Quest Complete

When the Kobold Chieftain exploded, items scattered all over the floor. Copper Coins paved the floor as well in a copper glow, shining through the entire mine as if celebrating our success.

We immediately picked up the drops left behind the Kobold Chieftain. The Kobold Chieftain deserved to be a Chieftain-ranked monster. Adding on that it was the First Kill, its drops were extremely bountiful.

It had dropped a total of 8 pieces of Bronze Equipment; 1 Gray Giant Axe, 2 Plate Armor, 2 Leather Armor, 3 Cloth Armor. Aside from those, there were also 273 Coppers and 4 skill books. There was [Mock] for Shield Warriors, [Silent Steps] for Assassins, [Evil Whip] for Cursemancers, and [Cripple Defense] for Warrior classes.

"Blackie, DarkNorth; your luck really is too good. This Evil Whip and Cripple Defense skill books are rare with an extremely low drop rate. Evil Whip is one of the few control-and-damage skills that a Cursemancer has. On the other hand, this Cripple Defense would be incredibly useful in boss fight." Shi Feng tossed the Evil Whip skill book to Blackie and the Cripple Defense towards me, without hesitation. He also gave me the Gray Giant Axe and a Plate Armor.

[Cripple Defense] (Active Skill)

Requires: Guardian Knight, Shield Warrior, Berserker

Destroys target defense value by 10%. Cause 50% melee damage to the target. The maximum stacked effect is 5. Lasts for 30 seconds.

Cooldown time: 1 second

[Gray Giant Ax] (Bronze Rank)

Level 5

Equipment Requirements: Strength 15

Attack Power +21

Strength +5

Endurance +2

Durability 30/30

[Recruit's Heavy Armor] (Bronze Rank, Plate Armor)

Level 5

Equipment Requirements: Strength 9

Defense +14

Strength +2, Endurance +2, Agility +1

Durability 20/20

The weapon was an absolute weapon for violence. If I manage to use it, my damage would become extremely violent and horrifying. Additionally, the armor, although slightly mediocre, would provide me additional defense.

After collecting all the drops, we immediately returned to the smithy.

"Master Jack, we've killed the Kobold Chieftain. This is its skull." Shi Feng said respectfully as he took out a Kobold's skull.

Master Jack, who was currently hammering away on steel, glanced at the Kobold skull. After he confirmed that we've done it, he satisfyingly said, "Not bad, it seems the three of you do have the right to inherit my forging skills."

System: Hidden Quest 'Road Of Forging' completed. Player has learned Forging. Player has become a Basic Forging Apprentice. Player has obtained the Forging Talent, 'Forging Genius'. Rewarding 10 pieces of [Hundred Refinement Steel]

[Forging Genius]

After a successful forging, there is a fixed chance to increase 2 Proficiency Points.

Two Proficiency Points were not to be looked down on. It should be known that a Basic Forging Apprentice making a piece of Common Equipment only had a 20% success rate. After successfully making the equipment, there was a 40% chance to obtain 1 Proficiency Point. Now, however, I have a chance to obtain 2 Proficiency Points as long as the forging was successful, increasing the efficiency for promotion to the next rank by several folds.

I quickly rejoiced seeing the rewards I received. Speaking of rewards, I forgot to finish my quest. Remembering why I ventured into this place, I called out to Master Jack.

"Master Jack, Mr. Butch asked me to deliver a parcel for you."

"Oh, it's here. Send Butch my thanks."

System: Unique Quest 'Into the Valley' completed. Rewarding 2 pieces of Forging Blueprints

I celebrated seeing the notification. I did not expect that the reward for this quest, would be quite luxurious. I immediately looked what kind of blueprint it is. Upon searching my bag, I found a blueprint for a shield and a one-handed sword.

Just as we turned around to leave...

"Young man, you truly make me look differently at you. Even after so many years of forging weapons, it is still my first time seeing a Magic Weapon." Master Jack called out to Shi Feng. He had sent his gaze towards the pitch-black sword hanging around Shi Feng's waist.

Hearing this, we all stopped.

"Young man, are you willing to let me have a look at this sword?" Master Jack looked at Shi Feng with eyes filled with a burning desire. His tone was no longer indifferent, but instead a little whispered.

"Ye Feng, Blackie; It seems that you still have business in here. I'll go first. I hope that we meet again."

Seeing that it was a private business, I decided to leave them alone. Before leaving, I added the two of them in my friend list.

///

Upon leaving, I decided to continue farming monsters. While farming, I would also gather materials needed for some quests.

After two hours of farming, I received a call from Shi Feng.

"Hey DarkNorth, want to join us dive in the dungeon."

I immediately agreed upon hearing him. Joining in this dungeon raid would be quite beneficial for me. Besides the equipments and skill books available in the dungeon, there is also a chance of obtaining of rare recipes in it.

"Sure, I'll go there immediately after submitting my quests."

I quickly travelled towards the town and submitted my quests. All of my quests granted me a total of 10 silvers and a rare skill book [Destructive Smash]

[Destructive Smash]

Performs a destructive strike at a target, dealing 200% melee damage and cause all healing received reduced by 75%. Last for 10 seconds. Effect cannot be stacked.

Requires: Melee weapon.

Cool down time: 8 seconds

After finishing with my things, I rushed towards the dungeon.

Upon arriving, I searched for Shi Feng's party. I found the two of them along with three other players.

I greeted all of them and introduced myself. Inspecting our party, I found out that our party is composed of Shi Feng, the swordsman, Blackie, the cursemancer, Cola, a guardian knight, Lonely Snow, a berserker, and Drowsy Sloth, an oracle.

"DarkNorth, you're here. We could now start dungeon-diving" said Shi Feng

As we are already gathered, Shi Feng activated the Deathly Forest.

Suddenly, the Transfer Passage in front of the Deathly Forest changed. It changed from a silvery-gray color to pitch-black. At the same time, a flickering skull that had its mouth wide opened could vaguely be seen.

Afterwards, I received a notification

System: You have chosen Hell Mode of Deathly Forest. Death penalty increased by 100%.

Suddenly, the faces of the members of the party turned deathly white. They became worried seeing the death penalty increasing by 100%.

"Brother Feng, you chose the wrong one. Aren't we going down the Normal Dungeon?" Blackie hurriedly walked over and whispered a reminder.

"Nothing's wrong. It's Hell Mode. What would I be doing here if it isn't to dive Hell Mode?" Shi Feng snapped.

"Feng... Brother Feng, what are you saying? Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest? Just look at our party. It is problematic to even clear Normal Mode, not to mention Hell Mode," Blackie panicked.

"Relax. If I weren't certain, even I wouldn't do it." Shi Feng clapped Blackie's shoulders, saying confidently with a smile. "Alright, let's go inside then."

Shi Feng led the party by entering first, followed by Blackie. Lonely Snow had also entered with a dazed head; he was prepared to tread this path to the very end.

As for Cola and Drowsy Sloth, they hesitated for quite some time.

"We better go in. The expert has already gone inside, so what do we, Level 1 noobs, still have to be reluctant for? Moreover, we're entering the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Even mentioning it would be a glory," Cola encouraged.

Seeing them trying to encourage themselves, I told them "You know, you guys don't have to worry too much. I already partied with Ye Feng before. At level 0, he was able to greatly contribute in fighting a level 5 boss. He most likely has a plan for this dungeon."

The two of them looked at each other, surprised etched at their faces. They can't believe that we were able to kill a level 5 boss this early in the game.

After steeling themselves, we all entered the pitch black passage of the dungeon.