[You have obtained equipment: Slime-Slick Boots (Common)]
[You have obtained material: Slime Gel.]
Rhys casually tapped to open the attributes of the Slime-Slick Boots.
[Slime-Slick Boots (Common)]
[Attributes: Intelligence +2, Agility +2]
[Effect: When worn, slightly increases movement speed and slightly reduces Slime aggro]
[Affix: None]
Rhys immediately applied the newly acquired Efficient Casting (Common) affix onto it, then equipped the boots.
The blue Slime-Slick Boots felt sticky and looked somewhat bulky. Rhys shook his head and chose to turn off the equipment display in the system menu, finally returning from the awkward feeling.
The appearance transformation system in The Epoch of Endings is different from other games. Different equipment affects the player's feel differently—for example, heavy armor increases burden, and although showing the appearance grants extra defense, it also restricts player movement.
Therefore, besides the equipment worn on the body, there are appearance transformation outfits, which significantly impact combat. Since the transformation system had not yet been unlocked, Rhys had to sacrifice some ability in exchange for combat comfort.
After all, if the appearance is not shown, the slight reduction in Slime aggro from the Slime-Slick Boots would be lost. Fortunately, Rhys did not rely much on that ability, so it did not matter much.
This was a fairly standard pair of boots. Though its attributes were better than the beginner set, the improvement was limited. It wasn't something that excited Rhys. What truly pleased him was another piece of loot dropped by the Slime.
[Item: Slime Gel (Common)]
[Effect: Special gel dropped by Slimes. Someone in Riverwood seems very interested in it]
[Affix: Special Item]
The "Special Item" affix mostly referred to quest-triggering items. This was also why Rhys had chosen to hunt Slimes immediately—not only for the Efficient Casting affix but also for the Slime Gel.
Though not a Unique item, it was the prerequisite item for the quest related to the Ancient-grade necklace. That quest was unique, and Rhys was uncertain when he had triggered it in his previous life, so he chose to secure the quest item first.
Only then did he return to Riverwood and headed straight toward the mayor's house.
By this time, most players had entered the game and gathered around the mayor's house, chatting nonstop.
The mayor acted like a true NPC, distributing beginner quests to everyone steadily and without any sign of fatigue.
Seeing this, Rhys pondered for a moment, then walked to the neighboring tavern, took out a Chronocoin, and bought a bottle of low-alcohol fruit wine.
The shopkeeper took an exhausted Chronocoin and lightly scraped Rhys's Chronocoin, deducting 0.1 units of time—the price of the fruit wine.
Chronocoins were extremely precious. After the internal time was consumed, the coin itself would not disintegrate. Rhys could still absorb time from surrounding Chronocoins, making these coins the currency used for transactions between players and NPCs.
After getting the fruit wine, Rhys returned to the mayor's house and seized a chance to approach him.
"Young stranger, welcome to Riverwood. I wonder—"
Before the mayor could finish speaking, Rhys interrupted by holding out the bottle.
"Stranger, is this for me?"
In The Epoch of Endings, all players are collectively called "strangers." They are beings from another world, belonging to the ancient Mythic class, now reborn into this realm. The mayor of Riverwood is responsible for guiding them to integrate into this world—it's his duty.
But that doesn't mean the mayor actually enjoys spending all his time here, endlessly chatting with the strangers. Although he is an NPC in the game, his intelligence is no different from a normal human. He has his own life, emotions, joys, and sorrows. Even though he follows the divine decree, he still harbors some dissatisfaction.
Especially after hosting so many strangers, the mayor was parched and dry. Seeing his favorite wine, how could he not get excited?
When Rhys nodded, the mayor cheerfully took the bottle, popped the cork, and took a hearty sip. "Good wine! This is from the grocery next door, right? Stranger, you're very thoughtful."
The mayor glanced at Rhys with approval—such a polite stranger was a rarity.
Although bound by duty to guide every stranger into the world, Rhys was the only Unique stranger who showed concern for his weariness and bought him a drink. The mayor could not alter the divine will, but his opinion of Rhys had changed.
"Since you've arrived in this world, I wonder if you could help Mrs. Chen from West Street. Her cat has gone missing. Someone said they saw it near the corner of East Street."
"If you complete this task, come back to me. I will give you the reward you deserve."
Completing quests and earning rewards is an unbreakable law set by the gods for strangers. The mayor cannot go against it, but he can choose which tasks to assign to whom. Finding a missing cat is one of the easiest tasks, not too troublesome.
This was the mayor's goodwill gesture toward Rhys. But Rhys hadn't spent Chronocoins on fruit wine for such a simple quest.
All beginner quests reward the starter set, which was not important to Rhys.
What he cared about was something else.
Clearing his throat, Rhys said to the mayor, "When I was outside the town, I found this. I wonder if you know what it is."
As he spoke, Rhys took out the Slime Gel he had just obtained and placed it before the mayor's eyes.
The mayor wiped his glasses and carefully examined the Slime Gel. After hesitating for a moment, he looked Rhys up and down.
"Young people are truly impressive, truly impressive."
The mayor spoke slowly: "I didn't expect you to dare go out hunting Fiends. A long, long time ago, Riverwood was a great city, but after losing the gods' protection, Fiends began to breed. Our living area kept shrinking until only this palm-sized patch called Riverwood remained."
"Stranger, since you have the ability to kill Fiends, would you be willing to investigate the north side of the town? It used to be a place of worship for the gods, but now it has become a nest for Fiends."
As the mayor's voice fell, the system notification sounded softly.
[Do you accept the chained quest: Ruins of the Gods?]
[Warning: This is a chained quest of extreme difficulty. Failure means no reward. Please consider carefully before accepting.]
"Of course."
[Chained quest accepted: Ruins of the Gods.]
[Quest: Ruins of the Gods (1)]
[Content: The mayor of Riverwood has told you the history of Riverwood and assigned you to investigate the northern ruins.]
[Objective: Enter the northern ruins deeply and gather information.]
[Reward: Unlock Ruins of the Gods (2)]
Seeing the prompt before him, Rhys smiled slightly.
This quest was the chained quest his friend mentioned, the one that could yield an Ancient-level necklace. The rewards were generous. Even without counting the Ancient necklace, it was a very good hidden quest.
Just as Rhys was about to bid farewell and leave, the mayor called him back.
The mayor pulled a set of azure Mage robes and a first-level branch-tipped staff from a chest behind him and handed them to Rhys.
"Young stranger, the ruins are extremely dangerous. Take this equipment with you before you go. I'll be here waiting for your good news."
Seeing this, Rhys's eyes brightened.
Although the starter gear's stats were mediocre, getting it without completing a quest was a free gain — how could he refuse?
After thanking him, Rhys took the equipment and glanced at its attributes.
[Item: Starter Mage Robe (Common)]
[Attributes: Intelligence +1, Constitution +1]
[Effect: Slightly increases Mana affinity]
[Set bonus: Slightly increases health regeneration]
[Entry: None]
All starter sets shared the same attributes and included six pieces: staff, robe, gloves, pants, boots, and hood. Wearing the full set granted additional bonuses.
Rhys didn't need the health regeneration, so he didn't equip the starter Mage boots.
Once fully dressed, Rhys's attributes changed significantly.
[Player: Abysswalker]
[Lifespan: 69 years]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 6 (+5)]
[Intelligence: 10 (+7)]
[Constitution: 6 (+5)]
[Skills: None]
[Entries: None]
[Free attribute points: 5]
Looking over his stats, Rhys nodded with satisfaction. The next step was to allocate points. He hesitated for a moment—what should he invest in?