Chapter 49: The Hunt for Divine Blessings
Liam’s eyes narrowed. "You have a grudge against Eira, the Frost Goddess? What does that have to do with me? I’m just an ordinary Adventurer."
"An ordinary Adventurer?"
Aria Mist offered a noncommittal smile. "Right. You’re just an Adventurer. You can die and respawn as many times as you like. In that case, let me have some fun for once."
Liam instinctively stepped back. "This is the Royal Capital. If you start a fight here, are you sure you’ll be able to walk out?"
Aria didn't bother responding. She raised a hand, and a dark gray longbow materialized in her grasp.
The moment the bow appeared, Liam felt a crushing sense of dread tighten around his heart.
"For the sake of the Lord of the Mortal Sanctum, I shall deliver Heavenly Retribution upon you—you scum of the Western Domains!"
"Wait!"
Liam frowned, speaking quickly. "You think I destroyed the Mortal Sanctum?"
"Did you not?" Aria asked, her voice like ice.
Liam shook his head. "No, you’ve got it wrong. I didn't destroy it."
"Hmph. You expect me to believe that? If you didn't destroy the Mortal Sanctum, how did you obtain her Divine Blessing?"
Liam smiled and pressed a finger to the center of his brow.
A unique mark flickered into existence on his forehead.
Aria froze, her eyes wide with shock. "The Deicide Mark?!"
"That’s impossible... even if the Village Chief gave that to you, it should have vanished the moment the Mortal Sanctum fell."
Liam felt a jolt of relief. His hunch had been right. If he had actually destroyed the Mortal Sanctum, the Deicide Mark—which once belonged to the Lord of the Mortal Sanctum—would have disappeared.
Choosing to slay the remnant soul of Eira, the Frost Goddess, had been the right move after all.
The Deicide Mark did more than just grant immunity to Divine Pressure; it allowed the bearer to strip a god of their power upon their death. Because the mark had been in the hands of the Lord of the Mortal Sanctum when Eira was defeated, it had granted the Frost Immunity trait.
"Since you recognize it, you should understand that I didn't destroy the Mortal Sanctum," Liam said.
Aria looked at him with a mix of suspicion and confusion. "Then where did your Divine Blessing from the Frost Goddess come from?"
"Have you ever heard the saying?"
"What saying?"
"Transfer me fifty and show me your strength."
Aria stared at him blankly. "???"
Liam could tell from her expression that the meme was lost on her.
"The Frost Goddess wanted me to destroy the Mortal Sanctum. She promised to give me the Astral Kingdom in return. Obviously, I didn't believe a word of it. So, I told her to 'transfer me fifty' first to prove she was actually capable of rewarding me."
"So the Divine Blessing... was the 'fifty'?" Aria asked tentatively.
Liam nodded. "Exactly."
"And you took the bribe without destroying the Sanctum?"
Liam nodded again. "Yeah. I mean, the payment was just to prove her strength. Once she proved she was strong enough to be worth killing, I finished her off."
Aria’s pupils constricted. She realized she couldn't quite read this man.
However, the Deicide Mark was real. Furthermore, the fact that the Novice Village had already returned to the Eastern Realms supported Liam’s story.
Aria stowed her longbow. Liam took the opportunity to ask, "If you don't mind me asking, what’s your class? I haven't completed my Class Awakening yet."
"I am Heavenly Retribution," Aria replied coldly.
"Heavenly Retribution?"
Liam had never heard of such a class in his past life. But seeing her summon that longbow, she was clearly an Archer. The sheer pressure she radiated convinced him that her class was anything but ordinary.
"What? Are you actually thinking of taking my class for yourself?" Aria asked mockingly.
Liam nodded. "Something like that. Is your class Saintly Grade or Divine Grade?"
Disdain flashed in Aria’s eyes at the mention of those tiers. It was as if Saintly and Divine Hidden Classes were beneath her notice.
As he suspected...
Heavenly Retribution shared the same naming convention as his Beyond God-Tier talent.
It was Transcendent Grade!
Liam had asked only to bait a reaction, and Aria’s response confirmed his theory. She held a Transcendent Grade Hidden Class! And it was for an Archer!
If that were the case, he had to get his hands on it no matter what. With a Beyond God-Tier talent and a Transcendent Grade Hidden Class, he couldn't even imagine how powerful he would become.
The Alait System? The Western Pantheon? The Elder Gods of Myriad Races?
None of them would matter. They would all be trash beneath his boots.
"If you want my Legacy, wait until you've brought about the Resurgence of the Primordial Eastern Empire. Find me then, and I might give you a chance to earn it," Aria said calmly.
With a wave of her hand, she stepped forward and vanished into thin air.
Liam swept his gaze toward the side. A flower vial nearby shattered, revealing a Quest Scroll hidden within. He unfurled the scroll, and the details appeared before him.
As a child of the Eastern Realms, how can you go groveling in the lands of the Western Domains? Even if your strength is meager, you must do your part for the Resurgence of the Primordial Eastern Empire.
Objective: Slay 100 NPCs belonging to the Regency of the Astral Kingdom.
Penalty: Unknown.
Reward: Unknown.
Liam raised an eyebrow.
It seemed information regarding the Primordial Eastern Empire existed in his past life, but it had never been made public. The person who posted the guide back then only shared how to obtain the Quest Scroll, not the specific contents or the follow-up chain.
This was news even to him.
However, after meeting Aria, Liam didn't accept the quest immediately. Since everything pointed toward the Resurgence of the Primordial Eastern Empire, he would focus on that first. If he could trigger the Transcendent Archer class because of it, he would truly hit the jackpot.
According to the Lord of the Mortal Sanctum, he needed ten Divine Blessings from the Eastern Deities to trigger the Resurgence. So far, he only had two—from the Weaver of Fate and Gaea the Earth Mother. He was still eight short.
Liam paused, scouring his memories of his past life for every guide he had ever read.
He needed to remember where else he could find the Blessings of the Gods. After a moment of mental organization, he recalled two definitive guides and one potential lead.
Most players were tight-lipped about such valuable information. Only about one or two out of ten would ever go public with their findings. He would have to rely on himself for the rest.
With the Quest Scroll in hand, Liam had no reason to linger. He turned to leave.
As he stepped out of the Peach Blossom Pavilion, another figure blocked his path.
"The Frost Monarch certainly has refined tastes. You must be the very first Adventurer to patronize the Peach Blossom Pavilion."
Liam was surprised to see who it was. "Tiana?"
"I didn't plan on coming, but I saw the Divine Apparition of my goddess from afar. I decided it was time we met."
Liam nodded. "And?"
"Frost Monarch, I don't know if you’re backing Seraphina or Leona, but regardless of your choice, it isn't a wise one."
"That's not a very pleasant thing to say," Liam replied.
Tiana dismissed his comment with a casual wave. "I am the strongest of the three sisters, and my foundations are the deepest. Whatever they promised you, I can provide as well."
Liam wasn't surprised. With the Blessing of Eira, the Frost Goddess, his influence in the Astral Kingdom had skyrocketed. It was only natural for Tiana to try and recruit him.
"Then tell me. What kind of benefits are we talking about?"
Tiana paused, her gaze drifting to the pavilion behind him. "The Peach Blossom Pavilion becomes yours. And once the dust settles, Seraphina and Leona will be yours as well."
It was clear she had pegged Liam for a simple lecher.
"That's it?"
Liam shook his head. "I don't have a Kirin’s Core, and I'm certainly not hurting for women."
Tiana frowned slightly. "Then tell me, what did Seraphina and Leona promise you?"
"I’m afraid that’s confidential," Liam said, shaking his head. "But I will say this: in the Astral Kingdom, you’re the one I’m most impressed by."
"Seraphina has the Queen’s support, but she’s too straightforward to be truly useful. Leona’s background is shallow. If it weren't for recent events, she might have stood a chance with the Stellar Mercantile behind her, but now? She’s lost her edge."
Tiana’s eyes lit up. "So, you’re willing to help me?"
"I am. But I need Divine Blessings. Do you know how to get them?"
Tiana’s brow furrowed. Even for her, Divine Blessings weren't something she could just hand out on a whim.
"I can tell you who has them. But in exchange, you must kill someone for me."
"Who?"
"Corvus the Guide!"
Liam raised an eyebrow. "A loyalty test?"
"You could call it that. Are you interested?"
Tiana has issued a quest. Do you accept?
Objective: Slay Corvus the Guide within fifteen days.
Penalty: Unknown.
Reward: 7 leads on Divine Blessings.
Liam’s pupils dilated. The reward was absurd.
Seven leads!
Even if they were just clues, following them would give him a massive chance of obtaining those Blessings. Killing a single NPC for such a haul was a deal he couldn't refuse.
"Accepted."
Liam took the quest without a second thought. This was the key to the Resurgence of the Primordial Eastern Empire.
Killing Corvus the Guide wasn't a problem for the current Liam. By his estimation, Corvus was likely a Level 50 Gold-Grade Boss with a few special tricks up his sleeve. In other words, he was roughly on par with a Gold-Grade Boss in a Level 50 Hell Difficulty dungeon.
Normally, a party of twelve average players at that level could take down a field boss. For instance, the Twisted Treant back at the Novice Village had about 100,000 HP. A coordinated team of Level 10 players in basic gear would have at least a ten percent chance of success. Such a team would usually consist of five damage dealers (Mages and Archers), four Warriors to tank and manage aggro, and three Priests for healing and buffs.
Dungeons were different. Even bosses with the same title were much stronger inside a dungeon, and their stats scaled with difficulty. That was why Liam always faced such monstrous stats—he always chose Hell Difficulty.
In Liam's mind, Corvus was equivalent to a Level 50 Gold-Grade Boss from a Hell Difficulty dungeon. Exactly how strong that made him remained to be seen, but he wouldn't know until they traded blows.
At the same time, Liam considered whether he should pick up a common class first. It would boost his stats and allow him to keep leveling, and taking a common class wouldn't prevent him from switching to a Hidden Class later.
However, after some thought, he decided to hold off. He wanted to finish the three guides he remembered first. Two were guaranteed to yield Blessings, and the third was a high probability.
With his plan set, Liam headed in a new direction.
There was a beggar in the southeast corner of the Astral Capital. In the early days, many players thought he was a secret quest giver. They gave him everything from food to Gold Sovereigns, but the beggar never gave them anything in return. It was a classic "meat bun hitting a dog" scenario—a total loss.
But Liam knew better. They were just using the wrong method.
You couldn't trigger a quest from this beggar. But if you killed him, he dropped a Quest Scroll. This was discovered by some poor soul who had paid a massive "stupidity tax" to the beggar without getting a quest. In a fit of rage, he killed the beggar, and the Quest Scroll dropped. Completing that quest was a direct path to a Divine Blessing.
Liam reached the southeast corner and spotted the beggar. A few players were currently offering him items, hoping for a breakthrough, but they soon left in frustration.
Liam walked up to the man. The beggar smiled and held out a hand.
Beggar: Level 15
HP: 2,580/2,580
Attack: 108
Skills: None
(Description: You might obtain unexpected benefits from him.)
It was that description that had misled so many people into thinking there was a hidden quest.
And technically, there was. A quest that rewarded a Divine Blessing. But the way to get it wasn't by being nice; it was by murdering him and looting the scroll.
"Please, kind sir... I haven't eaten in three days," the beggar pleaded.
Liam grinned. "Fine. I’ll send you somewhere where hunger doesn’t exist."
Before the words had even finished hanging in the air, Liam let an arrow fly.
Thwack!
-2,580!
The beggar’s eyes bulged in disbelief. His health bar vanished instantly, and he slumped to the ground, dead.
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