Chapter 13

Caleb and the staff member, Lara, walk silently through the administration building. The office of the Mayor was on the second floor and they are currently walking in a hallway of it.

Lara stopped in front of the door with a sign of 'Mayor's Office' on the top of it. She knocked twice before speaking.

"Sir Brix, I have brought Mr.Azrael."

"Come in." A voice replied from within.

"Excuse me," Lara said as she opened the door and ushered Caleb inside. He entered as Lara closed the door behind him.

Caleb notices that the room was designed to be spacious, with a large desk and a table flanked by a pair of sofas. Behind the desk sat a man in his early forties. He had short, platinum blond hair, and despite his age, his face was full of vigor.

"Please take a seat." the mayor said, motioning to Caleb.

He does as he is told and moves to the sofa to his right. 

"I can't believe the person who will come to me is such a young lad!" Brix exclaimed as soon as Caleb settled down.

"Being powerful at such a young age... Oh, how I long for the days when I was actively engaged in battles." The mayor continued to speak as he stared at Caleb. 

Brix Lionhart was regarded as one of Warthford City's powerful shield warriors. In his prime, he visited the town and participated in monster subjugation. During one of his duties, he meets the woman of his dreams in Latifa and decides to retire.

That was the story Caleb read during his library visits. There was also a story about important people in the other town.

"However, no matter how strong we are, the passage of time will inevitably catch up with us. It's time for the younger generation to shine!" The mayor paused for a second before addressing Caleb again. "That is why, young lad, as you are an excellent warrior, I have a favor to ask of you."

"I'd be pleased to help you, Sir Brix. What do you need help with?" Caleb immediately replied to the mayor.

"The mages in charge of inspecting the barrier in this town told me a month ago that it was weakening. We've already mobilized the others to collect materials that are needed. However we're still short on people and we need someone with the strength to collect the other item, which is the 'Mana Stone'. Can you help me with this?"

Ting!

[System: Hidden Quest "Competitor's Audacity" has been updated.

Quest Content:

Brix Lionhart issued a quest to his people to collect the materials needed to repair the barrier that surrounded the town. However, he still requires the assistance of another person to collect the other material, the [Mana Stone]. Collect 500 pieces of this stone and return them to Brix Lionhart!

Difficulty: C

Note: Rewards all vary to the player's level]

A quest panel popped in front of Caleb.

He was surprised to learn that the hidden quest requirement was to collect Mana Stones, which can only be obtained inside a dungeon.

This stone is dropped by every monster in the dungeon. Its size is determined by the level of the monster from which it came. It can also be sold for a reasonable price to NPC alchemists and craftsmen or used as a catalyst item by other classes such as Witches and Exorcists.

Because he requires 500 pieces of this stone, he must kill an equal number of monsters in respect.

It was quite a large amount of 'Mana Stone' he need to collect but he was unconcerned about this because he was confident in his abilities. The only issue was that the dungeons in the game were not yet open until the average level of Legacy players was level 4-5.

'Hmm, how could I forget? If I recall correctly, there was one in Latifa,' Caleb thought for a moment before returning his gaze to his front.

"As a proud swordsman, Sir Brix, I will gladly assist you," he replied, accepting the quest.

[System: You accepted the request]

"How wonderful, you're truly a competitor. Accepting requests with humility is the attitude of a true warrior. Young man, do your best!" The mayor rejoices at this response.

After accepting the quest, Caleb then exited the mayor's office and descended to the first floor. There was still a huge queue of people waiting to take a quest when he arrived at the hall.

Some players noticed Caleb and they began to talk about him. As he walked past them, he occasionally overheard envious and inquisitive remarks. 

He didn't seem to heed them and continued walking outside to a specific location. 

He arrived in the town's market square after a few minutes. As he proceeded through the main streets, which were packed with noise and excitement, people were arriving and departing.

These people were either done leveling up and selling their loot, or they were newbies purchasing potions from NPC merchants. 

Several individuals were also in the market, inspecting the prices and new equipment for sale.

Caleb is familiar with these people. They are members of a guild that is in charge of gathering information and purchasing appropriate equipment from the market.

Since every town's auction house will open following the opening day, these individuals were tasked with checking this location in the meantime. 

Caleb then set up a stall in one of the corners, displaying the Common and Uncommon swords he'd obtained from the Rift of the Cursed Swordsman.

He reduced all of the prices so that it could be easily sold. He only wanted to clear his inventory quickly because he never planned to make much money from these types of equipment.

After a time, a few players began to gather in his vicinity. Caleb takes a look at them and notices that they are all swordsmen. Some newbies in the crowd are inquiring about the price.

In the end, he eventually sold all of the equipment, including the Uncommon glove. He gained a total of 60 copper coins.

After doing his business, he took a stand and decided to purchase a few potions before leaving the bustling area.

He took a walk outside of town and into the woods. Because it was still afternoon, the hot sun was glinting. Caleb was determined to fulfill this hidden task before the game server closed.

When he arrived at the hunting grounds, he noticed that there were more players than the previous time. As the number of people increases, this condition will progressively become an issue. Some parties couldn't hunt enough monsters because of so many people gathering in one place, hunting the same monster.

Hence, others would desire to find a better grinding location, which would lead to the discovery of other hidden places.

These hidden places are often veiled with some treasures, items, or maybe a quest adding spice to the boring grinding of the players. Legacy surely provides thrills and adventures that are impossible to find in real life!

Caleb went to the north side of the forest and proceeded deeper as he climbed up to the mountain. He occasionally sees level 2-3 Elite monsters roaming the area.

This region was still dangerous to mainstream players since it was home to level 6 monsters.

Caleb carefully traversed inside, not because he was afraid, but because it would be troublesome and time-consuming if he encountered a monster in this place. 

After a few minutes, he finally arrived at his destination. Ahead of him was just a ravine wall. There was nothing special about this place, but Caleb still walked in front as he bent to touch one of the plated rocks at the feet of the wall, particularly the one where small curves were carved. 

As his right palm touches the part of it, the figure that was carved suddenly glows in light blue as if pulsating. At the same time, the part of the ravine wall also emitted a pale light as it began to crumble and make an entrance. 

Caleb didn't seem surprised by this matter as he casually stepped forward until he arrived inside. 

[System: The 'Lair of the Vicious Leaves' was discovered!]

The system informs him that he has discovered a place. 

Indeed. Caleb knows this place as this lair was considered to be a hidden dungeon!

Because his quest requires him to collect [Mana Stone], he recalls a hidden dungeon on the mountain near Latifa town.

The hidden dungeon was quite different from the dungeons that are being released in the game. Since most of the hidden dungeons have several entrances around them, unlike the normal dungeon that only has one entrance. There were also cases where different players could meet inside. 

In his previous life, this kind of encounter may either lead to joint operations of the two groups or become an on-the-spot brawl inside the dungeon.

There are also no restrictions on the number of people who can enter the hidden dungeon at the same time, unlike the normal instance which is divided into 10, 20, 50, and 100-player raid dungeons.

There was a sudden rumbling in his back, it was the entrance slowly closing. After the entrance was closed, Caleb looked around and discovered he was in a room about 10 meters wide on all sides. The walls were covered in vines, small and large roots, and the only source of light was the one at the end of the hallway. 

After checking the surrounding area, he started to walk again, planning to complete his quest in no time.