Chapter 5: F-Rank Hidden Story Quest

Chapter 5: F-Rank Hidden Story Quest

“Ding! Successfully defeated level 5 elite ogre. Gained 200 base experience points. First kill bonus grants additional 200 experience points. Defeating enemies four levels higher grants an extra 80 experience points!”

To accelerate leveling for District 9 players and help them catch up with larger districts, official policies grant 200% experience points for players’ first-time kills of wild monsters. Subsequent kills of the same monster offer diminishing returns: 150% for the second, 120% for the third, and no bonus after the fourth.

For defeating higher-level enemies, an additional 10% experience bonus applies per level difference. This is a universal reward rule across all districts.

“Ding! Congratulations on leveling up to 2. Base attributes +2. Gained 4 free attributes!”

“Ding! Congratulations on leveling up to 3. Base attributes +2. Gained 4 free attributes!”

As system prompts chimed, Lin Hanchuan leveled up twice in succession, his stats panel glowing with progress.

Strength 6, Stamina 9, Agility 8, Intelligence 11, Spirit 11
Free Attributes: 8

Glancing at the panel, Lin Hanchuan allocated 4 points to Agility. This wasn’t just because he’d barely dodged the ogre’s thrown club in his mind but failed physically—Agility also affected a Mage’s casting speed. Despite Water Ball Level 1 having no cooldown, his single-digit Agility forced a one-second delay between casts.

While Water Ball’s Haste Reduction Effect had a probabilistic trigger, Freeze Effect required stacking Haste Reduction three times. In the ogre fight, two hundred casts yielded only one Freeze.

Now, with Agility increased, he could fire two spells per second. Within the three-second Haste Reduction window, twenty to thirty casts would trigger Freeze more reliably.

The remaining 4 points went into Intelligence. His current attack power still felt lacking.

Thankfully, the Blackbearded Elder was an ogre—if this had been a level 5 elite demon with superior mobility, he’d have struggled to kite and kill it.

After allocating points, his stats updated:

Strength 6, Stamina 9, Agility 12, Intelligence 15, Spirit 11

For a Mage, this boosted mana to 58 and base spell attack to 31.

Lin Hanchuan didn’t rush. He stood still, waiting.

The system sound played again.

“Ding! Congratulations on becoming District 9’s first player to kill a demon-class wild monster. Earned milestone title: Demon Hunter. Reputation Points +10, Gold Coins +5!”

Demon-class monsters, originating from other realms, were rare on the Apocalypse Continent. First-time kills triggered milestone titles.

[Demon Hunter]
Rank: Novice
Increases attack power, defense, and critical hit rate against demon-class monsters by 1% each!
Note: Progress this title by killing more demon-class monsters.

The Demon Hunter title wasn’t surprising—Lin Hanchuan had known about this back in the first district when Descent Online revealed its systems.

The Novice tier’s bonuses felt trivial compared to the 10 Reputation Points and 5 Gold Coins. But this wasn’t the quest he’d waited for. Eyeing the ogre’s corpse, he muttered, “Did I overthink it?”

As his voice faded, the system spoke.

“Having just entered Newbie Village 56, you’ve discovered a demon disguising itself as a villager. You wonder why an abyssal creature exists here in the Apocalypse Continent’s Wangyue City. What’s its purpose in pretending to be a villager? Is the Abyss invading the continent—or does it plot something darker? As a newcomer to this world, you’re determined to uncover the truth!”

The cinematic prompt made Lin Hanchuan smile. “Hidden story quest activated!”

Hidden quests weren’t easy to trigger. Killing a demon impersonating a villager might grant extra rewards, but not enough alone to unlock a hidden quest.

As a veteran, Lin Hanchuan knew this. During the fight, he’d deliberately spoken certain lines—not to bait the ogre, but to meet hidden quest conditions.

The system couldn’t read players’ thoughts but tracked their expressions, actions, and words to judge if they’d pieced together clues.

Lin Hanchuan suspected Wangyue City’s new villages likely hosted demons—a sign of a large-scale hidden quest. The mainline arc would be at least S-Rank!

Then—

“Ding! Hidden Story Quest Activated: [Investigate Newbie Village 56]!”

[Investigate Newbie Village 56]
Difficulty: F-Rank
Newbie Village 56 appears peaceful, but an ogre in disguise has revealed a deeper threat—demonic infiltrators hide among villagers. Uncover their plans.
Special Reward: Earn 1 free attribute point per demon killed during the investigation (max 4).
Completion Reward: Varies by success rate.
Failure Penalty: Investigation risks death.

“Finally got it!” Lin Hanchuan grinned, eyes gleaming as he read the quest details.

Reaching the main quest immediately was impossible. The system wouldn’t assign such a challenge to a level 3 beginner. This F-Rank task was merely a side branch. Completing it would unlock follow-up quests—though killing the village chief or priest wasn’t required yet.

Step by step, completing each hidden quest would edge him closer to the ultimate secret.

He turned from the panel to the ogre’s corpse.

First-kill loot was decent: silver coins, a pair of gloves, a dagger, and a ring scattered around.

Without the Gathering skill, Lin Hanchuan simply collected the items:

8 Silver, 34 Copper
Leather Gloves (Level 5 Black Iron +4, Warrior Only)
Stiletto Dagger (Level 5 Black Iron +3, Assassin/Rogue Only)
Space Ring (Black Iron +5)

The weapons were useless to him, but the Space Ring fit perfectly.

The ring, dark gray with a crimson ogre skull and engraved with a spiked club, added 20 storage slots. He slipped it onto his left index finger. The ogre’s club vanished into his inventory—Black Iron +4 quality, 1.5 meters long, usable only by specialized Warriors.

The ogre’s corpse was equally valuable. Its carcass could craft Black Iron or Bronze-grade items, but lacking Gathering skills and overwhelmed by its size, he watched helplessly as the body faded into black mist after the time limit. Only craters marked its former presence.

Bang!

The door slammed open.

Several players entered, scanning the area.

Lin Hanchuan stood alone in the empty yard.

A Hunter named Heiye Chanshuo, his username floating above his head, asked, “Bro, no Npcs here?”

“No,” Lin Hanchuan shook his head.

Heiye noticed the ring on Lin’s finger. “That’s a Space Ring? Just got it?”

Servers had only been live 30 minutes. Most players still wore starter gear, yet this man already sported a Space Ring.

“Just dropped,” Lin Hanchuan replied calmly, walking past them with his staff.

As he left, a Priest in the group whispered, “He’s level 3, Heiye.”

“Level 3? Seriously?” Heiye frowned. It’d barely been minutes. Most level 1 veterans were still grinding outside the village.

“Positive,” the Priest nodded.

“What quest gives that much XP?” Heiye muttered. Gazing at the yard’s craters—each 20-30 centimeters deep—he guessed, “Did he kill villagers?”

He dismissed the thought instantly. Npcs in newbie villages were protected. Killing them would brand him a criminal—marked red—and players could hunt rednames for rewards. Yet Lin’s name stayed clean.

Besides, killing Npcs granted no XP.

After leaving the Blackbearded Elder’s home, Lin Hanchuan didn’t head to the next house. Instead, he turned toward the apothecary.

The ogre’s strength suggested demons disguised as villagers were no pushovers. Tackling them solo without potions would be foolish.

With 5 Gold, 8 Silver, and 84 Copper in his account, he could afford decent supplies.

As he exited the alley, he checked the village map at the plaza before heading to the apothecary.

Beep! Beep!

A friend message alert chimed.

It was from Cao Renjie.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end