Watching her crucial advancement quest get snatched away right under her nose, Lia's eyes welled up with tears instantly. Her nose tingled, and she was this close to bursting into sobs.
Ever since the server launch lottery, she'd had ridiculously good luck. Everything she did went smoothly, and she always got the best possible results. She'd thought this advancement quest would be a piece of cake, a simple detour to pave the way for her promotion, who knew reality would be this cruel?
Staring at Kalis's smug grin, she felt so wronged she could cry. Her voice thick with nasality, she choked out: "Kalis, I never did anything to offend you. This… this is really too much…"
But Kalis was a total blockhead when it came to girls' sad tactics; he was completely immune. He even grinned and cupped his hands in a mock bow, turning to Dafiona: "Thanks for the compliment, Lady Dafiona. Please assign this quest to me. I'll chase her away right now, and then you can help me with my Second Advancement."
He said the last part so confidently, he totally forgot he hadn't even officially accepted the quest yet.
Even though they'd reached a verbal agreement to trade the Divine Dew Spring for a reward worth an artifact, the system hadn't popped up a quest notification yet, meaning the deal wasn't final.
Dafiona looked from the triumphant Kalis to the teary-eyed, frantic Lia. A kind, grandmotherly smile spread across her weathered face as she spoke slowly: "How about this? The two of you go together as partners and help me retrieve the Divine Dew Spring together. If you succeed, I'll give both of you whatever you desire. But in exchange, you must complete the quest in a shorter time frame."
"Ding, would you like to accept the party quest, Trail of the Divine Dew Spring? This quest has a time limit of 7 in-game days."
The cold system notification echoed in both of their minds at the same time.
"Party up?" Kalis's eyebrows shot up.
It wasn't that he hated group quests; he just preferred going solo, long used to doing things his own way. Alone, he could go whenever he wanted, stop whenever he pleased. If he ran into a tough enemy, he could blast them to smithereens without hesitation; if he found a treasure chest, he could loot it all to himself. No need to wait for anyone, no need to coordinate, no need to worry about anyone else's pace.
But with a teammate? It was a whole different story. He'd have to wait for her, adjust to her speed, and keep an eye on her safety at all times. When danger struck, he'd have to split his focus to protect her. Especially this delicate little girl in front of him, her strength was worlds apart from his. If they ventured into a death trap like the Abyssal Realm together, how could he concentrate on finding the Divine Dew Spring? He'd probably have to spend most of his energy babysitting her.
He waved his hands wildly, refusing outright: "No way, no way! This is a deadly quest in a top-tier map. I'd have to tread carefully enough on my own; adding a dead weight would just be asking for trouble! Lady, please take back your order and give me a solo quest instead!"
He wasn't the least bit worried about the 7-day time limit. With how fast his strength was growing, in 7 days, he'd be strong enough to take on even a Supreme God, let alone the Abyssal Realm.
But dragging along a weak, annoying, penny-pinching player like her? It'd give him a splitting headache for sure!
So, he had to refuse firmly!
Lia was both wronged and angry at his blatant disdain. She couldn't help but retort: "I'm not a dead weight! I'm a hidden class chosen by the Moon God! I can deal damage, heal allies, and cast super-powerful buff boosts! What's wrong with that?"
Even so, her tone was much softer than before.
Clearly, she knew her own limits. There was no way she could complete this impossible quest alone; she had to rely on Kalis's world-destroying firepower. What's more, the system had already issued the party quest order; it was a done deal. To get her advancement, she had to swallow her pride and beg to tag along to his party.
"Super powerful buff boosts? How powerful can they be?" Kalis scoffed, looking thoroughly unimpressed, not taking her words seriously at all.
"You… you'll see once you join the party!" Lia huffed, cheeks puffing with anger, and sent him a party invite right away, determined to prove her worth on the spot.
Kalis had killed Caelum earlier, and his ID was still glowing crimson with the mark of killing. If they weren't at a party, she wouldn't be able to cast her buffs on him at all.
Kalis hesitated for a second, then clicked accept, reluctantly taking her on as a temporary teammate.
"Teammate Lia has cast Lunar Blessing on you!"
"Teammate Lia has cast Dark Moon Enhancement on you!"
"Teammate Lia has cast Lunar Aura Shield on you!"
The moment the party was formed, three gentle streams of moon-white light washed over Kalis one after another, warm and comforting.
He casually opened his status panel, and the disdain on his face vanished instantly, replaced by genuine surprise.
Lunar Blessing: Attack Power +10%, Physical/Magic Defense +10%, Regenerate 50 HP per second. Duration: 30 minutes.
Dark Moon Enhancement: Attack Power +30%, Movement Speed +30%, Critical Strike Chance +30%. Duration: 20 minutes.
Lunar Aura Shield: Physical/Magic Defense +30%, can negate one fatal damage hit. Duration: 30 minutes.
These buffs… were actually this insane!
His damage output was already terrifyingly overpowered as it was. With these Lunar Blessings and Dark Moon Enhancement boosts stacked on top? His damage would be off the charts!
"Well? Impressed now?" Lia lifted her chin proudly, her little face beaming with pride, clearly fishing for compliments.
At the same time, because she'd cast buffs on Kalis while he was red-named, her own ID was tinged with a faint crimson hue as well.
"Meh, they're okay, I guess. Barely usable," Kalis muttered stubbornly, turning his head away with a nonchalant look on his face.
Sure, these buffs were strong—but even without them, any boss he could one-shot would still be one-shotted.
Seeing his reaction, Lia pouted her lips, looking wronged again: "Stop being so stubborn. If we take the quest together and finish it together, we can both get our advancements smoothly. It won't cost you anything! If you really think I'm a dead weight, fine, once the quest is done, you can take all the rewards! I'll even give you an extra 500 gold coins as compensation! That's… that's all I have left on me right now."
Her voice was soft and pleading, humble to a fault, nothing like the arrogant girl from earlier.
Kalis's heart skipped a beat. For a guy who was denser than a steel rod when it came to emotions, this was a rare moment of softening.
He thought about it carefully. He was the one who'd snatched the quest first, after all. Instead of throwing a tantrum, Lia had swallowed her pride and apologized. If he kept being unreasonable, he'd be nothing short of a jerk.
"Hmph…" Lia saw him staying silent and thought he was still refusing. She quickly added, her voice earnest: "I really didn't mean to upset you before! I just wanted to return your money—that's all! And earlier… You stole my advancement quest first, I was just so desperate I said those things!"
She looked up at Kalis, her clear eyes shining with sincerity.
Now it was Kalis's turn to feel awkward.
Arguments between people weren't won by who was the most stubborn—it was often the one who apologized first that held the moral high ground.
"Ugh… fine then." Kalis scratched his nose awkwardly, caving in reluctantly. "I'll let you tag along as my dead weight. But you promised—all the rewards are mine!"
Awkwardness aside, he wasn't about to let go of any free benefits.
Lia would be basically useless on this quest; he'd be carrying her through it for free. Not taking her 500 gold coins was already being more than generous.
"Mhm mhm! I don't want anything else! I just want to get my advancement smoothly!" Lia nodded her head vigorously like a chick pecking at rice, the gloom on her face vanishing without a trace as a bright smile bloomed on her lips.
Dafiona stood off to the side, watching the bickering pair with a kind smile, and waved her hand gently: "It's settled, then. Off you go now, don't delay the quest deadline."
As soon as she finished speaking, her thin, gnarled hand waved lightly, and a beam of pure, silvery moonlight suddenly descended from above, enveloping both of them.
Kalis and Lia felt their vision blur for a split second, their bodies swaying slightly. When they regained their senses, they were no longer in the tavern; they were standing in the middle of a desolate wilderness.
"Whoa! We're already on the quest just like that?" Both of them froze, staring around in stunned disbelief.
They hadn't even gotten the chance to click the "Accept" button yet; Dafiona had made the decision for them directly.
Kalis pulled out his map and checked their coordinates, and he sucked in a sharp breath of air—they were standing on the exact same forest path between Galewind City and Boulder Town!
The distance and precision of this teleportation…
As expected of a Level 150 Mythic Boss, her power was absolutely terrifying!
"Quick! Check your quest panel!" Lia's excited voice cut through Kalis's amazement.
He opened his quest panel in a hurry, and sure enough, the original quest Repel the Lunar Temple Heirs was gone, and the Second Advancement reward had been merged into the new quest.
[Trail of the Divine Dew Spring (Mythic Party Quest)]
Quest Objective: Travel to either the Divine Sanctuary or the Abyssal Realm with your designated teammate Lia, retrieve the treasure Divine Dew Spring, and bring it back to the Lunar Bard Dafiona at the Boulder Town Tavern.
Quest Time Limit: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes
Quest Rewards: Second Advancement Qualification, Mysterious Grand Prize (worth no less than an artifact)
Note: The Divine Dew Spring must be collected while both players are in a party. Failure to do so will result in quest failure.
"Wow, so I can't even ditch you and finish it alone?" Kalis clicked his tongue in annoyance, looking thoroughly helpless.
He'd just been thinking—with his strength, he could easily sneak into the Abyssal Realm alone to complete the quest, then come back to pick up this dead weight for the turn-in.
Who knew the system had already anticipated his plan, blocking that loophole completely—they had to go together, no exceptions.
"Why would you want to ditch me? I really can help!" Lia pouted again, muttering under her breath.
"Alright, alright, I won't ditch you." Kalis waved his hand dismissively, pulling a Return Scroll out of his backpack, ready to set off.
"Wait a second! You're still red-named!" Lia reacted quickly, grabbing his hand to stop him.
Kalis froze, glancing down at the bright crimson glow above his head, and he felt his face heat up in embarrassment.
Using a Return Scroll while red-named, wouldn't he get teleported straight into the city guard's prison the moment he arrived? Instant jail time?