024 Divine Artifact Quest!

Sword of the Thunder God?

Many had wondered in the past why Clintonbasa was so formidable, capable of slaying 20,000 players in a single strike. Some suspected he possessed an artifact, but no one knew what it was. Chen Feng had not expected to learn this information upon encountering this quest. He pondered for a moment; had he not already demonstrated his knowledge of Clintonbasa’s strength, the dwarf likely would not have revealed it.

This was an artifact quest. Such quests could be triggered on the open map, but extracting information about an artifact from an NPC required a player’s ingenuity. In this game, NPCs would never simply hand out information or quests about artifacts the moment they met a player; specific conditions had to be met.

To trigger an artifact quest, one needed extensive information and a flair for acting. Chen Feng possessed both, allowing him to initiate the quest. As for whether he could actually complete it, that would depend on how he phrased his next words.

"No wonder," Chen Feng said, feigning a sudden realization. "But the Sword of the Thunder God is Clintonbasa’s personal weapon. Stealing it from him is nearly impossible; no one could ever pull it off."

"Only by finding the Heart of the Storm left behind by my kin can one control the Sword of the Thunder God. But to this day, I have no word of my people," the dwarf said, his spirits sinking as he spoke of his tribe.

The quest was here. If Chen Feng didn't know how to respond now, he didn't deserve the artifact. "To drive out the orcs and reclaim the Iron King City, leave the search for your kin to me."

"Kind barbarian, I thank you on behalf of the Steel-Gray Dwarves." The dwarf seemed to see a glimmer of hope and entrusted the quest to Chen Feng. "Right, could you help me gather some herbs? Mine are running low."

[Reclaim the Iron King City]: Artifact Quest. Part 1: Help Kaosai find the Steel-Gray clansmen and inquire about the Heart of the Storm. Next phase requirement: Kaosai’s favorability must be above 500. Time limit: None.

[Gather Herbs]: Common Quest. Help Kaosai find Black Roland herbs. Required: 1,000. Time limit: 24 hours. Reward: Favorability +20.

Seeing the two sequential quests, Chen Feng understood how this artifact quest was originally triggered. Had he not possessed insider knowledge, he would never have unlocked it so early. The quest required players to unconditionally complete tasks for the dwarf Kaosai until his favorability reached 500. Each step was arduous, and 1,000 Black Roland herbs would cost a fortune. The sheer amount of gold required to reach 500 favorability made it clear why no one had ever completed this quest before—they were all stuck at this stage.

Chen Feng decided to delegate the herb collection to Qiu Lan, the guild’s alchemist; there was no need for him to do it himself. The large pile of materials he had previously acquired at the auction house had been handed to her for organization and distribution. With many guilds and teams now scrambling to collect materials, it would be difficult for Chen Feng to gather them on his own.

Where were the Steel-Gray Dwarves? Chen Feng had a general idea of the location and should be able to find them easily. Since the artifact quest specified that he could not progress without sufficient favorability, he would focus on grinding it to 500. This quest would certainly be a long-term endeavor, as no one currently had the power to shake the Iron King City.

Whether he could actually obtain the Sword of the Thunder God remained a question; the final outcome involved a high degree of randomness. It was quite possible the Steel-Gray Dwarves would want their artifact back. Chen Feng’s current priority was how to take the Iron King City; as for the artifact, he would have to adapt to the circumstances.

He roamed the vicinity of the Iron King City but found nothing—not even a treasure chest. Finally, Chen Feng transformed into a seal and dived into a nearby lake to check the depths. It was rare for players to search for chests in lakes, as it was inconvenient. With tens of thousands of players now exploring the map, many had found chests, though the death toll from the exploration was certainly high.

System: You have obtained [Mysterious Key].

[Mysterious Key]: Key item. An object dropped by the Steel-Gray Dwarves into the lake while fleeing when the orcs conquered the Iron King City. The key seems related to the Emerald Lake; you may seek out the Steel-Gray Dwarves for more information.

A key?

Chen Feng recalled details about the Iron King City. In a battle he had participated in, one unit had somehow managed to infiltrate the city. Teleportation and forbidden magic were banned inside, which had puzzled him at the time. Seeing this key, he suspected it had a connection to the lake.

If the lake connected to the Sky Sea Lake inside the city, infiltrating it would be much easier. Chen Feng had no intention of asking the Steel-Gray Dwarves. He felt he needed his own leverage; otherwise, what if he worked for ages only to lose the city and the artifact? Clintonbasa had to die by his hand; that was the only way to ensure the city and the artifact became his. Everything else was too uncertain.

He could not blindly follow the quest, assuming it would automatically grant him the artifact. While some artifact quests did, they were rare. Often, players had to secure the artifact themselves. Chen Feng had heard of players complaining to the game company after completing a quest only to receive no artifact—likely because they assumed the quest completion guaranteed it. He had once accepted a guild mission to kill a boss and encountered a situation where the NPC wanted to keep the artifact. The players had immediately bombarded the NPC, half of them died, but they killed the NPC and claimed the prize.

His current quest was precarious, involving both a main city and an artifact. Chen Feng knew he had to outsmart the NPCs. They had the narrative advantage, so he had to find his own.

After scouting the area, Chen Feng discovered a strange pattern on a rock at the lakebed. Using the Mysterious Key, he opened the stone slab, swam inside, and closed it behind him. The passage was pitch black; he took out some glow-stones to light his way.

There were no monsters in the passage. After a while, he found an exit that led to an underground corridor. Emerging from the water, he reverted to human form, then into a panther for Stealth to scout what lay ahead.

The corridor was lined with many rooms. He entered the first room on the left—a library filled with books. Seeing no reward, he moved on. The first room on the right was also a library, but it contained an old treasure chest.

The chest required a specific key. Chen Feng tried the Mysterious Key, and it worked.

[Secret of the Iron Dragon]: Unit Scroll. Allows you to build an Iron Dragon manufacturing plant in the Iron King City. Requirement: Obtain a plot of land near the city's processing plant.

A unit blueprint. It allowed for the daily production of special units. Chen Feng finally understood why so many had wanted to conquer the city; this blueprint must have leaked out. Iron Dragons were the city’s most powerful biological units, each equivalent to a boss. However, they were restricted to a 3,000-meter radius of the Iron King City.

Iron Dragons no longer existed; they had all been reduced to scrap metal by the orcs, and their factory had been destroyed by the dwarves. Chen Feng hadn't expected to find the blueprint in this secret passage.

He checked the second room on the right. It was filled with weapons, but they were rusted beyond use. The only exception was a dagger that glowed with an icy blue light.

[Blade of Imprisonment]: Special equipment. Stabs the enemy, sealing their power and rendering them unable to use spells for 10 seconds while taking 300% damage. Single-use only.

Excellent. It would be perfect for turning the tables on an enemy. Could this be used on an NPC? Chen Feng suspected this blade was placed here specifically to deal with Clintonbasa, as assassinating such a powerful boss in the city would otherwise be impossible.

There were many guards in the city, especially super-guards around the city lord. This item was likely a narrative aid.

He checked the second room on the left but found nothing. Several rooms were empty, except for one that contained a teleportation array. Unsure of its destination, he dared not use it.

Chen Feng continued to a great hall. The decorations were antique, the carpet ragged and grayed by time, and the oil paintings on the walls had fallen. The conference table and chairs were covered in thick dust; he barely touched a chair, and it collapsed.

On the other side of the hall, he found another corridor with many rooms. Expecting nothing, he entered the first room on the right and froze. The room, half the size of a basketball court, was piled high with gold coins, gems, and sculptures.

System: You have obtained 873,234 gold coins.
System: You have obtained 1,633 gems.
System: You have obtained 176 sculptures.

A windfall! Chen Feng’s gold total now exceeded one million, and he had a massive hoard of gems and sculptures to sell. He realized that if he had reported the key to the Steel-Gray Dwarves, he might have received the unit scroll and the blade, but he never would have acquired this wealth.

He wasn't overly excited, knowing he would likely have to spend a fortune to complete the quest. Hiring people to attack the Iron King City would cost hundreds of thousands of gold coins. If he succeeded on the first attempt, he might turn a profit, but a second or third attempt would be disastrous.

The person who had found the key in the past must have profited initially but ultimately ended up in the red. If Chen Feng abandoned the quest, he would be rich—selling these coins would make him a fortune. He initially planned to convert the gold to cash, but when he checked his inventory, he saw his gold total was still 182,345. It hadn't increased.

Looking closer, he realized the coins were sealed in a chest within his inventory. They were non-circulating currency meant only for specific tasks. The gems and sculptures were tradable, but they were high-value items that would be difficult to liquidate quickly.

If such a massive sum of gold were to enter the market, it would crash the currency exchange rate. This restriction made sense. Chen Feng hadn't reached the middle stage of the quest yet; perhaps the coins would be unsealed later. Since he would be spending his own money to help the dwarves, this gold would likely serve as compensation or a modest profit, but he wouldn't be able to just walk away with a fortune and abandon the quest.