First Raid Preparations

As I returned to Lunaris Capital, a thought suddenly hit me—a memory I'd almost forgotten. Around this time, several items were about to be discontinued. Due to the sheer number of useless items cluttering the game, an update was coming that would phase out items with low usage rates.

One such item was the Red Orc Warrior's Ring. It provided a modest +5 Strength boost, but at the cost of increasing incoming damage by 5%. The ring also had a peculiar special attribute, The wearer is always considered to be in a low health state.

In reality, this didn't lower your health; it merely locked your character's status as if they were at low health. For now, it was a mostly useless item with a high drop rate and no immediate benefits.

That was the case back then, at least.

However, this item's value skyrocketed when level caps were raised, and advanced classes were introduced. The item became critical for classes like Barbarian and Berserker, both of which had passive abilities that made them stronger the lower their health.

By equipping the Red Orc Warrior's Ring, players could maintain their passive bonuses without actually risking their lives, creating an insane synergy between the item and those classes.

Once word got out, the ring, which had been phased out, became one of the most sought-after items.

I quickly opened the auction house and searched for the Red Orc Warrior's Ring. Sure enough, there were only a few left, priced at a steep 2 gold each.

I bought them.

Knowing the future, I knew this investment would pay off massively. While the game world may have changed slightly, this item would still have countless uses.

Of course, the ring wasn't without its downsides. Against specific boss monsters, the low health status could be a death sentence. Some bosses had a skill called Execution, which targeted characters in low health states. If you were executed, the boss gained 10 seconds of invincibility, and the character couldn't be revived.

But that was a future concern. For now, I was satisfied with my purchase.

With these items secured, I could guarantee myself a massive fortune once their value spiked. It also meant I had the flexibility to alter my class route. With enough funds, I could switch to a full DPS class like Barbarian or Berserker and out-damage everyone in future raids.

But that was a problem for later. I shook my head, refocusing on the present.

Now that I'd leveled up, it was time to upgrade my gear. Armor wasn't a priority—I could make do with standard shop gear for now. But I needed a better weapon.

At my current level, the Highlander of Moonrise Ridge was ideal.

This was a rare item series that dropped in a popular grinding spot known as Moonrise Ridge.

It would serve me well until I reached max level.

The auction house price was a hefty 70 gold, but after selling off the loot from my recent hunts, I could afford it.

I made the purchase, and soon, my in-game mailbox lit up.

[Highlander of Moonrise Ridge]

[Attack Power: +150]

[Level Requirement: 15]

[Bonus: +20 Attack Power against demonic type enemies]

[This weapon has been bathed in the sacred moonlight of Moonrise Ridge, a powerful blade wielded by the elite warriors of Lunaris.]

Veteran players used to say that the Moonrise Ridge series was an unbalanced set of gear.

I had to agree. The stats on these items often outperformed weapons meant for level 20 characters, leading to their high market value.

Even so, 70 gold felt a bit excessive.

I drew the sword and gave it a few practice swings. Soft moonlight shimmered along the blade, scattering in all directions.

As expected of a rare item, the visual effects were stunning. Naturally, this drew the attention of nearby players.

After all, I was now carrying a weapon worth over 100,000 won in real-world currency. People couldn't help but stare.

Uncomfortable with the attention, I quickly made my way through the crowded streets of Lunaris Capital.

As I wandered down a familiar path, I stopped in my tracks, my eyes catching sight of something both strange and familiar—a flowerbed.

It was the location of a hidden quest.

In this spot, if you found a small note buried among the flowers, it would trigger a quest. Only one player could initiate the quest per hour, and back in the day, this place was often packed with players waiting for their turn.

Had no one discovered it yet?

It was entirely possible.

With how far game security had advanced, players likely hadn't figured out how to exploit or data-mine hidden quests.

I approached the flowerbed and searched through it, and soon enough, I found the note.

Had no one else stumbled upon this?

I glanced around, but no one seemed to pay attention as I carefully unfolded the note.

The quest had officially begun.

I skimmed the message, a faint memory of the quest line coming to mind.

[Meet me at the southern gate of Lunaris Capital]

The handwriting was elegant and delicate.

Following the instructions, I made my way to the southern gate, where I found a female NPC wandering nearby.

Her name was Lyn, a forlorn woman waiting for her lover.

I approached her and held out the note. She reacted immediately.

"Th-that's...?"

"I found this in the flowerbed. It's yours, right?"

"Y-yes... It's the note I gave to Vincent. Thank you so much."

The first part of the quest ended here. But if I kept talking to her, she would ask for my help, just like I remembered.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"Oh, adventurer... Yes, I need help. No matter how long I waited, Vincent never showed up."

If I were still using a mouse and keyboard, two dialogue options would have popped up on the screen:

[Find Vincent] - [Refuse]

Of course, I'd help her. I already knew where Vincent was, so there was no point wasting time.

"I'll find him for you."

The world of Deren Online had advanced far enough that NPCs could respond naturally to a player's voice.

"Really? Thank you so much!"

After accepting the quest, the quest tracker updated with only minimal information.

That's what you'd expect from a hidden quest. Normally, I'd need to visit Vincent's house to gather clues, but I already knew exactly where he was.

Without delay, I left the capital and made my way to the Red Orc Encampment, a level 15–20 hunting ground.

As a popular spot, it was busy, but not overcrowded.

"Hiring DPS for a run!"

"Looking for healers to grind until morning!"

"Need a mage! We have an open spot in our hunting party!"

The area echoed with players shouting to recruit party members.

But I wasn't here for the hunt. My goal was the quest experience.

The quest I was on promised a massive chunk of experience, enough to help me level up rapidly.

As soon as I set foot in the encampment, my quest log began to update.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

The sounds of completed quest notifications flooded my ears. Several quest steps had been skipped, and an enormous amount of experience poured in.

Even though the world had changed, Deren's mechanics remained the same. Skipping quest steps would still grant all the accumulated rewards at once.

There was even a famous story about this system.

In the early days of Deren Online, a quest had been bugged, preventing players from completing it. Rather than fixing the bug, the developers simply hid the broken quest and created a system that allowed players to skip ahead while still receiving all the skipped rewards.

My character's level surged upward, from 15 to 17 in an instant.

The sudden level-up effects drew the attention of nearby players.

Without doing much of anything, I had leveled up. Understandably, this caught people off guard.

Ignoring the stares, I made my way to the center of the encampment. My goal was to reach a hidden storage room beneath one of the central tents.

Crossing the camp, I found the tent in question.

There were no monsters around; the other parties had cleared the area.

With no interruptions, I entered the tent and found a bound NPC inside.

Since he was part of my quest, other players couldn't interact with him.

But I was on the right part of the quest chain, so I drew my sword and cut the ropes binding him. Vincent immediately jumped to his feet.

"Thank you! I thought I was going to die here!"

"Lyn sent me. Follow me."

"R-really? Lyn... she's still waiting for me?"

The NPC's story didn't matter much to me. I was here for the experience.

Without another word, I began leading Vincent out of the camp.

In about 20 seconds, an event would trigger—orc reinforcements would appear, and waves of elite monsters would spawn.

Normally, you wouldn't be able to escape the camp in time, but there was a trick to it.

Behind the camp, there was a patch of tall grass. If I cut through it, I could escape in less than 10 seconds.

I guided Vincent toward the back of the camp.

We reached the patch of tall grass, and just as I remembered, we slipped through without issue.

As soon as we made it out, a loud clang of alarm bells rang out behind us, followed by the fierce battle cries of the Red Orcs.

The event had begun.

But it wasn't my problem anymore—the players hunting in that area would have to deal with the oncoming horde.