Upon returning to the Village Hall, Thorian found Melina sighing as she sipped her tea. As he entered, the elven young woman immediately tensed and placed her cup back on its saucer.
"Be at ease, Melina," Thorian said, smiling as he approached the elven woman. "I'm just here to claim the rewards for a couple of quests I've finished."
"Right away, my lord," Melina replied, bowing slightly before retrieving three parchments from beneath her desk. "You have two quests completed and one partially finished. Would you like to claim them all, or just the daily ones?"
"Just the daily ones," Thorian replied, and Melina retrieved her stamp and beeswax once more. After impressing the seal on the two parchments, a notification materialized before Thorian.
Level up!
Personal Resources.
Arcane Coins 200
Having reviewed the rewards from the two quests, Thorian's gaze shifted toward the bulletin board. To his disappointment, he was unable to locate the "Revenge on the Monster" quest.
Nonetheless, Thorian noticed a new quest that hadn't been there previously. Raising an eyebrow at the unexpected opportunity, he made his way over to the board and removed the quest.
Hopefully, it’s a good one.
Purification of Eärendil's Sanctuary Quest Chain Description Venture into the Sheldorwood Forest and locate the entrance to the Lost Elven Sanctuary of Eärendil. Quest Objective
Reach the entrance to the Lost Elven Sanctuary.
Solve the riddle given by the Whispering Trees to gain access to the sanctuary.
Rewards
200 Arcane Coins
500 Experience Points
Eärendil? Isn’t that the dungeon with the corrupted tree monsters?
Upon seeing the words "Quest Chain," a wide grin spread across Thorian's face. He knew that by completing the chain, he would receive truly unique rewards that would set him apart from his competitors.
Eärendil isn't the type of dungeon I can clear right now, but the quest is simply about finding it and solving that riddle.
Though Thorian hadn't spent all his time around Locksley in his past life, he had heard rumors of a perplexing riddle that had cost the lives of five squads.
I don't remember what the riddle was, but Hearth was the answer.
With his plan in place, Thorian glanced back at Melina, only to find her staring wide-eyed at the quest parchment in his hand. Noticing his gaze, Melina quickly shook her head and resumed her usual demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
Lost Elven Sanctuary, huh? Maybe she knows something.
Thorian handed the quest to Melina, who took out her stamp while avoiding eye contact. As he observed the elven woman busily sealing the quest with beeswax, he broached the subject.
"Do you know of a place called Eärendil?"
Melina hesitated just before stamping the quest, then continued her task. As the parchment slowly disintegrated, she looked up at Thorian and smiled.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with it. There are many elves across the thousand worlds, so it might be a city in a world I have no information about."
Thorian furrowed his brow for a moment before shrugging. "That's indeed possible. If your memory is ever jogged and you recall something about this 'Eärendil,' please let me know."
"Of course, my lord. I am at your service," Melina replied, bowing slightly.
Thorian nodded, releasing a small breath before glancing back at the bulletin board. To his surprise, the quest he had just accepted reappeared on the board.
"Can that quest be claimed by multiple people?" Thorian asked Melina with interest.
"Yes, my lord," she nodded. "This first part of the chain quest can be claimed by anyone who wishes to do so."
"That's wonderful news," Thorian smiled. "I'll share it with my subjects very soon."
With that, Thorian left the Village Hall and headed toward the dense patch of forest where the orcs were tirelessly cutting down trees. Their mastery of their weapons and the sharpness of their battleaxes made them far more proficient woodcutters than the kobolds. Zogthar, in particular, was quite impressive, having already felled two medium-sized trees while the others had managed only one.
"Stop!" Thorian commanded as he strode among the orcs. "Take the trees you've cut and follow me."
The orcs grunted and nodded before wrapping their arms around the trees they had felled. Thorian anticipated that Zogthar would struggle with the two trees he had cut, but the orc simply enveloped his entire body in a grey aura and hoisted the two trees, one under each arm.
His strength is truly a sight to behold. His base stats should be even higher than mine.
Contemplating the formidable team of warriors the orcs would become once they received their classes, Thorian's lips quivered with excitement. The orcs' high Strength and Constitution made them an ideal fit for the warrior class.
But not now. They need to be assimilated into the pack first.
After several minutes of laboriously carrying the heavy trees, the orcs, led by Thorian, arrived at the Territory Altar. Their eyes widened, and they dropped the trees they were carrying as soon as they caught sight of the Demon's face.
"Return to your duties," Thorian ordered. "You shall place your work in front of this altar every two hours until you are relieved of your duties. Do you understand?"
"Yes, understood," Zogthar regained his composure and replied respectfully. The other orcs followed suit before heading back to the forest.
With the orcs gone, Thorian placed his palm on the Demon's face. Absorb Wood.
As before, the cut trees disintegrated into specks of light before being absorbed by the Altar. Checking the Territory Resources, Thorian grinned, seeing there was enough wood.
Repair Wall.
Though he couldn't see the result of his command, Thorian felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. Once the tremor ceased, he knew the repair process had been completed.
That should give me enough time. Once Nox evolves, they shouldn’t have trouble with most monsters.
After spending 500 Woof Units on repairing the wall, Thorian made his way toward the Village Hall. He then sat cross-legged right in front of the door and started his meditation.
As he began his breathing technique, Thorian immediately sensed a significant change. The amount of ether he could grasp from the air was much higher than usual.
So this is the effect of the Ether Lines Nexus? That miserly William really didn't want me to meditate here when I visited.
As Thorian guided the dense ether through his Qi channels, he found it much easier to penetrate his relatively clogged pathways. Minutes swiftly passed as Thorian cleared his channels using the dense ether enveloping him. In just under fifteen minutes, the first droplet of Qi materialized in his dantian.
Excellent! With this pace, I should be able to break through the Vermillion Bird's gate.
With a goal in mind, Thorian continued his breathing technique. The second droplet reached his dantian even faster, taking only ten minutes. The third one took eight minutes, as did the rest that followed. Thorian practiced his breathing technique for an hour and a half, amassing a total of ten Qi droplets during the session.
This should be enough.
With the fourteen Qi droplets circulating in his dantian, Thorian directed them toward the entrance of the Vermillion Bird meridian.
It's still stuck?
Undeterred, Thorian pushed the Qi droplets again and again, gradually chipping away at the obstructed entrance. The process was challenging, akin to trying to dig through hard ground with layers of roots underneath using a small shovel. Nevertheless, Thorian persisted. For the remaining thirty minutes, he continued to push his Qi, slowly clearing the entrance.
Finally, with only a minute remaining in his meditation time, one of the Qi droplets broke through the entrance and entered the meridian. The other thirteen Qi droplets followed suit and flowed through the grimy path. Although the path itself was dirty, it wasn't obstructed and allowed for relatively smooth passage. The end of the path, however, was another matter.
When Thorian's Qi reached the end of the meridian path and the entrance to the first node, it became stuck once again. The node's entrance was as clogged as the meridian's gate, if not more so.