The last piece of Meteorite Ore clinked into Jay Antonio's bag with a satisfying finality.
He wiped a layer of digital grime and sweat from his brow, letting out a long, dramatic sigh.
"Finally! One hundred pieces of space rock, collected by yours truly… and you, I guess," he said, giving Jason a sideways glance.
"My back aches. My mana bar is crying. I swear, if that blacksmith gives us anything less than a legendary weapon for this, I'm going to file a formal complaint with NPC resources."
Jason Henry chuckled, the sound echoing lightly in the now-quiet Crimson Star Mine.
"NPC resources? Jay, you've been in the game for less than a day and you're already trying to unionize the non-player characters."
"Hey, they have rights too! Probably," Jay shrugged, a grin spreading across his face.
"Now, let's get our reward. I'm dreaming of a real-life celebratory pizza, and these Kobolds just aren't cutting it."
As they made their way towards the mine exit, a flicker of movement in the shadows caught Jason's eye.
He held up a hand, instantly silencing Jay.
Peeking around a massive rock pillar, he saw a familiar, arrogant group of players, Blazing Fist and his cronies from the Umbra guild.
They were setting up camp right where Jason and Jay had been grinding, a fresh Smoke Grenade already in their leader's hand.
"Well, look at that," Blazing Fist gloated to his party, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction.
"The idiots did all the hard work clearing the path for us. Once they're gone, this prime real estate is all ours. Free experience and loot, courtesy of those two fools."
Jay's face turned red.
"That son of a… He's stealing our spot!"
Jason just smiled, a glint of cold amusement in his eyes.
Stealing?
No, Jay.
He's just borrowing it.
And the interest rate is about to be… catastrophic.
He glanced at the timer on his own Smoke Grenade effect.
Twenty seconds left.
"Get ready to run for the exit the second I give the signal."
Jason grabbed a loose stone and tested its weight, eyes narrowing with purpose.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying.
The stone ricocheted off the far wall and vanished into a side tunnel, its clatter echoing like a warning in the dark.
The Umbra members glanced over, distracted for a bare moment.
It was all the time Jason needed.
Their Smoke Grenade's effect wore off.
BOOM!
The haze lifted in an instant, and the world sharpened before the Kobolds' eyes like a blade unsheathed.
A dozen pairs of glowing red eyes snapped toward the nearest threat, Blazing Fist and his unsuspecting party.
A hulking Kobold Berserker, twice the size of the others, let out a furious roar that shook the very cavern.
"What the—?! Attack! Form up!" Blazing Fist yelled, fumbling for his weapon.
But it was too late.
Jason, moving like a phantom, had already activated his [Wind Blade] skill.
A shrieking gust of wind followed him as he sprinted to the mine's weakest spot, a cluster of old wooden beams he'd marked in advance.
He didn't even draw his sword.
He just slammed his shoulder into the central beam.
CRACK!
The aging wood splintered.
With a deafening groan, tons of rock and earth began to collapse, sealing the main exit.
The Umbra team was now trapped in a pincer, with an enraged army of Kobolds in front of them and a rockslide behind them.
"Now!" Jason yelled.
He and Jay sprinted towards a narrow, almost-hidden side passage they had used before.
Behind them, the sounds of chaos erupted.
Screams mixed with the guttural war cries of Kobolds and the shattering of rock.
"You… you bastard!" Blazing Fist's final, enraged shout was cut off by the sound of a heavy club meeting flesh.
Jason and Jay emerged into the fresh air of Dark Moon Valley, leaving the symphony of destruction behind them.
"Holy… That was… evil," Jay said, panting but with a massive grin.
"I love it. Remind me never to get on your bad side."
"Consider yourself reminded," Jason said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Come on. Our reward awaits."
They arrived at the rustic smithy, the rhythmic clang… clang… clang of a hammer on steel growing louder.
Inside, Master Jack, a dwarf with a beard so long it was braided and tucked into his belt, was pounding a glowing piece of metal into submission.
He barely glanced up as they approached.
"You're back," he grunted, not missing a beat with his hammer.
"Got my ore?"
Jay proudly presented the heavy sack.
"One hundred pieces of the finest, most annoying-to-collect Meteorite Ore, as requested."
Jack finally set his hammer down.
He took the sack, peered inside, and gave a curt nod of approval.
The fire from the forge glinted in his stern eyes.
"Good. The quality is acceptable."
Jay rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"So, about that reward? The legendary Forging technique? Maybe a shiny new staff?"
Jack snorted, a sound like rocks grinding together.
He wiped his hands on a rag.
"Reward? Boy, that was just the entry fee."
The smile vanished from Jay's face.
"The… the what?"
"You heard me," Jack said, turning his full attention to Jason.
You brought me the materials to prove you weren't completely useless.
Now comes the real test.
I have a problem.
A big, ugly, toothy problem.
The Chieftain of those Kobolds, Grok the Skull-Splitter, has been making a nuisance of himself.
His presence taints the quality of the ore in the entire region.
He pointed a thick, calloused finger towards the deeper part of the valley.
You want my ultimate knowledge?
You want to truly learn the art of the forge?
Go bring me his head.
You have one hour.
Then we'll talk.
A quest window popped up in front of Jason.
[Quest Updated: The Road of Forging]
[Task: Slay the Kobold Chieftain, Grok the Skull-Splitter, and bring back his skull.
Time Limit: 1 hour.]
[Reward: Master Jack's Forging Tutelage,
[Forging Genius] Talent.]
[Failure Penalty: Master Jack will refuse to speak with you ever again.]
Jason's blood ran cold, then hot with fury.
He wasn't angry at Jack, the old blacksmith's test was harsh but fair.
He was furious at the players from Apex Ventures who had sold him the information about this quest.
They had conveniently left out this second, near-impossible stage.
They had sold him a ticket to a treasure chest but forgot to mention the dragon guarding it.
"This is insane!" Jay whispered, his voice trembling.
A Chieftain-rank boss?
At our level?
We'll be turned into paste!
We just saw what a dozen normal ones did to those Umbra idiots!
Jason clenched his fists, the ground beneath his boots crackling with a faint, unseen energy.
He took a deep breath, forcing the anger down.
Panicking wouldn't help.
He accessed his knowledge of the boss.
[Grok the Skull-Splitter] (Chieftain-rank)
Level: 5
HP: 2,100/2,100
Skills: [Savage Cleave], [Earthshatter Stomp],
[Enrage]
Note: Possesses keen senses and high intelligence.
Regenerates 2% of maximum HP every 5 seconds.
The stats were a death sentence.
The HP regeneration alone meant they had to deal over 42 damage every five seconds just to break even.
Their Smoke Grenade strategy was useless; a Chieftain would see right through it.
They couldn't kite it, they couldn't out-damage its healing, and they certainly couldn't tank it.
"Jason… what do we do?" Jay asked, looking pale.
Jason's gaze drifted to his inventory, to the one item he had been hesitant to rely on.
The [Abyssal Blade].
It seemed to hum with a dark energy, a silent promise of immense power at a terrible cost.
The curse had been weakened by Master Jack, but it was still there, a shadow lurking in the back of his mind.
But they had no other choice.
It was this, or fail the quest and lose the single greatest forging advantage in the entire game.
He looked at Jay, his expression hardening with resolve.
"We do what we came here to do. We go hunt a king."
He drew the [Abyssal Blade].
The air grew cold as the jet-black sword materialized in his hand, its wicked edge seeming to drink the light from the forge.
Master Jack watched them leave, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
He picked up his hammer and returned to his work, the rhythmic clang once again filling the valley.