｢The Refinement God's Treasury – Unique Quest
Description: A strange gateway has been found in the territory of the Godmar Divine Empire. The Empire has hired you to explore the secrets of the gateway and report back to them.
Note: Certain impositions have been placed on the execution of this quest;
1. All reputation, social relevance and title intimidation will be negated. Player will be regarded as a pioneer by default.
2. True Death constitutes failure.
3. All enemies will be 1 Rank stronger than the player. (Current Rank: Rank 1 - Adventurer)
4. Time limit: 1 year.
Rewards: 100,000,000 platinum, 1 Divine Treasure Chest｣
Draco read the details of the Unique Quest as he trudged along with Qiong Qi and Clarent. They had already blinked towards the Godmar Divine Empire, which was closer to the center of the Cario Continent.
He was pleased by the fact that he would be getting a Divine Chest afterward. He had only one Divine item after all, so the chance to get another one certainly made his heart thump.
However, the contents of the quest disgruntled him. In the Flora and Fauna scenario, it had just been a valley within Sturgehaven Kingdom's borders. He had a solid knowledge about everything within Sturgehaven, so he was able to avoid trouble.
This Godmar Divine Empire was something he had not come into contact with during his previous life. He had certainly heard about them, but he had never actively done anything within their borders.
Not only that, Draco had hoped that the quest scenario would make it so that only he knew where it was, but he understood that this was impossible. As a Unique Quest, there had to be a physical quest giver to start it.
Just like how the Duke of Farst had been the quest giver for the Flora and Fauna Unique Quest, the Godmar Divine Empire were the quest givers for this one.
But any fool could tell that there was a huge difference between having the duke of a normal kingdom as a quest giver, and having a top-tier Divine Empire as one.
His reputation and social relevance had been blocked for the duration of the quest, which was something he had expected. It didn't matter if he went there as Drake the handsome rogue or Draco Morningstar, King over the Vita City-State.
He would be just another pioneer by the roadside. Admittedly, at least a pioneer good enough to be hired for such an important mission.
He would also fail if he died truly. This was something he hadn't expected, and it raised the difficulty of the Unique Quest by almost 100 times. True death here meant dying once and for all.
Draco was - now more than ever - eternally grateful for his Isle of Avalon passive as well as its rebalance. Right now, it gave him 3 extra lives everyday with 5 second invincibility after each one ended. After those 3 lives were gone, the next one would be true death, and he would fail.
Previously, it had only allowed him to ignore all penalties for death, which was a vastly different thing. In essence, each death was treated like a true death, only that he would never drop items, lose experience or suffer a time penalty for respawning.
So, the old version would have allowed him to lose nothing, but it would be no different from not having the skill. One death and boom, no more Unique Quest.
Utility was never fixed, it was always relative. The rebalanced version sounded weaker than the old version on paper, but it also had strengths that the old version could never dream of having.
Even better, it wasn't like Draco had only 3 extra lives for the whole Unique Quest. His 3 lives refreshed every day, so all he had to do was avoid getting killed more than three times in a row within 24 hours, and he would be set.
As for the third imposition, he could only smile bitterly. He knew that he was supposed to enter the Divine Quest at Rank 2, which was why he had rushed to Rank up.
A Divine Unique Quest was not something a measly Rank 1 scrub could hope to complete. However, his exp gain rate was a mere 10%!
Look at how long it took normal players to reach the middle levels of Rank 1. More than four months had passed in-game, and they were still yet to hit level 40.
Most of them had 100% exp gain rate and they spent 90% of their time grinding with the last 10% spent offline/resting.
Draco could kill a vast number of monsters, clearing Field Zone after Field Zone, but his experience gain would be just as bad as a normal player clearing a dungeon in a team.
It would take a week or two of continuous grinding to hit Rank 2, and then, there was the issue of his growth items. Those experience drains were what held Draco back and stifled his growth.
He now only gained 10% experience, how was he supposed to raise them up? It had already been hard before, now it was almost impossible to do so without spending a year or more on each item.
So, his goal was two-fold. He would first kill monsters in the Unique Quest to raise his level and reach the Rank cap (level 50). With his increased stats and the distance between him and the enemies shortened, he could focus on the items next.
Level Suppression and Rank Suppression were two different things. Every 5 levels of difference would lower the weaker party's stats by 5%. Additionally, every Rank difference lowered the weaker party's damage and defense by 30% whereas it increased damage and damage of the higher Ranked party by 30%.
When these two combined, it became clear why fighting above your Rank required you to be as broken as Draco to even consider it. Draco was currently a level 23 Rank 1 - Adventurer.
If he met a Level 50, Rank 2 enemy, his stats would be reduced by 25% and his damage as well as his defense would be reduced by 30%, while the other party would have the same thing increased by the same amount.
How was one supposed to fight like that?
Thankfully, his Divine Class gave him insane stats, so the stat reduction wouldn't be too debilitating. It would certainly sting like hell, but he would be able to fight considerably well.
As for the damage and defense reduction, it was a kick to the knee. It was why he hated fighting above his Rank even though he could technically do so. There was no way to bypass this aside from Ranking up himself.
Whatever the case, he would have to enter the gateway and assess the situation on the other side first. That would be the only way to make sure that he could actually complete this damn quest.
It was the final condition that made him frown the most. What was the use of such a long-time limit? Even the Flora and Fauna Unique Quest, in its original version, would have taken about a month. His interference only shortened it to slightly over a week.
But one whole year? Did the AI feel that Draco would sleep for 350 days and then finally move out during the last 15 days of the year?
Despite all its love for Draco, it would never do that. With such a lengthy time limit, it indicated that if he followed the script of the quest, it would take him a very long time to complete it.
This alone would have made him turn back without hesitation in the past, but since he and Eva were already together in the real world, he could only trudge on. In any case, he would come out often to see his Celestial Beauty in order to calm his mind.
Draco reached the gates of a large and stylish city that was even bigger and more bustling than his own Vita City-State. After all, this was the capital of the Godmar Divine Empire, Godshold.
One could not compare a mere independent City-State to the capital of a Divine Empire, no matter how promising Vita City-State was. This was a city that had existed for years, and it was part of one of the top-tier empires in the world.
Draco reached the gate and saw some guards doing checks. He smiled and went with his two pals to gain entry to the city.
"Halt! State your business." One guard demanded with a neutral expression as he gazed at Draco calmly.
This was in part due to his training and in part due to the confidence he had in his empire. He would even stop a Rank 3 or Rank 4 person, much less a Rank 1 fellow.
Draco bowed respectfully and spoke. "I have been hired by the crown to investigate the gateway that opened up recently. My name is Draco."
Unlike the previous Unique Quest where he had entered with an altered look, he went as his true self. This was the difference power and standing could beget. He could afford to be high profile in many matters now.
Seeing Draco's respectful demeanor as well as hearing his reason for coming here, the guards relaxed and turned more friendly. The one who stopped him sized him up with appreciation, because he could sense the air of a combatant in the fellow.
Heh, if Draco didn't lock his aura within his body with Control, these fellows would certainly be feeling a lot more than just him being an adept fighter.
"Please follow me. The royal family eagerly await your arrival, Mr. Draco." The guard said as he led Draco into the city.
The city of Godshold was truly lively. It was styled after a renaissance era French city, with arranged buildings, wide roads that were semi-tiled and shops in buildings with glass displays.
It was truly a stark difference compared to Sturgehaven Kingdom's cities that were the typical medieval standard, with barely linear organization, plenty of alleyways and shops that were set up in the open.
Draco and the guard went through the city unobstructed. In fact, many parties stopped to ogle at him. Not only was he handsome, but he was actually being escorted by a guardsman.
This wasn't something one saw every day, so it attracted the intrigue of the local populace. However, none dared to go up and obstruct them, opting to just watch on the side.
Draco was led to an opulent palace that was ten times the size of the Aether Hall. This palace could be a city of its own in the real world, that was how large it was.
He passed by the royal guard at the gates of the palace, who stopped the guardsman leading him to explain why he was bringing someone in. After verifying his story, they sent the original guardsman back to his post while one of them took over.
Draco was impressed by the level of security and caution in this city. They weren't lackadaisical about such matters like the common kingdoms, they were much more organized and civilized overall.
Draco was brought into a throne room, where a court was being held. Many nobles and representatives of the various organizations within the Divine Empire were bringing up crucial matters for the Emperor to resolve.
The whole area paused when Draco was brought in, as everyone stopped to assess the newcomer. The Emperor sat regally on his throne, with his empress beside him and two sons standing behind his seat.
He gestured for the royal guard to come forward and report, which the fellow did in a disciplined manner. "My Emperor, this man is called Draco. He is the Pioneer hired by the Chamberlain to investigate the recently opened gateway."
The court buzzed at that, especially when they realized that Draco was the topic of their meeting. They had just been discussing this bizarre anomaly when the person meant to resolve it appeared.
The Emperor revealed a light smile as he shot a glance at his royal Chamberlain, who was an old man that sat within the court. He simply smiled and nodded to his Emperor.
The Emperor then focused on Draco, sizing him up for a bit. He then gestured to Draco to come forth. "Approach the dais, Pioneer Draco, and let us discuss the maxims of your employment."