ghoom

Chapter 338: vow of Tenacity

"New quest?" This surprised Liam. He was almost 100% sure that she just wanted to say thanks or something similar, wasting his time.

He did not expect her to receive a quest, but then again, they had just finished a Kingdom quest so it was natural to receive a lot of benefits.

"I am not sure why this suddenly popped up." Alex continued. "Here, I will share the quest details with you."

Alex tapped her fingers in the air quickly but the next second she frowned. "Hmmm. Sorry. I am not able to share."

"Oh?" Now Liam was even more intrigued.

Alex met his questioning gaze and quickly looked away. "So basically… they first asked me to visit the divine temple to take some sort of vow."

"The exact words were 'Vow of Tenacity,'" She explained.

"The quest was something like… 'Your unyielding tenacity has moved Priestess Xuraksa. Divine Temple beckons you to take the Vow of Tenacity."

"Unyielding tenacity?" Liam pondered quietly, his gaze drilling into the redhead.

Alex again looked away quickly, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. "The quest diffi… difficulty is S grade." She stammered.

"I know that we are planning to run dungeons now, but would it be okay if I first finish this quest and join? I have a feeling that this might help me a lot."

Liam smiled as he finally understood what was going on. Alex was asking his permission!

For this hot and fiery redhead to actually consult him and ask for his permission… did the sunrise from the west today?

He chuckled, but then unexpectedly shook his head. "No." He firmly replied.

"Huh?" Alex stared back at him wide-eyed and with her mouth open. She had not expected this response.

She quickly scrambled, trying to explain. "I know that for you Kingdom quests are like pennies on the road. However, they are extremely rare quests in general."

"And I got this quest because of a Kingdom quest, so I really think that this can boost my strength and should make the next fights easier."

"This quest will definitely be a special quest with at least above average reward. I just know it. You have to trust me, please."

She did not look angry at all and instead only tried her best to explain things to Liam who nodded slowly.

He was amused that this girl was trying to explain the significance of Kingdom quests to him.

If he did not know what these quests meant, then who would?

"I understand all that, but no." Liam once again firmly denied her request.

He then quickly prepared to explain. Even if she was calm and dormant before, he knew that this was surely going to make the redheaded volcano erupt.

But surprisingly, Alex had a different expression on her face. "Ok, then. I will do as you say." She simply agreed without even a single retort.

She did not challenge him at all. There was no outburst. There were no calling names, and there was no fighting.

"Alex, do you think I am saying this because I don't want you to get stronger? Maybe keep you down so that you will always be under my control?"

"No. Nothing like that." Alex shook her head.

"You are not going to ask me for any reason as to why I said no? You are just like that going to agree?" Liam asked again.

Alex tucked the few strands of red hair that were dancing in the wind behind her ear and mumbled in response. "Yes. I am sure you have a good reason."

Seeing this, Liam couldn't help himself and chuckled lightly, "You have really changed a lot."

Alex shuddered slightly and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly decided not to.

"I do have a reason, and actually that is the same as what you just told me." Liam continued. This time he did not mind explaining things to her in detail.

"This is indeed a Kingdom quest's subquest."

"I completely agree with you. This quest has the potential to give out amazing rewards, even great rare rewards that might push your power levels."

"But trust me, now is not the time to attempt it."

"Just think about it. 'Vow of tenacity', I have a feeling that the quest might involve some sort of challenge to test your tenacity."

Alex nodded. She had also thought of this.

"And you have barely had any rest since whatever happened."

"If you think you can attempt this quest now, with your current condition, then I am afraid you will only be acting with overconfidence."

"You will be underestimating the difficulty of the quest. You might even lose the rewards."

Hearing his words, Alex looked surprised. She had not considered this at all and now that Liam pointed it out, it sounded obvious.

As if reading her thoughts, Liam chuckled.

"I know you are eager to get strong, but this is a cruel, unforgiving game. We have to think steadily every step of the way."

"So I think it's best to take 24 hours at least and then attempt the quest. Do you understand?"

"Ok. I get it. I will listen to you. Thanks." She nodded.

Liam then started walking back to the group, adding a few more words like an afterthought.

"You don't have to completely rest. You can just do relaxing things. For example, the dungeons that we will be running and then attempt the quest."

Alex, who was quietly walking, looked up in shock after hearing this, but she did not say anything in response.

"Running a dungeon to relax…" She muttered under her breath silently as the two of them returned back to the group.

Everyone else quickly looked at the two wondering what happened but seeing both Liam and Alex having blank expressions, they couldn't find out anything.

Only Mia let out a small sigh of relief. As long as there wasn't a fight between the two, she was already satisfied.

The group then continued with their journey silently, everyone thinking about different things and one girl nustling a small fox to her heart's content.

Soon afterward they reached the parts of the land that were nicknamed 'Twilight forests.'

"Amazing."

"Wow."

"So beautiful."

All the women on the team were the first to react as they started gasping one by one. The forest around them was incredibly beautiful.

The name 'Twilight forests' was very apt.

Though right now, it was the middle of the day, and the sun was shining brightly, inside this forest there was only a hazy evening atmosphere.

It was neither dark nor lit up, only the soft glow of the sun lingering in the background. This effect was because of the unique trees that grew in this area.

"There! That is the dungeon gate." Shin Shoo was the first to notice, and he quickly pointed it out.

Unlike the ridiculously strong women in their group, he did not have any thoughts about the ambiance around them and was focused on the task that lay ahead.

In fact, half the team was nervous.

They knew that they couldn't afford to enjoy the scenery around them because the dungeon that awaited them was a total nightmare.

In spite of being a level 30 dungeon, there was a reason that this place still remained unconquered.

Even the players crowding around this dungeon was relatively lesser when compared to the other dungeons.

Almost everyone had officially given up on this dungeon. In the online forums, this place was even declared as bugged.

So how were they supposed to clear this dungeon in order to gain popularity for their guild?

This was in fact the absolute worst starting point that they could choose, and their leader had selected this!

What was going to happen now? Multiple team wipes?

Chapter 339: Still impossible!

Under the watchful eyes of the several players gathered around the dungeon, a group of black-cloaked figures suddenly entered the vicinity.

The Twilight dungeon was a complete disaster for the players who entered, always resulting in party wipes and multiple deaths.

So, the average level players, the below-average players, and the ordinary everyday players had already entirely given up on the dungeon.

Only some dreamers and players from established guilds occasionally visited this hellish place to see if they finally had what it takes to clear the impossible dungeon.

So the players who were currently lingering around the spot were all from the top guilds of the Gresh Kingdom.

They watched the group of black-cloaked figures cross them and walk into the dungeon and sneered in contempt and disdain.

"Hiding their identities! Ha Ha Ha! Must think that they are all some sort of big shots!" One person laughed out loudly.

"There are a lot of arrogant assholes running around these days." Another one spat out.

"Ke Ke. Leave it. Weren't we also young and naive like that once upon a time?"

"Who wants to bet how fast they will come out? I am calling 5 mins."

"5 mins? Too long! I am calling 1 minute! Noobs like that won't even get past the first mob! Ba ha ha ha ha!"

The group of players continued to loudly chat and gossip as they rested outside the dungeon portal on the grassy ground.

It might be an impossible task to clear this dungeon, but several guilds' higher-ups had offered generous rewards for anyone who managed to come up with a strategy.

So even though they were joking on the outside, several groups were still anxious on the inside.

Some of them even stopped resting and entered the dungeon one more time to try their luck.

What if the mysterious group of black-cloaked players really did manage to solve this dungeon?

Then their rewards and their chance at fame and success will wave goodbye and disappear. That too, after having already tried so hard, no one wanted to lose or give up.

Of course, some players still continued to sit around and chat idly.

They were waiting for the losers to return one after the other, and they knew that it would probably be with the same speed they had gone in.

"Naive idiots." Someone shouted out aloud, and the group laughed.

Amidst this group of enlightened players, one person was particularly standing out.

This was none other than the Gu family's one of the most promising up and coming young talent, Gu Donghai.

After the fiasco that happened in the ape mountain where a mysterious stranger had stolen their treasure, and their teammates fell into some sort of sickness, he had now somewhat recovered.

He worked hard, created or rather bullied a bunch of people into forming a new team of lackeys, and was now at Level 30, working hard to conquer this dungeon and get a name for himself.

He received the least respect in their family and was always tagged as the loser. So he was very determined to prove his worth using this chance.

At the same time, hard work was challenging but lording around was easy.

So while still keeping in mind the mysterious black-cloaked figures who entered the dungeon, he continued to boisterously laugh and chat, enjoying the attention he was receiving.

Meanwhile… inside the dungeon…

Liam stood with Mia and Derek by his side, staring into the depths of the strange place. In fact, the inside of the dungeon was almost the same as the outside.

There was a twilight atmosphere with a lush and thriving jungle sprawled in front of them. However, there was something else also.

"Boss, any pointers?" Shin Shoo, finally couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to ask Liam.

Everyone standing behind silently admired his courage. They were all wondering the same thing but did not dare to ask the big boss so demandingly.

But unlike their imagination, Liam did not seem to react in a bad way?

He simply smiled and said, "Tanks will tank, healers will heal and dps will do dps. What pointers do you need?"

"Boss! Why are you making fun of me?" Shin Shoo smiled bitterly.

"Heh. I am not. I will give you pointers if needed, but I think for this dungeon, everyone just needs to be alert and do their part."

"It is really not that difficult," Liam replied as a matter of fact.

After this, who could ask another question? He had cleanly cut off all of them, saying only these vague words.

So everyone could only nervously prepare themselves and somewhat calm down and condition their mind.

They assembled in the most basic formation with their three dedicated tanks, Derek, Alex, and Shin Soo upfront, melee fighters behind them, the two healers Mia and Kang Minah next, and lastly, long-rage players at the tail end.

To everyone's surprise, this time, Liam was also standing at the back. He stood beside Mei Mei along with the other long-rage players.

The big boss was not going to tank like before?

Somehow this made everyone even more nervous.

And to make matters worse, just as the team settled down and got into the formation, a cold wind blew past them.

Instantly, everyone got a feeling as if they were being watched.

It seemed as if the entire forest was watching them with eyes everywhere.

And in this eerie, cold, and silent eternal twilight, a loud distant howl suddenly resounded.

AWOOOOOOOOOOO!

"It's starting," Liam shouted immediately. "Derek!"

Soon afterward, a group of big black boulders dashed towards the group.

They did not even have to take one step inside the forest, and the enemy was already here to welcome them.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly and saw the black boulders bounding towards them.

As they neared, the appearance of their black blurs became more clear, and that did not help.

"No need to be so afraid guys. They are just cute werewolves."

"1… 2… 3… let's go." Liam grinned and shouted as the first werewolf leaped high into the air and landed directly on top of Derek.

However, the next instant…

BAM!

Its body flew back, hitting a tree. It was flung aside like a piece of dirt without any respect whatsoever.

-500

A huge damage number floated up from its head.

And on the other end, Derek stood steadily with his shield forward and his ax gripped tightly in his hand.

A single punch from him was enough to take care of the werewolf and he was not done yet.

The first mob consisted of 10 werewolves and Derek alone toyed with five of them.

Alex saw this, and her eyes lit up with fighting spirit. She did not want to lose out to him.

[War Cry]

A commanding shout echoed, and the other five remaining werewolves growled and leaped towards her.

Alex grunted and slashed down her heavy one-handed sword at the incoming beasts.

-700

Another huge damage number floated up.

Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor.

Previously when they were fighting with the dark elves everything was chaotic and no one was able to observe anything, but now that they could see all the finer details…

It was utterly ridiculous!

At least they were already familiar with Alex's strength but the newly arrived tank was equally monstrous.

At this rate, the two tanks looked as if they were going to solo the first mob of werewolves.

As if this was not enough, Mia tossed out several [Divine Rays] one after the other. Each one of them dealt damage of 200 to 300.

The others saw this and quickly snapped out of their trance. Everyone started barraging their attacks on the ten werewolves.

It would be shameful to do less DPS than their team's tanks and healer.

Moreover, Liam was here with them today. Everyone wanted to do their absolute best!

They were all aware of the inner circle in their small guild and they all wanted to get in.

So all the 20 DPS except for Liam fired one attack after another.

In the midst of this, suddenly and unexpectedly, a huge fireblast appeared somewhere from behind, scorching one of the werewolves wholly.

-2000

An unbelievably huge number popped out.

Who the hell was this now?

Everyone naturally glanced at Liam to see if this was him but he was still standing casually not bothering to even start attacking.

So who was it?

They looked at Mei Mei standing beside Liam, who in turn was staring dumbfoundedly at the cute little fox licking her mouth contently.

Could it be…

Just as everyone was wondering, the inconspicuous little fox who might as well be a cuddly plushy opened her mouth again.

Kyuuuu!

A soft sound came out, but along with it another blast of fire emerged, scorching another huge werewolf wholly.

The poor werewolf beast was roasted thoroughly from top to bottom and slumped down onto the ground limp and lifeless.

And the small cute creature who was responsible for this jumped up and down in joy.

Kyuuu! Kyuuu!

She was bouncing around Liam as if she wanted recognition and praises from him.

And Liam as well smiled and obliged as if it was just a normal occurrence, "Good girl. Good girl."

Everyone, especially Mei Mei started sweating at this scene. How could such a cute thing be so deadly?

Everyone who previously had ideas of petting the little fox took a step back away from the beast.

Especially Mei Mei felt her scalp go numb as she thought back to how much she had tortured that fox, pinching its cheeks and rubbing its soft fur to her heart's content.

She gulped nervously when she thought about it. Never again. Forgive me for my sins! She also took a step back.

Now everyone had to compete, not only with the tanks and healers but also with this ridiculous pet and of course, Liam.

Being a DPS in this team of monsters was really hard!

How was it fair that someone who was already explosively strong obtain such an insane pet as well?

It was no wonder that he alone hogged the top rank in the leaderboard, not once losing the spot from the start of the game until now.

A quick look at 𝗯𝐞𝐝𝗻𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥.𝐜𝗼𝐦 will leave you more fulfilled.

Their only consolation was that luckily they were all at least on the same team! Otherwise…

Focusing their attention back on the fight everyone targeted the remaining werewolves, no longer having any intention of topping the DPS chart and showing off.

If they waited any longer there wouldn't even be anything left to fight.

And just like that, within seconds, the bunch of strong ferocious beasts of twilight were reduced to mere rabid street dogs and put down one after the other.

A string of experience points also promptly chimed in.

Everyone exchanged awkward smiles as Derek and Alex started moving forward, heading deeper into the forest to get at the next mob.

At this rate, it was clear that they were going to blast through this dungeon!

One of the hunters whispered to the mage at the back, "Dude, we are going to get the first clear for sure! How awesome is this!"

But the mage shook his head firmly. "Our team was always strong. That was never the issue. However, first clear for this dungeon will still be impossible."

"Do I need to spell it out for you? Did you not read on the forums why this dungeon was impossible?"

The hunter rubbed his stubble. "I did read, but… maybe the big boss Liam"

"Mmm… even if it is the big boss, it is still impossible."

"No amount of talent is good enough. Against that thing, no one can do anything."

"Unless someone figures out the secret of this dungeon or dies and comes back to the past with the knowledge of the future, it is just impossible to hack this dungeon." He joked with a sigh.