Blacksmith Wang was genuinely astonished. He gazed at Lin Tianhao with a meaningful look, his expression thoughtful. "Alright, hand over the items, and you can come back for your weapon in ten hours," he said.
Lin Tianhao handed over all the equipment required for the quest.
"Ding, you have completed Blacksmith Wang's quest, +9085 experience points. Since you have not yet left the Novice Village, you cannot gain experience points. The experience points are voided."
Lin Tianhao didn't feel anything unusual about this; he had known this from his previous life.
"Adventurer, I see you have exceptional talent. If you can bring me three more items, I might be able to upgrade your gold-level weapon to platinum-level," Wang said, his eyes twinkling with interest.
Lin Tianhao was taken aback. A gold-level weapon was already far beyond what players at this stage could obtain, let alone a platinum-level one. However, he had a pretty good idea what was coming next.
"What items?" Lin Tianhao asked.
"One of my apprentices, Elvoss, has stolen a valuable ore. I've already sent two other apprentices to retrieve it. If you can assist them in getting it back, I'll use that ore to forge your weapon," Wang explained.
"Ding, Blacksmith Wang has issued a quest to you: Retrieve the stolen Iceflame Ore."
"Quest requirements: Retrieve the Iceflame Ore, or deal over 20% damage to Elvoss during the pursuit."
"Quest penalty: None."
"Quest reward: Unknown."
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. As he had suspected, the conflict between Blacksmith Wang and the village elder had begun. This so-called apprentice rebellion was actually a person planted by the village elder, who had been discovered by Wang and fled with the ore. On the surface, Wang and the elder hadn't yet openly confronted each other, so Elvoss had to hide in the wild. If other players were lucky, they might receive a quest from the elder to protect Elvoss.
"Alright, Blacksmith Wang, I'll do my best. Do you know where Elvoss is?" Lin Tianhao asked.
"My two apprentices have chased him into the mine to the east. That rat must be hiding somewhere inside," Wang replied.
Lin Tianhao nodded. The mine to the east was known to be the territory of the level-eight Stone Beetles. In his previous life, he hadn't heard of any strategies for this Stone Beetle mine. There might be some, but they hadn't been revealed. The game "Twilight of the Gods" had many hidden maps, bosses, secret realms, and other settings. Lin Tianhao knew some of them, but only a small part. Most people kept their lucky finds a secret and didn't share their strategies. The ones Lin Tianhao knew were mostly revealed by guilds or official factions after they had exhausted the benefits, or they were discovered because they triggered a server-wide announcement, like the Yellow-skinned Imp and the Twisted Treant.
"Alright, I'm heading to the mine to find Elvoss now," Lin Tianhao said, turning to leave the village.
Just as he was about to enter the mine, a server-wide announcement rang out.
"Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Zhumo Yixue for completing the first kill of the Water Arrow Turtle King. Keep up the good work, everyone!"
"Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Zhumo Yixue for completing the first kill of the Water Arrow Turtle King. Keep up the good work, everyone!"
The announcement for Zhumo Yixue's first kill had just ended when another one came through.
"Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Kuangzhan Daofeng for obtaining a hidden class first. Keep up the good work, everyone!"
"Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Kuangzhan Daofeng for obtaining a hidden class first. Keep up the good work, everyone!"
Lin Tianhao sighed. It seemed that some things from his previous life hadn't changed. Kuangzhan Daofeng had still obtained a hidden class quickly. It was a pity. Kuangzhan Daofeng had decent talent, and his game understanding and skills were solid. Unfortunately, he had chosen his class too hastily, which led to him becoming just another ordinary player in the mid-to-late game.
Lin Tianhao shook off these thoughts and focused on the mine ahead. The mine was an abandoned place, overgrown with weeds and filled with the sound of dripping water. It had become the home of the Stone Beetles due to years of neglect. As soon as he arrived, he saw dozens of Stone Beetles wandering outside the mine entrance.
Stone Beetle (Normal): Level 8.
Health: 1200/1200.
Attack: 52.
Skills: Armor Penetration, Stone Shield.
These two simple skills caused many ordinary players a lot of trouble. Armor Penetration could reduce the durability of weapons, which was a significant headache in the early game when weapons were scarce.
Whoosh!
-1200!
Lin Tianhao fired an arrow, and a Stone Beetle was instantly killed. After clearing the Twisted Jungle and collecting equipment, his health had already exceeded fifty thousand. With the additional ten thousand health points from the Black Iron Treant set, his total health was now over sixty thousand. Even without considering the attack power of his Thunderbolt Bow, the real damage from his health alone was enough to one-shot the Stone Beetles.
In less than twenty seconds, all the Stone Beetles were taken down. New ones began to respawn, but Lin Tianhao ignored them and entered the mine. According to his calculations, there should be at least three NPCs inside, and possibly more.
"Is that you?" a surprised voice rang out as soon as he entered.
Lin Tianhao looked over in surprise. It was the assassin player, Shadow Killer!
"What are you doing here? Grinding monsters?" Lin Tianhao asked.
Shadow Killer, who had dropped levels repeatedly and was now only level five, shook his head. "No, I accepted a quest."
"The elder's?" Lin Tianhao's eyes narrowed. "The elder sent you here to assist Elvoss?"
Shadow Killer was taken aback. "You accepted the same quest?"
"No, I accepted the opposite quest. What's your task?" Lin Tianhao inquired.
"My task is to retrieve the Iceflame Ore from Elvoss and take it back. If possible, I'm supposed to help Elvoss kill the two NPCs chasing him," Shadow Killer explained.
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow and smiled. "My task is to assist those two NPCs in killing Elvoss and retrieve the Iceflame Ore."
Shadow Killer was surprised. "Opposing quests?"
In the old game, such player-versus-player opposing quests were rare.
"Opposing quests, but I think we can find a win-win solution," Lin Tianhao said, already having an idea.
"What win-win solution?" Shadow Killer asked.
"Kill all three NPCs," Lin Tianhao said with a grin.
Shadow Killer was shocked. "Isn't that too risky?"
"If we operate properly, it's entirely possible. And it's not two against three; we help Elvoss kill the two NPCs first, and then we turn around and kill Elvoss," Lin Tianhao explained.