Chapter 81 -81-A Clue to the Codex of Priest, Zone-wide Dungeon Opens
"What a weakling."
John put away his mage staff.
From the moment he entered the dungeon to the moment he killed the boss, only a few minutes had passed.
He had wanted to enjoy the sheer thrill of mowing down monsters with mage equipment for a bit longer.
Yet the boss in this dungeon had turned out to be far weaker than he had expected.
John had not felt even a trace of the joy of being a mage.
Just as he was about to leave the dungeon, the Dark Throne at the very top suddenly began to glow faintly.
Sensing that something was off, John instantly flashed forward.
He placed his hand against the dim light.
In the next moment—
[Congratulations, you have triggered the Hidden Quest "Purify Dark Palace"!]
[Quest Requirement]: Sit upon the throne and wait for three days, using your own righteous aura to gradually purify this palace.
[Quest Reward]: Other Codex of Classes Quest Scroll ×1
[Description]: The dark palace has lost its monarch, but the dark city still remains.
Only one who bears justice in their heart can drive out all the darkness from this city and restore it to normal.]
...
"There’s actually another clue to a new Codex of Classes."
John’s eyes lit up at once.
To him, staying in the dungeon for three days was no hardship at all.
As long as one had a little patience, anyone could do it.
"I’m taking this quest."
John sat down directly on the Dark Throne.
Since, after his class advancement, he now belonged to the Dark Spacetime Assassin class, sitting on the throne caused him not the slightest discomfort.
At the same time, as he sat down, pure white radiance slowly began to bloom outward from the throne as its point of origin.
It was easy to foresee that as long as John sat there for the full three days, the entire Dark Throne would naturally be purified into a Light Throne.
John closed his eyes and began waiting patiently.
Day after day passed.
The radiance of light gradually spread throughout the entire palace.
By the third day, the final trace of dark aura in the corner of the palace finally dissipated.
At this moment, the whole palace shone as brightly as a miniature sun.
John had remained seated for the full three days.
The moment he rose to his feet, a notification rang in his ear.
[Thank you for your efforts. You have obtained the Codex of Priest Quest!]
John immediately opened the panel to check it.
[Codex of Priest Quest]
[Quest Location]: World Tree Dungeon (671, 627)
[Quest Requirement]: Defeat all lifeforms on the lower level, including the diamond-grade Boss.
[Quest Reward]: Codex of Priest
...
"The World Tree Dungeon, huh?"
A sharp gleam flashed in John’s eyes.
Although he did not yet know the strength of the monsters inside that dungeon, since the boss was diamond-grade, it definitely would not be weak.
But there was not the slightest fear in his heart.
"A diamond-grade boss should at least be able to endure my mage damage a little longer."
The corners of John’s lips curled upward. With a thought, he exited the dungeon.
...
Zone 5, City Lord Mansion
John’s figure reappeared where he had left.
The moment he showed up, a notification sounded in his ear.
[Attention: The Zone-wide Dungeon was opened three days ago. The first Zone to clear the Zone-wide Dungeon will receive a reward.]
"Zone-wide Dungeon?"
John froze for a moment.
Three days ago—that was exactly when he had accepted the Hidden Quest inside Dark Palace.
He had not expected to miss this opportunity by accident.
However, since the system had issued this notification, it meant that no Zone had yet claimed the first-clear reward.
"And with the strength of the players in Zone 5, even without me around, they should still be able to secure the first-clear reward on their own, right?"
He immediately opened the Zone-wide Dungeon progress panel.
[Zone-wide Dungeon, platinum-grade, Level 40 difficulty]
[Zone 1]: 98% progress
[Zone 2]: 85% progress
[Zone 3]: 87% progress
[Zone 4]: 79% progress
[Zone 5]: 0% progress
...
"Hm?"
When John saw that Zone 5’s progress was actually 0%, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
"How could Zone 5’s progress possibly be 0%?"
Sensing that something was wrong, he flashed away and appeared on the street.
The moment John showed up, he immediately drew the attention of nearby players.
Vice guild leader Alan was the first to notice him.
His eyes lit up, and delight appeared on his face.
"Guild leader, you’re finally back! We’ve been looking everywhere for you these past few days. Where exactly did you go?"
John looked at him and frowned.
Alan was already a Level 50 Holy Warrior. Logically speaking, with his combat strength, leading the other players into the dungeon should not have been difficult.
John asked, "I went to clear a dungeon. For certain special reasons, I stayed in it a little longer. When I came out just now, I heard that the Zone-wide Dungeon had opened. Why is our zone’s progress at 0%?"
At those words, the surrounding players all showed expressions that were hard to describe.
Alan looked troubled, as if he did not know how to explain it.
Seeing this, John said impatiently, "If there’s something to say, just say it."
Alan let out a sigh.
"To be honest... this matter has something to do with you, guild leader."
John looked baffled.
"With me?"
Alan nodded, worry on his face.
"Three days ago, when the dungeon first appeared, we wanted to go in and push the progress immediately. But as soon as we reached the dungeon entrance, it informed us that the first player from our zone to enter had to be the highest-level player in the zone.
And the highest-level player in our zone just happens to be you, guild leader.
In other words, if you didn’t enter first, then none of the players in Zone 5 would be allowed to enter.
But during this time, you weren’t even in the zone.
That’s why our progress has been stuck at 0% the entire time."
Hearing that, an awkward expression appeared on John’s face.
He had never expected that the real culprit behind Zone 5’s 0% progress would turn out to be himself.
But in the end, it was still the rule of this Zone-wide Dungeon that was completely absurd.
He had never seen any dungeon before that required the highest-level player to enter first before everyone else could go in.
"Guild leader, Zone 1 already has 98% progress by now.
I’m afraid the first-clear reward is going to end up in their hands this time."
One of the battle group members spoke regretfully.
Vice guild leader Alan gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"It can’t be helped. Who told us not to work hard enough and fall too far behind Boss John in levels?
All we can say is that our luck was bad this time. The players from another zone are going to get a free advantage."
Hearing the sighs all around him, John felt a surge of irritation rise in his chest.
"Enough with the long faces. A few of you, come with me—I’ll take you into the dungeon!"
Alan was stunned.
"But guild leader, Zone 1’s progress is already at 98%. Even if we go in now—"
"Cut the nonsense."
John interrupted him directly.
"As long as I’m here, the first-clear reward can only belong to Zone 5.
Find four more people right now and form a party with me.
Isn’t it just 98% progress?
If I say we’re going to overtake them, then we’re going to overtake them."
That domineering declaration left everyone stunned for a long while.
Only after John urged them again did Alan quickly select several people to form a party.
Very soon, the five-man team was confirmed.
Party Leader: John
Members: Alan, Fioc, Evelyn, Lillian
Among them, John had the highest level at a full 70, with dual classes: Assassin and Mage.
Alan and Evelyn were both Level 50, belonging to the Warrior and Priest classes respectively.
Fioc was an Archer, Level 47.
Lillian was a Mage, Level 45.
It was an exceptionally luxurious lineup.