The Three Great Adventurer Quests!
In response to Hermes's question, Roy answered calmly, "There's probably no one who doesn't know about them."
A thousand years ago, three fearsome monsters emerged from the Dungeon and descended upon the surface world, bringing catastrophic destruction to countless nations and cities. The number of lives lost because of them was beyond measure.
Orario possessed the greatest fighting power in the world.
It was the shared wish of people across the globe to entrust Orario with the task of subjugating those three monsters.
The King of the Land — Behemoth!
The Tyrant of the Seas — Leviathan!
The Symbol of the End — the Black Dragon!
The first two had been defeated ten years ago by the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia. Only the Black Dragon remained—its power so overwhelming that it led to the annihilation of both Familias.
Even now, the Black Dragon slept in the distant north of the continent, at the very edge of the world.
Hermes, as if transformed into the greatest orator alive, passionately explained the Three Great Adventurer Quests to Roy, his impassioned voice stirring the heart.
But Roy remained unmoved, like an unyielding stone, watching Hermes as though he were merely enjoying a performance.
Hermes flashed an excited grin. "Little brother Roy, the world longs for a hero to rise. Become one! You have the qualifications!"
"I'll do what I can."
Roy instantly understood what Hermes was trying to do—he wanted to coax him into hunting the Black Dragon. Seriously… well played.
In high spirits, Hermes patted Roy on the shoulder. "I have high hopes for you!"
Roy watched Hermes leave. He didn't let the praise go to his head. Subjugating the Black Dragon? Don't be ridiculous. At his current level, he wasn't even qualified to be cannon fodder.
Name: Roy
Lv.: 2
Strength: 267 → 788 (B)
Endurance: 238 → 521 (D)
Dexterity: 398 → 652 (C)
Agility: 460 → 689 (C)
Magic: 290 → 415 (F)
Development Abilities:
Abnormal Resistance (I)
Skills:
My Lord Is Here
Blood for Blood
Magic:
Lord of Thunder
Roy opened his status window. His total ability increase amounted to 1,412. Unlike the battle with Goliath, this time he had single-handedly defeated a Lv.3 adventurer.
Lv.4 Goliath and Lv.3 Hyakinthos had become his stepping stones—he had accomplished a great feat.
[Great Feat achieved. Level up?]
Roy selected "No" and closed the interface.
Defeating Hyakinthos had let him taste the sweetness of pushing his abilities beyond the limit. Every level-up made him unrivaled among peers and gave him the capital to challenge higher levels.
His target had never been the small fry of Orario, but the few standing at the very top.
"The Braver" Finn, "The Heavy Warrior" Gareth, "The Sword Princess" Ais Wallenstein, and "The King" Ottar.
Those people reached near-limit values every time they leveled up. If he wanted to catch up—or even defeat them—he needed even higher numbers.
After all, they possessed racial advantages. Roy knew that as an ordinary human, he was inferior by nature. If he didn't push his most basic abilities to their limits, everything else was just empty talk.
Time flew by. Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Fully recovered from the exhaustion of his battle with Hyakinthos, Roy left Stardust Garden alone.
Ryuu, his usual muscle, had been summoned away by Goddess Astraea. For Roy, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing—there was something he couldn't conveniently bring her along for.
Serdia's Treasure Map!
It had dropped from the treasure chest obtained after defeating Goliath. Digging up the grave of an elven royal family was not something elves could ever find out about. Otherwise, every elf in the world would hunt him down—instant social death.
Roy took out the treasure map. It was a finely crafted parchment scroll, smooth and pleasant to the touch.
Unrolling it, he found something resembling a positioning map.
A glowing point marked his current location, while another point clearly indicated the treasure's whereabouts.
Roy didn't head there immediately. In fact, he had taken out the map several times before and noticed that the treasure's location kept moving—sometimes far to the west, sometimes even out at sea.
Such movement was far beyond the capabilities of any ordinary tool. A trace of seriousness entered Roy's eyes. He could already sense the eeriness of this expedition.
But not going was impossible.
The treasure map came with a one-time teleport function.
[Initiate teleportation?]
The moment Roy selected "Yes," ripples like water spread through the air as space itself twisted.
His body gradually vanished.
When Roy came back to his senses, everything in the room was gone. A gentle breeze brushed his face. Before his eyes stretched an endless range of mountains, lush green forests covering the hills, with the roars of beasts echoing from deep within.
"Where is this…?"
Roy checked the treasure map again and couldn't help widening his eyes. He was already more than three thousand kilometers southeast of Orario.
So this was teleportation…
Terrifying, indeed.
This place was undoubtedly the treasure site. After surveying his surroundings, Roy followed the map's guidance and moved toward his objective.
Roar!
Suddenly, a lizard as large as a grown man burst out from the dense grass. Its tongue shot forward like a whip, stabbing straight toward Roy's forehead.
Roy remained unfazed. Drawing the Muramasa Sword, now reduced to only half its original length, he flashed his blade and severed the creature's tongue.
Thud!
The sword thrust forward, piercing the lizard's head. Its entire body instantly crumbled into dust.
All monsters originated from the Dungeon. However, monsters that reached the surface followed reproductive instincts, producing offspring. In doing so, part of the power of their magic stones was divided.
Since a thousand years ago, as these monsters continued to reproduce, their overall strength had weakened.
Surface monsters were no match for those in the Dungeon, usually dropping by one whole level.
With the ability values of a top-tier Lv.2 adventurer, Roy was unstoppable on the surface.
The magic stones dropped by these monsters were so small that Roy didn't even bother collecting them. Cutting down monsters along the way, he passed through a winding path several hundred meters long and finally arrived at his destination.
Even without checking the map, he could clearly feel it—this was the treasure site.
Before him lay a circular cave with a radius of about three meters. Its interior was pitch-black and unfathomably deep, cold and silent like an abyss. The surrounding stillness was enough to instill fear.
Roy stared at the cave, his gaze firmly locked onto it, as though his very soul might be swallowed.
"A Lv.2 brat dares come to a place like this? Are you looking to die?"
A pleasant voice suddenly rang out.
Roy's heart jolted. Goosebumps covered his body as his mind snapped into clarity. He turned sharply and saw, thirty meters to the left of the cave, beneath a large tree, an elderly woman in gray robes sitting atop a bluestone.
Silver hair pinned up with a hairpin, she appeared aged, yet her figure and features were flawless, possessing a natural harmony that radiated nobility.
The silver-haired goddess's blood-red eyes calmly fixed on Roy, a faint smile playing at the corner of her lips.
She seemed completely merged with nature itself. Even with Roy's keen perception, he hadn't detected her presence at all.
"A… god."
Roy's lips moved slightly as he felt the overwhelming pressure radiating from her—
Divine Might.
Simply put, the majesty of a god. One glance was enough to make it unmistakably clear.
This was a deity.
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