Adder grabbed the stack of metal cards off the table.
Ding!
[The Witch's seal has come into effect. Complete the task to own the object.]
Adder raised his eyebrow. Just to be sure, he tried to put the cards into his inventory.
Ding!
[Error! You must own the object to be able to place it into your inventory.]
He glanced at others, and it looked the same for them as well. Everyone just tucked the objects into their clothes.
He just clicked his tongue and placed the cards in his pocket. The witch had really made sure that no one was able to ditch her task.
Now he was really intrigued about this special task.
He did not have to wait much as the witch clapped her hands. "Warriors, I am grateful that all of you have decided to help me."
Adder nodded to her as the young witches already started taking back the other stuff.
He glanced at the items one last time and focused back on the witch.
The witch suddenly paused and asked, "Warriors, do you want more time to know each other?"
Adder glanced at the other players. It was the same for them, but none of them was interested in getting to know each other.
With nobody coming forward, the witch nodded her head. "In that case, let me state the reason I gathered you."
Finally, the awaited quest notification popped up before them.
Ding!
[Chain Quest!!!
Special Quest: The Chance of a Decade.
Quest Rank: ???
(Only players with level 10 or less can take part.)
Description: After years of work, the witch has managed to reach the brink of a breakthrough in her studies. To cross the final threshold, she wants to perform an offering ritual at the noon of Fire Sky.
Task: Defend the witch's ritual circle until the end of the ceremony.
Combined Reward: 10 silver coins, 10 low random curses, 10 random curse-making skill books.
(Rewards will be distributed among all players who pass the quest.)
Failure Condition: Destruction of the ritual circle.
Failure Penalty: Permanent loss of 15 stat points randomly across the 6 stats.
Note: Death before the ritual completion will count as quest failure.
]
"What!!"
"-15 stat loss."
Many players shouted in agitation.
Ignoring them, Adder focused more on the quest description, especially the offering ritual part.
'Wait, aren't these quests requiring very specific conditions?'
He sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he glanced at the others.
Someone among them had really planned this entire special quest. There was no way it could be random or coincidental.
He remembered reading a bit about this task in his past life.
These quests topped the list of the hardest trigger quests.
To successfully trigger it, you needed to investigate the witch's research and then align the trigger on a specific occasion.
He re-read the quest. That time had to be this 'Noon of Fire Sky.' There was no way all this was just a coincidence.
He forced himself not to look around to avoid alerting the mastermind, or masterminds.
It could be the work of a guild that then sent this information to their new players, or there was also the possibility of someone restarting their character. He did not bother guessing the mastermind but focused on offering.
'Who will be the offering?' He glanced at the witch, and she smiled back at him.
He just looked away and cursed, 'Fck, it is me, right?' He might be overthinking here, but it's better to think of the worst case here.
The scene of her kissing his finger continued to flash in his mind, only reinforcing that idea.
This clarity helped him calm down a bit.
Suddenly, the old witch clapped her hands. "Warriors, we can't waste any more time."
Adder glanced at the system clock. It was already 11 am, barely an hour from noon.
The young witch from earlier also rushed back into the room.
The old witch took out her cursed book, stopping all the complaining as she started mumbling.
This extra bit of time helped Adder sort out his thoughts. He could not back out now, but that did not mean he was helpless.
The witch slammed her foot on the ground as a teleport hole appeared.
The young witches started jumping through the teleportation circle.
It would be risky, but if he succeeded… he glanced back at his cards, the reward would be unexpected.
Making up his mind, he just walked to the teleportation circle.
He smiled at the witch one last time and jumped into the teleportation circle.
…
Adder opened his eyes. All of them were inside a massive cave that had a blood ritual drawn at its center.
There were five corridors connecting to the cave, a bit of light coming from each. From that, he knew this cave was not that deep underground.
The young witches were running around, lighting the flame torches all over the cave.
Finally, the witch came in with the last player, closing the teleportation circle behind her.
Wasting no time, she pointed to the five corridors. "Warriors, once the ritual starts, multiple beasts will try to interrupt me. I want you to make sure no creature enters the ritual hall."
With that, she rushed to the center, making the last adjustments.
Players looked at each other and started walking to the corridors in pairs.
A bulky brown-haired guy followed him to the corridor.
The guy smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, I am Arik."
Adder shook his hand and pointed deeper into the corridor. "Adder. Arik, how about I go deep, and you handle the back lines?"
Arik raised his eyebrows and then smiled at him. "Sure."
Adder thanked him and walked 10 steps into the corridor so that he could still see everything going on.
It was not long before he heard a loud shout. "Warriors, get ready!"
With that, the witch started chanting as the entire blood ritual started glowing.
Tak! Tak!
Not even 10 seconds later, he heard multiple steps. A white-horned rabbit suddenly rushed through the corridor.
Instead of attacking him, the beast tried to rush past him. Adder, already prepared for that, slashed at its side.
-40!
The first blood splattered as he clenched his sword, ready for the upcoming massacre.