29 Protect the Crystal

"What? That's a very inconvenient way to hide a secret switch!" Urie was surprised when they accidentally activated the switch.

"Well... we can't complain now since the passage was opened, anyway! Come on! Let's hurry!" Arie urged his big brother as they walked deeper inside the secret passage.

Unlike before, the passageway can only accommodate 3 people walking side by side.

They walked down for a few minutes until they reached a large chamber with a pedestal erected in the middle of what seems like a magic circle of some sort.

"Well, that seems oddly convenient!" Urie shrugged while walking towards the pedestal.

"Hey! Don't jinx it!" Arie scolded his big brother.

Urie placed the Embers of Life on the pedestal and took a step back as the magic circle etched on the ground slowly lit up. Flames emerged from the crevices of the walls as they rushed towards the crystal at the center of the chamber.

[Warning!]

[The Embers of Life are currently being replenished, Fire Spirits will try to snatch the crystal while it is in the vulnerable state. Protect the crystal at all costs!]

Both Urie and Arie received the notification prompt.

"See? You jinxed it!" Arie scoffed while taking out his compendium and summoned two beasts. One is Phansy and the other was an Ice-Grass Class beast named Ui.

Since it was a system event, they were restricted to summon a maximum of 2 beasts during the event. Urie summoned Gion and Quidin, beasts that were both Ice-Water Class.

"Okay! I'm ready!" Urie seriously looked around and saw that there were some floating balls that looked the same as the Water Spirits that they encountered way back at the temple in the Valley of Night Frost.

The difference was that those balls way back then were translucent blue, unlike these balls that looked like floating magma balls.

Flames were emitted continuously from the floating magma balls as the two kept on eliminating them with Water Class skills, which was effective against those spirits.

Steam rose from the areas where the spirits were dense as they perished one by one.

The whole chamber was quickly covered by dense fog caused by the steam that hindered the sight of the two.

"Bro! We need to do something about this fog!" Arie called out as he fanned his hands, hoping some of the fog would be swept away.

"Quidin, return! Hagin, come out!" Urie shouted as Quidin returned into card form and he took out a card and from it came out a medium-sized bird beast that swiftly circled around the chamber, bringing the dense fog away from the battlefield.

The crystal was revealed once again as the Fire Spirits continued to rush towards it.

Urie and Arie kept on shouting commands, because unlike when the event at the Obsidium Town where the beasts and wasps have physique, the Fire Spirits are ethereal, so they couldn't hit it with weapons.

[System]

[Time remaining before the Embers of Life will be replenished: 1 hour and 30 minutes.]

As soon as the notification rang, the two shouted in surprise.

"What kind of mechanic is this? Damn! That's too long!" Arie exclaimed in frustration as he threw a solidified magma, an obsidian, at one of the Fire Spirits, but since those things were ethereal, the obsidian only passed through it.

"This is an ugly sorcery made by those stupid developers!" Urie angrily scoffed as he slashed the Caliburn, but he just received a warning from what he did.

[Warning!]

[The item is currently insusceptible for combat. The item needs an upgrade.

Requirements for upgrade:

Godly Soul: 0/3

Adamantite: 0/10

True Flame Heart: 0/1

Tears of the Goddess of the Lake: 0/5]

"What? I thought the flavor text mentioned it couldn't be used for combat? I'm totally confused? What did those sneaky developers make?" Urie confusedly said as he closed the notification and swallowed his complicated feelings, then he focused on their current situation.

An hour and a half quickly passed as the two were exhausted from issuing commands, one after another. They also changed the beast's a couple of times because the beast's stamina couldn't keep up with the number of Fire Spirits approaching.

As soon as they successfully eliminated the last Fire Spirit inside the chamber, a rang echoed inside Urie's head as a notification interface appeared in front of him.

[System]

[The Flames of Life]

[Description: The Embers of Life have been replenished! Return to Obsidium Town and find Cremorgon.]

Deliver the Embers of Life: 1/1

Cremorgon found: 0/1

Rewards: ???]

"They just removed the series counter, but this one seems like another series quest! Damn it!" Urie cursed in his mind.

"So? Are we done yet?" Arie asked, but his big brother replied with a shrug.

"Not yet! We need to find someone named Cremorgon at Obsidium Town!" Urie informed him as they looked inside the chamber for one last time and left.

---

"That young man could be the answer to the revival of our clan! I hope he can succeed with his quest!" A mysterious deep voice whispered the moment that the two left the ruins.

"Do you think we can resurface once again?" A voice of a lady asked.

"Once the Embers of Life revive the Black Volcano, seeds of Flaming Life will also come and the revival of our clan will be right in our sight!" The deep voice replied as people resurfaced from below the ground, behind the trees, and inside the ruins.

"I hope that the Ashen Elves won't perish today!" The voice of the lady prayed as the people gathered together and joined her.

---

The two reached the Obsidium with little to no obstacle as they started searching around to find this person named Cremorgon.

"I think this is the reason the quest was timed for half a day! It won't be easy to find a person with no hints other than his or her name!" Urie shook his head at the thought as he stopped by another shop to ask.