Listening to the Dwarf King’s explanation, Lu Ran suddenly understood.
So this was the story unfolding.
No wonder the quest was about the Eternal Flame.
Thinking back to what Annie had said earlier, the dwarves had lost the Eternal Flame.
The Dwarf Forge had gone out directly and couldn’t operate.
It wasn’t just Annie; even the Dwarf King probably couldn’t forge equipment now.
This meant the entire dwarf clan was unable to forge anything!
And the goal of this quest was to help the dwarves retrieve the Eternal Flame.
This wasn’t a simple task; it was even split into a series of quests.
Just like the quest to fight the Dark Elves set by Tina, the Nature Elf Queen, back then. Although Lu Ran had easily achieved an SSS-rank completion, that was Lu Ran. The quest’s inherent difficulty was still heaven-defying!
The current dwarf quest was similar.
Even the Dwarf King himself didn’t think it was a task achievable by humans at their current stage.
The Dwarf King was still going through the storyline right now.
He said with a sigh, “Back when the world was datafied and the terrain changed dramatically, it wasn’t a big deal for the surface races, but for the Hill Dwarves living in the underground world, it was a catastrophe!”
At that time.
To prevent the dwarf clan from being buried deep underground.
The Dwarf King prepared to lead them temporarily out of the caverns to the surface.
But the change in the terrain’s layout was too fast!
In his haste, the Dwarf King managed to bring out the Dwarf Forge, but the Eternal Flame was left behind in the underworld.
Lu Ran wasn’t about to question the details of why the Eternal Flame wasn’t brought out – it was clearly for the plot’s sake.
What the Dwarf King hadn’t anticipated was that once they came out, they couldn’t go back!
“The area outside the entrance to the dwarf caverns, once a canyon region, has turned into a Sandy Sea Stone Forest. The monsters inside are Titan Statues, at least level seventy, with quite a few level eighty ones mixed in. So…”
The Dwarf King looked at Lu Ran and said, “So it’s simply not something you all are capable of completing at this stage.”
Baron knew the current level of human professionals and the tier of the top players.
Even the fact that they had forcibly come to the dwarf territory, a high-level forbidden zone, didn’t prove anything.
To complete the quest, reaching and dealing with the Sandy Sea Stone Forest was the hardest part!
“Over the years, I’ve often led teams to the Sandy Sea Stone Forest, trying to reopen the entrance and retrieve the Eternal Flame, but… the difficulty is just too great…” Baron said with a sigh.
Lu Ran looked at the Dwarf King with confusion.
He asked, “You are the Dwarf King, your level should be 100, right? Monsters of levels seventy or eighty in the Sandy Sea Stone Forest shouldn’t be a big problem for you, should they?”
Hearing this.
Baron nodded. “Indeed, not a huge problem in itself. But simply passing through the Sandy Sea Stone Forest area is meaningless. Only after a human professional completes the quest will the monster respawn mechanism in the Sandy Sea Stone Forest be disabled. What I want isn’t just to retrieve the Eternal Flame, but also to lead my people back into the caverns.”
Lu Ran roughly understood.
Baron, as if thinking of something, continued, “And, as I just said, it’s not something you all can accomplish now. Those Titan Statues in the Sandy Sea Stone Forest actually have a connection to the dwarves.”
According to Baron’s explanation.
Hill Dwarves originated as a branch of the Ancestral Dwarves.
And the dwarven race evolved from the Primordial Earthen who were originally Titanforged creations.
But this evolution wasn’t directed evolution it happened randomly.
As a result.
Some of the Earthen lost their sentience and degenerated into monsters like the Titan Statues.
Their attack and defense are much higher than ordinary level seventy or eighty monsters.
The difficulty is also greater!
Considering Lu Ran and his team’s level, Baron was even more convinced they couldn’t possibly complete the mission now.
“Since you have gained Tina’s recognition and obtained the Elf Wings, you are considered a friend of the dwarves. I cannot easily let you take such a risk. If something happens to you, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to the Nature Elves,” the Dwarf King said solemnly.
So.
Bringing Lu Ran and the others to see the Dwarf Forge wasn’t just about going through the storyline.
It was also to persuade Lu Ran to give up on this quest for now.
“When I originally set up the quest scroll, I didn’t put a time limit on it. You can come back to continue it anytime, but you’ll need to wait until you’re at least level seventy,” Baron said seriously.
No way!
Lu Ran immediately vetoed this suggestion in his mind.
Level seventy?
Lu Ran hadn’t even reached level forty yet! And the further you go, the slower leveling becomes!
Level seventy was who knows how far off; Lu Ran couldn’t wait that long.
Besides.
He needed the massive amount of experience points that the subsequent series of this quest would bring!
“I’m confident I can complete the quest. How about this: let’s go to the Sandy Sea Stone Forest first. I’ll prove through action that I’m not just talking big,” Lu Ran said directly.
Given the Dwarf King’s attitude, just verbally stating he was capable probably wouldn’t be very convincing.
So, he’d prove it through action!
Only by witnessing Lu Ran’s abilities firsthand would the Dwarf King relent.
Otherwise, if he didn’t agree, there was really no way to proceed with this quest.
Lu Ran did understand the Dwarf King’s concerns.
After leading teams to the Sandy Sea Stone Forest for so many years, regardless of whether it was for the plot, going there repeatedly to reach the entrance without being able to clear the monsters, which kept respawning, would give anyone psychological trauma.
Of course.
Lu Ran still didn’t understand one thing: since the Dwarf King was capable of reaching the cavern entrance, why didn’t he just go in and get the Eternal Flame?
Probably…
there were more series of quests waiting for Lu Ran to solve later.
“Alright then, I’ll take you all to have a look. Words are useless; only when you see the power of the Titan Statues for yourselves will you know when to back down,” the Dwarf King agreed.
His purpose, however, was to make Lu Ran and his team realize the difficulty and give up.
The group left Blackstone City.
They headed northwest.
The area was heavily desertified, but the geological structure was interspersed with rocks, which was quite suitable for dwarves to build caverns.
Suddenly, Lu Ran thought of something and asked, “By the way, since the cavern entrance is blocked by the Sandy Sea Stone Forest, why don’t the dwarves just dig down from another direction or location?”
This was easy to understand.
If this entrance was blocked, why not dig down somewhere else to get back?
Why insist on this particular entrance?
Baron explained, “You might not know this, but the Hill Dwarves were forced underground; we aren’t naturally very skilled at digging. The caverns are the result of thousands of years of dwarven generations managing them. Moreover, they are extremely deep. Digging from another direction would require an incalculable amount of time and specific geological conditions.”
Lu Ran roughly understood, but guessed it was mostly determined by the plot.
Annie was following close behind Lu Ran. She seemed rarely to leave the city, nervously clutching her rusty hammer, warily watching their surroundings while also unable to hide the curiosity and excitement on her face.
The group moved forward and down a slope.
Looking ahead, there was a long, narrow, and deep canyon. Inside, jagged rocks stood in great numbers, like a forest of twisted chopsticks stuck into the ground scattered everywhere.
Just one glance was enough to understand.
This should be the Sandy Sea Stone Forest!
