Apophis stealthily approached the group. They were so distracted by grinding monsters that he was able to slip past them without even a single player noticing him.
Then, he managed to infiltrate deep into the ruins of what looked like an ancient abandoned city. Its stone walls had mostly collapsed long ago, and they were now covered in moss and vines. All sorts of creatures had made their homes within the piles of stone and the rooms which still stood, and so the ruins were a popular spot for low-level players to grind.
However, Apophis was not here to fight monsters. He was focused on gaining the unique quest which, in his first life, had made Scorpion famous. If his memory of the old message boards was accurate, the archaeologist NPC would be deep within the largest of the remaining buildings in the ruins.
Once inside, Apophis found the archaeologist inspecting a very faded engraving on the wall. The man wore a comically large hat and was so focused on his work that he didn't even hear Apophis arrive.
Finally! Apophis thought, and went to talk to him.
The archaeologist turned to him, seeming startled. However, due to the unique friendliness of the local Tyottings, he was not alarmed by Apophis's sudden arrival. "Hello, Friend! What can I do for you?"
"In town, I heard that you needed the help of an experienced adventurer to explore this huge ruin," said Apophis.
The archaeologist's expression brightened. "Oh, yes, absolutely! I've made records of almost all the aboveground areas, but the lizards underneath are blocking my access. I've even tried to come back at night, when I hoped they'd be dormant, but there's always at least one awake! Would you please take care of them and help me find out what's in the depths of this temple?"
SYSTEM: Quest Notification.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼[Secret Quest] Forgotten Knowledge
║ ╰╼[Recommended Level] 3~6
║ ╰╼[Difficulty] A
║ ╰╼[Time Limit] 1 hour
╟─╼[Summary] Explore the depths of the temple without dying and discover elements of the Zetark civilization.
╟─╼[Reward] Varies based on quest completion score.
╚═══════════════╛
System: Do you accept this quest?
"Yes," said Apophis.
About a millennium ago, the Zetark Empire was the most advanced civilization of any space-faring race. Their colonies stretched across the four corners of the galaxy.
However, despite this, some unknown event caused their sudden downfall and disappearance. Even after nine years of Horus's lifespan, no one ever found the explanation for their sudden disappearance.
Of course, their culture's items were extremely rare and valuable. They were commonly sold at astronomical prices on the galactic market.
Despite the mention of the Zetark in the quest description, though, Apophis had little hope of finding anything interesting during this quest.
Scorpion had become famous in his first life not because he discovered any interesting Zetark secrets but because he received the first Passive Skill in the game as a quest reward, which made the rest of the players realize how much potential there was for character customization.
That reward, and the EXP and Galactic Coin rewards, were what Apophis would use to gain a huge advantage over every other player at the beginning of the game.
So Apophis made his way to the temple building in the ruins. It was not the largest structure on the site, but the architecture was the most beautiful, using elegant lines of stonework that cast shadows in a complex pattern on the floor.
Sunlight poured in through a huge window that had perhaps once held stained glass, and this light illuminated a marble staircase that led into the temple basement.
Apophis once more used all his stealthiness to move down these stairs. There was a passage at the bottom which led into an antechamber…
And within this chamber, six lizards had made their nest. They were each LvL 3, and Apophis realized that he had no more hope of sneaking past them than he did of killing them with his bare hands and LvL 1 stats.
However, Apophis already had a backup plan. He returned to the group of players outside the ruins. By the time he approached them, waving and calling to make it obvious that he wasn't trying to attack them from stealth, they were looking for a new group of monsters to kill.
"Hello, Big Brother!" Apophis said to Scorpion, who was leading the group. "I see you're pretty good at fighting. Here's the thing. There's a secret treasure in the temple basement, but there's a LvL 3 lizard protecting it. With all of us, though, we should easily kill it. How about it? We can share the loot equally afterwards."
Of course, the six players with no classes and a two-level difference would be completely powerless against the same number of monsters… not to mention that Apophis had no way of actually fighting at that time.
He didn't share any of these minor details with Scorpion's party, of course.
Scorpion smirked at Apophis's naïve suggestion. There was no reason for him to give any of the treasure to Apophis once the monster was dead, after all. "Alright, Little Brother," he said. "Show us this lizard so we can turn him into meat!"
Hiding his own smile, Apophis led Scorpion's team into the depths of the temple.
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