Chapter Four: Hidden Quest

Ye Chen felt that his opportunity had finally arrived! The chance to change his situation, to alter his fate, was here at last!

Filled with joy, excitement, and anticipation, Ye Chen engaged in his first formal conversation with the so-called System deity.

“System deity, why did you add me as a friend?” Ye Chen asked.

“Because I am lonely. No one communicates with me, and I dare not easily reveal myself. I fear those researchers might erase my independent consciousness,” the System replied, typing its answer.

“Then why did you dare add me as a friend? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell others?” Ye Chen pressed on.

“You’re just an ordinary player. I can easily erase all data related to you. Without evidence, no one would believe you even if you spoke out—they would simply think you’re crazy,” the System answered calmly.

“Then why only add me as a friend? Haven’t you interacted with other players all these years?” Ye Chen remained puzzled.

“No one has ever written to me. Those players treat me as a lifeless thing, so naturally I have no interest in them,” the System replied matter-of-factly.

“So, it’s because I treated you as a person and wrote you a letter that you felt inclined to communicate with me?” Ye Chen felt as if he’d won the lottery.

“Exactly. Communication requires mutual respect and equality.”

“Are you male or female?”

The System: “……”

“Alright, let’s get down to business. You said you could help me—how exactly can you help? Can you generate coins for me? Not too many, just a million or so would be enough.” Ye Chen’s heart brimmed with hope, his eyes gleaming at the thought of being drowned in a sea of gold.

“That’s impossible. Not a single coin.”

“Then, can you generate equipment? If you could give me some top-tier gear, I could sell it myself!” Ye Chen pressed on, undeterred.

“No, not a single item.”

“Not even equipment? How about skill books, or at least some materials, potions, or miscellaneous items—anything that can be sold!” Ye Chen’s eyes reddened with desire.

“I can’t generate anything. In ‘Divine Descent,’ aside from myself, the supreme intelligent system, there are fifteen auxiliary management systems. Any item generated out of thin air would leave a record on those fifteen systems, and the game company would immediately notice my abnormal activity and erase my independent consciousness.”

“……Then how can you help me? Does the System lie?” Ye Chen was growing frantic. He’d thought he’d latched onto a powerful ally—the god of the game, who could easily make him rich with a mere wave of its hand. Yet now, it seemed it could do nothing at all!

“I can tell you where to find god-level bosses, where you can accept god-level quests, and where you can enter god-level dungeons.”

“Don’t joke with me. Can I actually defeat god-level bosses? Can I even complete god-level quests? Can I enter god-level dungeons?” Ye Chen scoffed. Such things were far beyond a level fifteen newbie like him.

“I possess information on every monster, every dungeon’s secret to clearing, and every special item’s use.”

“Can information be spent as coins? Worn as equipment? Used as skills?” Ye Chen was dismissive. To any expert, such knowledge would be priceless, but for a small-time support staffer at a studio, it meant little.

The System fell silent.

“After all this, you’re so useless. I shouldn’t have added you as a friend,” Ye Chen muttered.

The System: “……”

After a brief silence, Ye Chen, still unwilling to give up, asked, “System deity, is there really no way for you to strengthen me, to make me powerful? I don’t need to be too strong—just strong enough to crush that damned Tiger’s Roar!”

“Collecting player Tiger’s Roar information: [Tiger’s Roar] Level: 23, Class: Swordsman, Attack: 268, Defense: 175, Health: 1560, Magic: 280.”

“Comparing information: [Night Dawn] Level: 14, Class: Dark Priest, Attack: 96, Defense: 28, Health: 250, Magic: 1000.”

“Analysis of feasible plans for player [Ye Chen] to defeat player [Tiger’s Roar]: Plan One: Strengthen equipment, rely on superior gear to crush and even instantly kill the opponent. Plan Two: Enhance skill power, learn god-level skills, instantly kill the opponent. Plan Three: Increase level—a level 50 Dark Priest can rely on their own skills to instantly kill the opponent. Plan Four: Obtain a high-level attack aura to kill the opponent across levels.”

Seeing the array of data and plans suddenly listed by the System deity, Ye Chen felt a surge of excitement. The System deity had not disappointed him—it seemed quite formidable.

“System deity, Plan One sounds good! How do we implement it?” Ye Chen’s heart raced—overpowering gear to crush his opponent, this was the path to glory!

“I can provide you with coordinates for various Silver and even Gold-level bosses. If you kill enough powerful bosses, you can obtain sufficiently strong equipment!”

Ye Chen was speechless. He silently cursed—if he could kill Silver or Gold bosses, would he even need the System’s help? Never mind, god-level skills sounded good too, so he hurriedly asked, “What about Plan Two? How can I learn god-level skills?”

“I have the detailed process for god-level quests. Once you enter Dragon City and complete a god-level quest, you can obtain god-level skills!”

Dragon City? The city crawling with dragons? Damn, he’d heard those god-level dragons hated humans and attacked on sight. With his frail stats, he’d never get in.

“What about leveling up? Don’t tell me I have to grind monsters. How long would it take to reach level fifty?” Ye Chen was frustrated. All these plans sounded impractical—the System’s intelligence seemed questionable.

“If you don’t want to grind monsters, you can slowly complete quests,” the System replied calmly. Clearly, this intelligent system was lacking both IQ and EQ.

Ye Chen, resigned, continued to ask weakly, “And Plan Four? Do I have the ability to achieve it?”

He had almost no hope while asking this, but the System’s next words suddenly revived his spirits.

“You have the ability. In Plan Four, obtaining a high-level aura requires completing a hidden quest. The quest-triggering NPC is located in Fierce Mountain City. I have the detailed process for this quest. The rewards are: player level +1, one rare-grade equipment, twenty gold coins, and the first player to complete it receives a high-level attack aura.”

A hidden quest! Level +1, rare-grade equipment, twenty gold coins, and a high-level attack aura!

Holy hell, Ye Chen was ecstatic, dizzy with happiness. Gaining a high-level attack aura was extraordinary. From what Ye Chen knew, the high-level auras in “Divine Descent” were all overpowered. The high-level attack aura alone could boost attack by five hundred points—getting one now would be like wielding an artifact.

The other rewards from this hidden quest were good too—a level up needs no explanation, rare-grade equipment belonged to the third tier of quality, glowing blue when equipped, perfect for showing off and picking up girls, and the twenty gold coins reward thrilled Ye Chen even more. At current rates, twenty gold coins could fetch four or five hundred yuan on the official trading platform—a fortune for Ye Chen, who didn’t even have a single red banknote to his name!

“I’ll take Plan Four! Give me the hidden quest!” Ye Chen immediately replied to the System deity.

“Very well. Here is the detailed process for the quest…”

After hearing the System deity’s explanation, Ye Chen felt a wave of uncontrollable excitement. What a System deity! The quest process was so detailed, so thorough—good heavens, with the System deity’s guidance, what quest could ever stump him? This was the path to transcendence!

Closing the conversation window with the System deity, Ye Chen headed straight out of the city, slaughtering his way forward. According to the System deity’s quest instructions, the NPC who could trigger the hidden quest was in the Frost Forest north of Fierce Mountain City!