Lu Ran approached the torch.
Staring at the small flame before him, he seriously doubted this was the Eternal Flame.
But it definitely wasn’t just an ordinary lighting fixture here either.
This hall was empty and desolate; besides the dwarf statues lining the left and right sides, this torch was the most conspicuous thing there.
Moreover.
The torch’s position was dead center at the end of the hall!
Absolute center stage!
To be on the safe side, Lu Ran opened his communicator, described the torch’s appearance, and asked the Dwarf King if this was indeed the Eternal Flame.
After listening, the Dwarf King’s face flushed with excitement.
He nodded excitedly and shouted, “Yes, yes, that’s the Eternal Flame!”
Getting confirmation, Lu Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at the small flame before him, he just couldn’t connect this tiny fire with the Dwarf Forge, or even the forging capabilities of the entire dwarven race, no matter how he tried.
But regardless, he was here to complete a mission. Since the Dwarf King said it was, then it was!
So.
Lu Ran directly opened his backpack and tried to store the Eternal Flame inside.
The next second.
Poof~
The flame went out, scaring Lu Ran so much his face turned pale.
“Damn, it didn’t just go out for good, did it?” Lu Ran’s face darkened.
If he didn’t bring back the Eternal Flame and instead extinguished it, that would be a real disaster!
Thinking this, Lu Ran quickly opened his backpack to check.
Only then did he heave a huge sigh of relief.
There was indeed a new item in his backpack; the icon was that of a small flame.
“I wonder if this counts as equipment?” Lu Ran thought curiously.
He then clicked to view the item’s attributes.
[Eternal Flame]
[Description: Quest Item]
That was it.
No quality, no attributes, nothing. It was different from the Elf Wings.
This thing was just a quest item.
But it didn’t matter. Even if it were equipment, Lu Ran probably couldn’t keep it for himself anyway, as it concerned the lifeblood of the dwarven race.
Next.
Lu Ran planned to leave this place.
But as he turned around, Lu Ran felt a bit troubled.
He had found this place by running around like a headless chicken, without any clear route whatsoever.
Of course, he didn’t know the way back either!
“I’ll have to rely on luck again,” Lu Ran muttered.
He wasn’t feeling too stressed about it, though.
He had the Eternal Flame now anyway. Spending a bit more time finding the way out didn’t matter.
Thinking this, Lu Ran quickened his pace and continued running around like a headless chicken.
His luck wasn’t great this time.
It took him over an hour to find the trapped corridor again.
Standing at the bottom of the trapped corridor, Lu Ran looked up and took a deep breath, unable to suppress a shiver.
Going down was painful; going up was going to be just as painful!
Plus, going uphill would be even slower!
“Man, this is such a hassle,” Lu Ran cursed under his breath.
He didn’t hesitate.
Gritting his teeth, he braced himself and ran upwards.
Instantly, various traps began to activate.
Lu Ran ran amidst sparks and lightning, howling and wailing, but he wasn’t losing any health.
Besides, he’d get a reward once he was out. It was a kind of pleasurable pain.
Soon enough.
Lu Ran appeared at the entrance, his legs still trembling.
Seeing Lu Ran in such a peculiar state, the Dwarf King hesitated to speak.
Lu Ran directly handed over the Eternal Flame.
He said, “Here, this is the Eternal Flame. If I give it to you, does that mean the mission is complete?”
The Dwarf King took the Eternal Flame.
Tears of excitement welled in his eyes.
A Hill Dwarf possessing the Eternal Flame was a complete dwarf!
“Of course, of course, it’s complete. Only the last mission remains, then this series will be finished,” the Dwarf King said excitedly.
Oh?
Lu Ran was startled. There was one more mission?
Just as he thought this.
Ding!
[Mission: The Eternal Flame’s Continuation (4) Complete!]
[Reward Received: One chance to forge at the Dwarf Forge!]
[New mission triggered, please check promptly!]
He got the reward!
And there really was one last mission!
Lu Ran didn’t understand. Since this was the Eternal Flame mission series, and he’d already obtained the Eternal Flame, what else could be left?
“The last mission is a small one, actually… actually, it’s something you can finish conveniently,” the Dwarf King said to Lu Ran, but his expression was extremely odd.
Lu Ran was puzzled.
He stared at the mission panel.
Looking at it, his mind went blank!
[Mission: The Eternal Flame’s Continuation (5)]
[Objective: Close the trapped corridor from the inside, allowing the dwarven race to return to the cave]
[Reward: 80 million experience]
Another 80 million experience.
Honestly, Lu Ran was thrilled about such a huge amount of experience.
But…
This mission…
It was a bit awkward!
Lu Ran looked at the Dwarf King.
He asked, “So, the mechanisms in the trapped corridor are turned off from the inside. You mentioned that before, but… isn’t this a follow-up mission? I had to come out and give you the Eternal Flame to unlock the follow-up mission, right?”
The embarrassed look on the Dwarf King’s face grew thicker.
He scratched his head and said, “In principle, that’s correct. My original intention for setting the last small mission was to set up a welfare mission to thank the warrior who helped the dwarven clan. It’s very simple. At the end of the trapped corridor, there’s a button at the base of the wall. Press it, and it closes.”
Lu Ran blinked.
He said, “So…”
“If you had just pressed it and then come out, after this last small mission unlocked, it would have been completed immediately,” the Dwarf King said.
The corner of Lu Ran’s mouth twitched.
He took a deep breath and asked, “So, if I had pressed the button earlier and turned off the traps, I wouldn’t have had to endure the traps all the way back out, and after coming out, the mission would have been completed directly?”
The Dwarf King nodded seriously and said, “That’s what it means.”
Lu Ran’s body trembled.
He continued asking, “But I didn’t turn it off just now, so now I need to endure the traps going down again, and press it?”
The Dwarf King nodded again, saying, “Yes, that’s correct.”
Damn!
Lu Ran almost started cursing outright.
Why the hell didn’t you say so when I was inside?
If he’d said so earlier, Lu Ran could have conveniently turned off the traps, then walked out without enduring them, and directly completed the mission. How smooth would that have been!
But now.
To complete the mission, Lu Ran had to endure the traps again to go down, turn off the traps, and then run back!
Of course.
On his way back, there would be no traps.
But precisely because Lu Ran didn’t turn them off conveniently, this round trip meant enduring the misery of the trapped corridor twice.
This made Ye Hongyi and the other two burst out laughing beside him.
“I’m numb, truly numb,” Lu Ran said with a helpless, wry smile.
Then, gritting his teeth, he prepared to go down again.
“I’ll give you a speed buff,” Liu Xinxin suddenly spoke.
Lu Ran was stunned and looked at Liu Xinxin.
Then his eyes widened, and he asked, “Oh right, Sister Xinxin can speed me up, but last time…”
“I forgot last time…” Liu Xinxin shrugged.
“…” Lu Ran was speechless at this point.
