Looking at the giant looking machinery, Bor was taken aback. He had read of them, but he had never seen one in real life. A Diamond-ranked Material synthesizer.
They were key to building great machines in Morendat, but finding one was easier said than done, the kind that were used by kings and monarch NPCs in the game. Unfortunately, due to its great size and super shape, he couldn't move it, disassemble it, or even reverse-engineer it. It was that advanced.
Bor couldn't believe that he wouldn't get anything from it. Its like finding treasure lying in the middle of the road, and then walking away without taking it, or lacking the ability to take it.
There were also a bunch of materials and equipment scattered around, but upon inspection, they were marked as Trash or Defective. There was also a huge chest in the middle of the room, but it was locked up tight. They could not open it, even with all the lockpicks.
Despite all their efforts, which was basically whacking the locks, they could not pry the chest open. They had to walk way empty handed, neither having the beautiful machine or the contents of the chest.
Bor was extremely disappointed. He even began wondering if he could set up shop there for a while. However, such thoughts would have to be shelved since they were going to submit the quest to the villagers.
With Ayram leading the way, the group was well received by the village. Since they'd been identified as the village's last hope, they were given a hero's welcome. Old lady Kairo even did a dance when she was told that the dwarves were destroyed.
The atmosphere was very festive, and once they submitted the quest materials, the old shaman marked that stage of the quest as complete. She started doing some rituals with the material she'd been given. Bor wasn't really paying attention, all he wanted was the Exp and the next stage to begin.
Just as the old lady was about to finish the ritual, the sky darkened once more.
"Cretins, you thought you could run away! Look upon my army and despair." The cloud was back, and with it, the face of Lord Argur.
Behind the cloud though, there was a large army marching in unison, headed towards the village. The army seemed to stretch for miles. Their armor and equipment glistened in the light of the sun, making them all the more intimidating.
[Morendat Regional Event: A mysterious Dark Army has descended upon the land. Join the army in conquering or join forces with the forces of the land in resisting.
Once a side is selected, one cannot change.
Victory of the side selected will lead to more benefits. ]
While every player in the region was receiving this notification, the group were receiving a totally different one.
[Hidden Quest Update: B-Ranked Quest Awakening the fallen changed to A-Ranked Quest Descent of the Dwarf Kingdom.
The Dwarf Lord Argur has raised an army an now attempts to bring back the Lost Kingdom of the dwarves. Stop this menace upon the land.
Quest Chain Update: Protect the villagers from the invading army.
Time until Army arrives:
00:30.00
00:29.59
00:29.58
...]
"Okay, What!" Lonely Snow.
"How the hell are we going to stop this damn army?"
"In 30 minutes?"
"Did you see, the quest changed from B-ranked to A-ranked."
"Oh no, that evil dwarf Argur has returned. If only our Lord was around, he would not act so impudently!" That last one was the Shaman. As if having an epiphany, she turned around and looked at Ayram, "Little Elf, you are a forger, aren't you. We can make an item that will take us away from here. Sadly, I do not have the equipment and some of the blueprints. That oaf kept most of it hidden in his cave, but I managed to get a key. Here, here, come look, I have it."
[Quest Update: Using the materials gathered, build the device required.]
"Oh right, this was a forging quest," One of the requirements for receiving this quest was that one had to be a forger. Bor remembered that when he met Ayram, she introduced herself as a forger.
"Hey Swordsmith, we have to do this together," She said as she turned to look at Bor, who was all to willing. He could already guess what kind of device they were supposed to make. If he could learn it, then he might be able to recreate it. His earnings would shoot through the roof.
Soon, everyone was on the move, leaving the village behind and heading to the cave. Illegitimate son remembered the chest he had seen in the cave. If the key was for that chest, then the contents were part of the quest material.
The village contained quite a number of people, many of whom were civilians trying to make a living. However, there were also those marked as village guardians, each at level 130, but they were only five of them.
The Shaman was surprisingly at level 180, making her the most high leveled member of the group. However, her skill lay in healing and support, and not damage dealing. Still, having such a powerful healer on their side was an advantage.
However, this meager backing was but a drop to the ocean of army marching to them. They could hold for a while, just as they did with the seven dwarf elites earlier, but they stood no chance of winning.
Everyone held their breath as they waited for the Shaman to open the chest, once they were inside the cave. The protectors were keeping watch over the cavemouth.
"Some dusty old scroll, big deal!" Ice Fist said. "I was expecting some gung ho shit. Still, could be some serious weapon, so smithies, have a look."
Both Bor and Ayram stepped forward. Looking at it, Bor was instantly overjoyed. He knew it was what he wished it to be. A teleporter. However, much to his dismay, he had never heard of some of the materials written there, not to mention the procedure for synthesis.
Ayram was also dumbfounded. She looked up and found Bor's eyes also looking up, and they both shared a thought: this is not going to be easy.