Ding!
————
[The Runic Parchments] (Quest)
Difficulty: C
Stumbling across a random parchment at the end of the Common Caves, you decided to take a look at what it contains, only to be forced back by a wave of mental anguish. However, with your incredible tenacity and determination, you eventually found out that the parchment contains a set of runes, runes whose size was incomprehensible for someone of your rank.
Looking at it for a bit more, you noticed that the runes were arranged in a manner that would make a greater part of a whole, a part of a magic circle, to be more exact. With that, you've decided to find the other parts making up the magic circle, wondering what kind of secrets the parchments truly hold.
Fortunately, all of them could be found within the dungeons you're currently traversing.
Quest Objectives:
> Find the 1st Runic Parchment within the Common Caves (1/1)
> Find the 2nd Runic Parchment within the Uncommon Depths (0/1)
> Find the 3rd Runic Parchment within the Rare Abyss (0/1)
Quest Rewards:
> ???
Quest Penalty:
> ???
————
"Question marks for the rewards and the penalty…" Rubbing his chin as he finished reading the description of the quest he had just received, Valyr eventually scratched the back of his head as he closed the screen before him, letting out a faint sigh as he decided to place the parchment he had picked up in his spatial bracelet for the meantime.
"Well, if it's any consolation prize, I don't need to deviate from my original objective in this place," said Valyr to himself as he finally passed through the final door, appearing back at the entrance of the Common Caves not long after.
Turning to look at the sky to see how much time was left before sunset, Valyr looked at the two other entrances to his left before deciding to head back to the outpost for now, seeing that it was already a bit past afternoon.
With that, he swiftly headed into the only eatery within the outpost and got his order taken by one of the waiters, giving him time to think about the quest he received at the end of his first dungeon run while he waited for his order to arrive.
'The runic parchments… I definitely haven't come across any of this back when I was a player…' Rummaging through his treasure trove of memories from back when he was still a player, Valyr eventually found no mention of the parchments in his memories at all, prompting him to think that the parchments weren't a thing during the public release of Greater Beyond.
'Well, there is also the possibility that a player might have come across the parchments while they were grinding in the dungeons of Lesser Meltierre Mountains and kept the quest all to themselves.' At this thought, Valyr faintly shrugged his shoulders, letting out a faint sigh. 'In any case, it doesn't change the fact that I'm going at this blind.'
'Then again, I could say the same thing for almost all of the quests I've accepted so far.' Valyr let out a soft chuckle, only for the plate of food he had ordered to arrive a few seconds later. 'After all, none of these quests I've had experience completing back when I was still a player.'
'Moving all of that aside, what are the runic parchments for?' Beginning to munch on his food, Valyr recalled the arrangement of the runes he had seen on the parchment he had picked up, getting to the conclusion that the runes formed part of a large magic circle.
After that, he rummaged through his memories to see if there were any magic spells or the like that involved the usage of multiple runic parchments, only to come up empty-handed. Reminded of how he knew nothing about the runic parchments and what their purpose was, a slight frown appeared on Valyr's face as he continued to eat his food.
Fortunately, by the time he was finished eating, this frown was nowhere to be found, instead being replaced with a look of determination as he promised himself that he was going to find out what the runic parchments' purpose was, swiftly making his way back to the entrances of the three dungeons within minutes.
…
While making his way to the entrance that led to the Uncommon Depths, Valyr noticed the man that stopped from heading straight to the entrances earlier, only allowing them to do so once the man was finished reminding them of the dangers of the dungeons.
Seeing as the man had stopped another group of people from entering the dungeons, he briefly nodded at the man before focusing his attention on heading to the Uncommon Depths once more.
Whoosh!
Appearing within the beginning room of the dungeon, Valyr took a look at his surroundings, taking note of the fact that there was not much difference between the appearance of the Uncommon Depths and the Common Caves he had delved earlier.
'Then again, that's also the case back when I was a player. Same could be said about the Rare Abyss, actually.'
Taking in a deep breath to prepare himself for the spike in difficulty that came alongside the change in name, Valyr went ahead and passed through the dark gray barrier that would lead him to the first area. Though, rather than be greeted by an absurdly long corridor, just like back in the Common Caves, what greeted the young man instead was a large circular hall, with a sparse number of dark skeletons roaming about.
However, when compared to the skeletons from the Common Caves, the color of the bones of the skeletons in the Uncommon Depths seemed more gray rather than black, with the light behind their eye sockets now flickering at greater intensity.
Aside from that, some of the skeleton parts were covered with dirty and tattered cloth, with all of them wielding a long staff that had a stone affixed to one of its ends.
"[Analysis]."
Ding!
————
[Skeleton Acolyte (Uncommon Elite)] (Level 33)
HP: 1,515/1,515
MP: 1,785/1,785
Stats: 101 VIT, 119 STR, 101 AGI, 50 DEX, 119 INT, 65 WIS, 65 PER, 50 LUK
Remarks: Though they may have sacrificed some of their physical stats for magic, they remain a force to be reckoned with… even if they may still basically be a pile of bones.
————
"If I remember correctly, I'll be facing against Skeleton Acolytes in this dungeon, while I'll be up against Skeleton Mages in the Rare Abyss," muttered Valyr to himself, deciding to brush up on his knowledge regarding the three dungeons. However, after pondering over it for a bit, he noticed a peculiar pattern.
"Wait a second… now that I think about it, the three dungeons are arranged in a way that each dungeon exhibits greater usage of magic than the last."
"I mean… I've also noticed that back then when I was a player, but I didn't think too much about it. At most, I just found it a cool coincidence." At those words, Valyr looked at the runic parchment that was currently in his spatial bracelet. "What if these runic parchments I'm collecting…"
"…would lead me to the true reason behind the creation of these three dungeons?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Well, there's only one way to find out."
