finding an Epic Level item seemed almost impossible.
Even a fragment was a miracle.
Tonny and Ezio were stunned when they saw it was a fragment of an Epic Level item. The initial thrill of seeing "Epic" quickly turned into disappointment.
"Seriously? This is what you call an Epic Level item? It's just a lousy fragment!" Tonny snapped, glaring at Faust.
No wonder the old mage was so eager to get rid of it. A fragment was practically useless, just a fancy trinket.
"Show some respect, you ungrateful brats!" Faust barked, his eyes flashing. "Do you think Epic Level item fragments are just lying around? And forget about trading for a complete item with your current gear. That fragment is way out of your league. Focus on something you can actually handle."
"Now, listen up," Faust continued, his tone softening a bit. "I'm going to give you a powerful enchantment, boost your strength, let you float, and seriously increase the damage you do to the Goldenfin Wyrms. Your job is to weaken them, hurt them enough to knock them out temporarily. Once they're down, use these magic nets to capture them."
Faust pulled out three shimmering golden nets, their intricate designs glowing with magical energy, and handed them to Eric, Tonny, and Ezio. He started chanting, his voice a low, rhythmic hum that filled the air. Runes of power appeared around them, bathing them in an ethereal light. Instantly, they felt their attributes surge, their strength and agility tripling, their bodies buzzing with newfound power. The level 15 restrictions that had been holding them back were gone, their true potential unleashed.
"Who says we can't trade for it?" Tonny declared, his voice full of newfound confidence as he checked out his boosted stats. "With this power boost, we'll have that Divine Breath of the Celestial Dragon in no time!"
Ezio nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with anticipation.Eric, as always, was their anchor, the voice of reason amidst their youthful excitement. They trusted him completely, his past victories proving his skill and judgment.
"Confidence is great, kid," Faust chuckled, stroking his long white beard, "but you might want to mix in a bit of reality. Check out the exchange rates before you get too carried away."
The trio turned their attention to the shimmering interface showing the Goldenfin Wyrm trading options.
[Level 15 and 20 Bronze Level items needed just one or two Goldenfin Wyrms.]
[Level 15 and 20 Dark Iron items were a bit pricier: three to five Goldenfin Wyrms.]
[Level 15 and 20 Mithril items were much more expensive, requiring ten to fifteen Goldenfin Wyrms.]
[Level 15 and 20 Adamantite Artifacts, the top-tier stuff, demanded a whopping thirty to fifty Goldenfin Wyrms.]
[Level 15 and 20 Obsidian Level items, the most powerful, needed a staggering one hundred to two hundred Goldenfin Wyrms.]
And there it was, at the very bottom of the list: the Epic Level item fragment.
The price? A jaw-dropping one thousand Goldenfin Wyrms.
Tonny and Ezio, their eyes widening as they read the list, couldn't help but laugh. The Stellar Glade of Astral Veins was packed with Goldenfin Wyrms. Thousands upon thousands, as far as the eye could see.
"A thousand? That's it?" Tonny scoffed, his voice dripping with amusement. "We'll have that fragment in no time!"
Eric, always the realist, knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but even he had to admit that a thousand Goldenfin Wyrms, while time-consuming, wasn't impossible. An Epic Level item fragment was worth a few days of grinding.
But just as they were about to dive into their Goldenfin Wyrm hunting spree, Faust's voice cut through their excitement, a note of warning in his tone.
"One more thing, my young apprentices," he said, a knowing smile on his lips. "This Stellar Glade of Astral Veins is a fleeting anomaly. It won't last. In four, maybe five hours tops, it'll vanish, and I'll go with it. If you haven't delivered the required number of Goldenfin Wyrms by then, the reward will be gone."
A system notification flashed before their eyes, confirming Faust's words.
System: [Accepted rare quest "Delicious Goldenfin Wyrm." Capture the required number of Goldenfin Wyrms within the time limit and deliver them to Faust. The more you capture, the greater the reward.]
The time limit added some pressure, but Tonny and Ezio were unfazed. They were confident, their eyes locked on the ultimate prize: the Divine Breath of the Celestial Dragon.
"Four or five hours? We've got this!" Tonny declared, his voice full of certainty.
Eric, though, couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Faust's smile seemed... knowing, almost predatory. Why offer such a big reward with such a tight deadline?
No time to dwell on it. The clock was ticking.
Just then, Eric's communication amulet buzzed. It was Isabella.
"Ms. Collins, good to hear from you," Eric greeted her, a genuine smile on his face. "Thanks again for your help the other day. I owe you one." He meant it. Isabella's intervention had probably saved him from a lot of trouble with The Stygian Alliance.
"Don't mention it," Isabella replied, her voice warm and melodic. "That's what friends are for. But I am curious about what happened with The Stygian Alliance."
"It's nothing major," Eric said, downplaying the incident. "They wanted something I had, I refused, and things got a bit heated. Nothing I couldn't handle."
"That's... surprisingly casual, even for you," Isabella chuckled, a hint of disbelief in her tone. "Look, I don't know all the details, but you're downplaying this. The Stygian Alliance doesn't send personal messages to people like me unless it's serious. What really happened?"
"If you're honest with me, maybe I can help smooth things over," she continued, her voice more serious. "The Stygian Alliance is not to be messed with, Eric. They make the Martial Alliance look like kids playing war. Their influence is huge, and their enforcers are everywhere. If they want to make your life hard, they will."
Isabella's words, spoken with such conviction, made Eric pause. He knew she was right. The Stygian Alliance was a powerhouse, and he might have poked the bear a bit too hard."Really, it's not a big deal," Eric insisted, trying to sound reassuring, though even he could hear the lack of conviction in his own voice. "They wanted something, I said no, end of story."
"Eric..." Isabella sighed, her voice a mix of exasperation and concern. "You're the first person I've ever met who could provoke The Stygian Alliance and act so casual about it. Fine, keep your secrets. But at least tell me it wasn't anything too serious. I'll put in a good word with their leadership, see if I can calm things down before it gets out of hand."
Eric, though outwardly displaying bravado, was well aware of his good fortune. He had underestimated The Stygian Alliance, and Isabella's willingness to intervene was a lifeline he could scarcely afford to disregard.
"Thank you, Isabella. I appreciate it," he said sincerely.
"Don't mention it," Isabella replied, her tone lighter now. "Just promise me you'll be more careful in the future. And hey, if you ever come across any high-level gear you don't need, you know who to call."
With a final chuckle, Isabella ended the call.
Eric, his mind racing with everything that had just happened, rejoined Tonny and Ezio, who were already battling the Goldenfin Wyrms.
But as he watched them fight, a sense of unease settled over him. Even with Faust's enhancements, their progress was painfully slow. Tonny, now boasting the magical might of a level 20 Sorcerer clad in Mithril and wielding an Adamantite staff, was only dealing around 400 damage per Shadow Bolt. And the Goldenfin Wyrms, with their erratic and swift movements, were hard to hit. Even with Tonny's boosted accuracy, only half his spells landed. And with each Goldenfin Wyrm having a staggering 10,000 health, the task ahead seemed impossible.
Ezio, despite his skill in close combat, was struggling even more. The Goldenfin Wyrms, uninterested in a fair fight, used their agility to dodge his attacks with frustrating ease. And even when he did land a hit, their defenses were so strong that his Cleaving Strike barely scratched their scales, dealing a measly 200 damage.
Just getting one Goldenfin Wyrm to low health took the two of them over four minutes.
The total task time was only four to five hours.
At this rate, capturing more than 70 in five hours would be a stretch, far from the 1000 needed, not even reaching one-tenth...
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