Chapter 77: The Ring Quest!

Beast Form!

Morning Wind transformed into a raging leopard, entering stealth mode and beginning to search the highest floor of the castle. Initially, he had expected to encounter some elite monsters or a boss, but after circling the floor twice, he found nothing. Instead, he stumbled upon an old chest, which yielded a fragment of a divine artifact.

[Assault Armor Fragment]: Artifact Fragment. One piece of the divine artifact "Assault Armor." Collect six fragments to assemble the artifact. (Tip: One fragment is located on an island off the southern coast of Ghana.)

Last time, he had also stolen an Assault Fragment from the Alliance's military vault, and he hadn’t expected to find another one in this Blood Castle. Collecting six fragments was extremely difficult; missing even one rendered the entire artifact useless. The previous fragment had hinted that the next was in Frozen Lake, while this one suggested an island off Ghana’s southern coast.

Morning Wind had little recollection of the southern isles of Ghana, only remembering that there were many islands, but which one held the Assault Fragment was a mystery. He knew he had to move faster than anyone else; if someone else got the fragment, all his efforts would be in vain.

He had heard in the past that obtaining a divine artifact required paying a steep price in time and effort or searching extensively. Artifacts would never simply drop; they could only be obtained through a series of complex quests. For example, the Brotherhood Sword had an optional advancement quest, but for now, Morning Wind felt it was too difficult for him to attempt.

“A fragment? What a coincidence.” Now owning two fragments, Morning Wind figured that in about two years, he might finally obtain a set of artifact armor. Even with his luck in having two, four more were still needed, and finding just one could take ages—it might even require trading or purchasing. The last fragment would be the hardest to find.

A divine artifact would never appear easily; its emergence required a lengthy process. It was impossible to simply craft one, as the highest level of crafted equipment was only dark gold or legendary—never artifact level. Morning Wind had never seen anyone wield an artifact before; legends said their appearance shook the heavens and earth.

“Get to level 30, and check out the southern islands of Ghana first!” Morning Wind didn’t have much advantage on the world map; he’d only entered it before to level up, and his main edge was in late-game large instances. The Assault Fragment at Frozen Lake required level 40; going at level 30 was a death sentence. For now, his only option was to try his luck at the southern islands.

He continued exploring the upper floor of the castle but found nothing new. Just as he leaned against a wall to rest, the wall suddenly rotated, and he tumbled backward into a small storage room behind it, rolling down a short flight of stairs.

“Damn!” Wearing leather armor, Morning Wind felt sharp pains in his knees, arms, and head.

Fortunately, there were no boss guards down here; otherwise, he might have been killed before regaining his senses. It was darker here than outside, with no lighting. Transforming into a crow, he used his enhanced dark vision to make out his surroundings. It was a small storage room, with an altar against the wall opposite the stairs. On it rested a set of dark gray armor, ancient and rusted, though some runes on it still glimmered faintly.

“What is this?”

Morning Wind wondered why a set of armor would be enshrined here; the altar itself seemed strange. Approaching, he noticed his Blood Magic Ring glowing faintly red.

Could the wearer of this armor be the owner of the Blood Magic Ring? Morning Wind wasn’t familiar with magic rings, but this seemed a reasonable guess. The dark gray armor’s origins were a mystery; now so corroded by time that picking it up might reduce it to dust.

What piqued his interest was the four chests beside the altar. Opening them, he found various materials—all related to runes, apparently for crafting rune equipment. He already had a Rune Sword in his warehouse; now, with these materials, he could attempt synthesis later.

A secret room? Could the Ring Elder be here?

This was the castle’s highest floor, and the secret room was so well hidden that the Ring Elder being here was a real possibility. Morning Wind couldn’t think of anywhere more concealed; if he hadn’t been able to transform into a crow and fly up, he would never have entered by simply leaning against the wall.

He had long pestered Wind and Cloud to show him the quest details, but had always been refused. Morning Wind was beginning to suspect the so-called Ring Elder might not even exist.

Transforming into a crow again, he flew around the secret room but found nothing. Even perching atop the armor’s helmet produced no reaction. It was puzzling; did he really have to search the castle dungeons for the Ring Elder? Given the difficulty of this castle, the Blood Magic Ring quest was surely designed specifically for rogues.

Hmm?

Standing atop the helmet and looking down, he noticed a small circular groove on the floor, resembling his Blood Magic Ring. He flew down and returned to human form. Removing the ring, he placed it in the groove, finding it a perfect fit—if he let go, the ring would settle in snugly.

As the ring settled into the groove, red lines spread out from it across the floor to the room’s edges, forming a red circular barrier. The barrier glowed, illuminating the entire room’s layout.

A phantom of an old man appeared above the groove, with red hair, a long red beard, and a hunched back. The apparition sized up Morning Wind before speaking: “Adventurer, to have obtained the Blood Magic Ring and found your way here means you are fated with the ring.”

This must be the Ring Elder! Morning Wind was glad he hadn’t left; otherwise, he’d never have known where to find the old man. It seemed the Blood Castle required breaking through the lower levels and reaching the top. If lucky, or with map hints, one might find this room. His ability to turn into a crow had let him fly up, sense something odd, and eventually, purely by chance, stumble upon the secret room and this magic ring barrier.

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Wind and Cloud would never have expected him to stumble upon this place, right? Now that he’d found the Ring Elder, all that remained was to accept the quest!

“You’ve seen the magic ring oil painting outside, haven’t you?” the Ring Elder asked.

Morning Wind nodded. “I have, but I don’t know what the four especially prominent rings depicted actually are.”

“The magic ring was once a divine artifact on the continent of Oglas. For reasons unknown, its owner split it into four rings. The four rings in the painting are the four great rings among all magic rings. Each of these was further divided into many minor rings. Those who hold the minor rings travel to the interconnected spaces of Oglas, using the ring’s power to dominate those realms.”

The Ring Elder paused, then continued: “I am the former master of the Blood Magic Ring, once the ruler of this space. But as time passed, my life neared its end, and the ring became increasingly fragile. It needs a new master, one to conquer Oglas, devour the other rings, and gain supreme power.”

Now Morning Wind understood some of the rings’ backstory. The magic ring had been a divine artifact, but splitting it into dozens weakened it greatly.

“When all ring bearers reach Oglas, the war of the rings will begin. When only four remain, the four great rings will reemerge, and the rings will mutate. At that point, the rings cannot be devoured, but if one can gather all four, they may be combined into the Supreme Magic Ring.”

The Supreme Magic Ring!

Rings could devour each other to gain stronger attributes, but ultimately, attributes would fixate on the four great rings. After that, the only way to further empower the ring was to collect all four and forge the Supreme Magic Ring. Morning Wind realized this meant that ring bearers had to gather and strengthen their rings as quickly as possible after entering the world map; once only four remained, no further enhancements could be made, and mutations would offer limited power. Gathering the final three rings would then be much more difficult.

“Adventurer, now that you are the new master of the Blood Magic Ring, you must, upon reaching Oglas, gather as many rings as possible, strengthen your ring’s attributes, and finally forge the Supreme Magic Ring.” The Ring Elder had been sent to this realm; he could not return to Oglas. The Supreme Ring’s original owner was gone, and all the minor ring masters had perished. Now, the new minor ring masters had to return to Oglas and combine the rings.

“Don’t worry, as the master of the Blood Magic Ring, I will definitely forge the Supreme Magic Ring!” Morning Wind was intrigued; he wanted to see the artifact’s attributes, to know if it truly lived up to the legends of ultimate satisfaction.

“That’s best.” The Ring Elder nodded, scrutinizing Morning Wind for a long while before saying, “Every magic ring has the hidden quality of concealing its bearer and enhancing stealth. The Blood Magic Ring, in particular, holds a secret power: if you acquire a drop of demon king’s blood, the ring will gain a corresponding demon king ability. This power can only be used once per type of blood, and the ring can store up to three demon king abilities at a time.”

All rings possessed hidden attributes—stealth and concealment—which Morning Wind had already surmised, as he’d used them before to evade detection. Monk had searched for him once but couldn’t locate him, and had wondered why. But the Blood Magic Ring’s ability to absorb demon king blood was something he could never have guessed.

Demon king’s blood? That seemed outrageous. Where could Morning Wind even get such blood? Demon kings were notoriously dangerous; even at max level, he wouldn’t dare provoke them. How could he possibly obtain their blood?

He received four ring quests, far beyond his expectations.

[Blood of the Night]: Retrieval quest. In the Dark Abyss at the extreme west of Oglas, retrieve a drop of the former Night Demon King’s blood to grant the Blood Magic Ring the demon king’s power temporarily.

[Blood of Terror]: Retrieval quest. In the Dark Abyss at the extreme west of Oglas, retrieve a drop of the former Terror Demon King’s blood to grant the ring the power of terror.

[Blood of the Abyss]: Retrieval quest. In the Dark Abyss at the extreme west of Oglas, retrieve a drop of the former Abyss Demon King’s blood to grant the ring the abyssal power.

All three tasks centered around the Dark Abyss—thankfully, all in one location, or else Morning Wind would be running all over. He had never heard of the Dark Abyss, but given the demon king blood, it must be a high-level area. He’d check it out in the future, though whether he could get the blood depended on his luck.

[Destroy the Dark Portal]: Ring Emissary quest. Travel from the edge to the center of Oglas, reach the Orc King’s City, and destroy the under-construction Dark Portal.

There was no time limit or reward for this quest. The first three blood quests seemed manageable, but what did destroying the Dark Portal have to do with the rings? Morning Wind recalled that the Dark Portal was supposed to connect Oglas to another realm called the “Netherworld.” The creatures from the Netherworld only sought destruction, invading Oglas to dominate the world.

“Adventurer, as a Ring Emissary, you must protect Oglas. The Dark Portal will bring untold disaster to the continent—you must destroy it.” The Ring Elder’s phantom was fading, unable to linger. “It is because of the Dark Portal that the rings must gather…”

So, the return of the rings to Oglas was not just for forging the Supreme Magic Ring, but also to save Oglas itself? Morning Wind was surprised by this deeper meaning. The final quest had no reward and required infiltrating the Orc King’s City—something he was not keen to do.

He recalled that when he entered the game two years after launch, the Netherworld was already open, so perhaps the Dark Portal could never be destroyed. Or maybe all previous Ring Emissaries had been failures, unable to complete their tasks.

Given that the game was called “Savior,” Morning Wind thought perhaps each expansion created a new savior archetype. Standing in the center of the barrier, he squatted to retrieve his ring, put it back on, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’m cut out to be a savior.”

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Wu Hai, the rogue who had just infiltrated the castle, was startled when a sudden “Quest Failed” notification popped up. If not for his quick reflexes, retreating immediately, he would have been caught by the approaching guard due to his brief hesitation.

How could the quest have failed? Did he find the Ring Elder? As Wu Hai pondered this, he saw Morning Wind leave the party. Without further thought, Wu Hai activated Sprint and dashed for safety; he had to find a secure spot to hearthstone back to town, or he’d be discovered by guards in thirty seconds.

“Damn, that Duan Morning Wind actually found the Ring Elder, completed the quest, and left the party—does he want us dead?” Wu Hai muttered as he channeled his hearthstone. He had planned for Morning Wind to enter Blood Castle, draw the guards, and be killed by them, allowing Wu Hai to legitimately reclaim his ring. He hadn’t expected Morning Wind to complete the quest instead.

“Let’s return to the main city first!” Wind and Cloud, noticing the guards outside growing restless, also began his hearthstone channel. He never imagined Morning Wind could find the Ring Elder without causing a commotion. How did he know to reach the top floor? How did he discover the hidden mechanism and map?

As soon as Wu Hai returned to the city, he saw Morning Wind playing with the ring. He stormed over to confront him, just as Morning Wind declared, “So I’m the true master of the ring!”

I am the true master of the ring!

These words struck Wu Hai like a hammer to the chest, freezing him in place. Who was the true master? He had accepted the ring quest—how could the ownership have changed simply because Morning Wind now held the ring?

Looking at the shifty-eyed elven rogue, Morning Wind felt he was a disgrace to his race. “What’s wrong? Am I not the rightful master? Even if your scheme succeeded and you got the ring back, so what? Do you know the world map quest for the ring? Do you know its hidden ability?”

Standing up, Morning Wind donned the ring, brushed the dust from his clothes, and smiled. “Do you want your ring back? How about a duel? If you win, I’ll return it. If you lose, you owe me a ring that satisfies me—I need another powerful ring for the Blood Magic Ring to devour.”

“Deal! I picked up an epic rogue ring during a quest.” Wu Hai hadn’t expected Morning Wind to challenge him. Wasn’t he planning to return the ring? Wu Hai was confident about winning in the arena, whether Morning Wind used his warrior or this hidden class.

[Ring of Superior Stealth]

Epic, right hand ring

Requirement: Subtlety Rogue

+50% enhanced stealth

+50% increased stealth movement speed

Skill: [Superior Stealth]

Effect: After engaging in hostile actions or being affected by hostile actions, your stealth will end after three seconds instead of immediately.

Effect: Your Blind and Gouge abilities cost no energy, and damage-over-time effects won’t break their control.

Description: Lurk in shadow, create shadow within stealth.

“What an impressive ring!” As soon as he saw it, Morning Wind understood Wu Hai’s confidence. This ring was tailored for subtlety rogues—remarkably powerful. Especially the delayed three-second stealth break, allowing for more stealth-required abilities.

But what Morning Wind wanted most was the Superior Stealth skill, which granted instant stealth and one second of invulnerability—absolutely invaluable. Each player could wear only one magic ring, and since the magic ring could absorb other rings’ powers, it was essential to have cross-class abilities. If it was just a warrior skill, it wouldn’t be as useful; only by merging other class abilities could the magic ring be fully utilized.

The ring quest truly gave out great rewards! Morning Wind was eager to see what other good rings this fool might offer. Arena match? Rogue or not, Morning Wind was confident he could defeat him!