Root Bind seemed to be the same ability the Withered Colossus Tree had used to manipulate its branches during battle.
This skill would only shine when paired with the Bow of Withering. The bow could summon withered roots, and Root Bind would allow for their direct control. Used together, it would be a deadly combo—both dealing damage and controlling the battlefield. A synergy where one plus one was definitely more than two.
Unfortunately, Rhys wasn't an archer. The Bow of Withering offered him no real benefits, which meant Root Bind was essentially a dead skill in his hands.
"Might as well sell it."
Rhys stashed both the Bow of Withering and Root Bind into his backpack, decision made.
He wasn't worried about finding a buyer. At this stage of the game, the Bow of Withering plus Root Bind combo could easily be considered a high-tier setup.
Other players didn't have Cosmic Finality, so they couldn't hunt Fiends as recklessly as he could for Chronocoins—but what they did have was money.
A single starter town could hold a massive player base, and among them, there were always a few rich kids. Even if The Epoch of Endings was labeled a Common game, its insane level of polish was enough to attract heavy spenders—and that's not even counting the fact that it was a death game with real-world consequences and power gains.
Rhys had no doubt it would sell.
With that thought, he opened up the detail panels for the other two materials.
[Material: Root of the Withered Colossus Tree (Fine)]
[Effect: Root imbued with the power of the Withered Colossus Tree. Can be used for crafting.]
[Trait: None]
[Material: Branch of the Withered Colossus Tree (Fine)]
[Effect: Branch imbued with the power of the Withered Colossus Tree. Can be used for crafting.]
[Trait: None]
The panels for the two materials were nearly identical. Rhys had no immediate use for them, so he packed them away.
Items like Slime Gel, which triggered quests, usually didn't have a rarity suffix. In contrast, crafting materials like these roots and branches from the Withered Colossus Tree did.
That was because the base quality of the crafting material directly affected the grade of whatever item it would later be used to make.
After sorting through his loot, Rhys paused for a moment to think—then allocated his newly earned attribute point into Intelligence once more.
Intelligence: 15 (+7) → 21 (+7).
Once his Intelligence hit 30, he would be eligible to learn a new Mage skill—a huge power spike for his current stage of progression.
Having done all that, Rhys turned his gaze northward and began walking toward the depths of the altar.
...
Meanwhile, back in Riverwood—
Unbeknownst to Rhys, his act of slaying the Withered Colossus Tree had already caused a major stir within the town.
[The first player to slay an Epic-level Fiend has emerged. Leaderboards are now open.]
The cold, mechanical system announcement stunned everyone into silence, followed immediately by a wave of disbelief.
"Holy crap, Epic-level Fiend? Damn, which god just descended and started playing?"
"I can't even handle the Slimes outside the gate without almost dying, and this guy's already out here killing Epic Fiends?"
"No way, bro, this can't be real. Do you even know what an Epic-level Fiend is? How much did this guy pump into the game?"
Everyone knew he was joking. The Epoch of Endings didn't have any top-up or pay-to-win system. The starting point was the same for both the rich and the poor. But no one could figure out—why was there such a huge gap between players already? Someone had already killed an Epic Fiend?
"I gotta see who the hell this guy is. Must be cracked out of his mind to already be killing Epic-level stuff."
With that thought, a lot of players opened up the new leaderboard feature announced by the system.
This newly unlocked leaderboard had three categories: Equipment Rankings, Level Rankings, and Kill Rankings.
[Level Rankings #1: Abysswalker — Current Level: LV.3]
[Equipment Rankings #1: Abysswalker — Current Gear Score: 120]
[Kill Rankings #1: Abysswalker — Current Epic/Boss Kills: 1]
Abysswalker—#1 across all three boards!
The overwhelming stats left everyone stunned, and speculation erupted about just who this mysterious Abysswalker actually was.
"Holy hell, this dude's hogging all three leaderboards—are we even allowed to play the game anymore?"
"This is rigged. Totally rigged. I'm calling it right now—there's definitely something shady going on here."
"Forget the rest, how the hell is he already Level 3? That's seriously busted."
"Exactly! The second-place guy is only Level 1. The mobs are insanely hard, and quest XP sucks. How the hell did Abysswalker make it to Level 3 already?"
Confusion, disbelief, envy, frustration—every possible emotion churned in players' hearts. But one thing was certain: the name Abysswalker was now burned into the minds of everyone present.
Meanwhile, the eye of the storm—Rhys—had no idea what kind of commotion he'd stirred up in Riverwood. Out beyond the town, he hadn't heard any of the system announcements inside.
After defeating the Withered Colossus Tree, he had reached the center of the altar and retrieved the sacred stone tablet.
Now, hurrying back, his goals were twofold—first, to sell off the Bow of Withering and Root Bind in his inventory, and second, to continue progressing the chain quest.
Standing at the door to the mayor's house, Rhys took out the stone tablet and handed it to the village elder.
The old mayor stared at the tablet, his hands trembling slightly.
"Young traveler from afar, wait here a moment. Don't worry, it'll only take a moment. Just a moment."
He muttered to himself repeatedly, his eyes fixed on the center of the tablet, scanning it back and forth.
Rhys wasn't in a hurry. He stood quietly to the side, waiting patiently as the mayor read the tablet. This quest didn't just reward an Ancient-grade necklace—Rhys was also deeply intrigued by the information hidden within it.
In The Epoch of Endings, true Deities did exist—actual divine beings. And players, too, had a chance to rise and join their ranks.
But for information about Deities to show up this early in the game, right in The Sundered Realm—that was something else entirely. After all, this place was known as the Land Forsaken by the Deities. That made Rhys all the more curious.
He waited for quite some time before the mayor finally returned to his senses. Tears had welled up and completely filled his sunken eyes.
"Forgive me, traveler. I've made a fool of myself."
Rhys shook his head. "It's alright."
He said no more—just stood there silently as a listener. Rhys believed that if the mayor was so visibly shaken, he would soon need someone to confide in about what he had discovered on the tablet. And that, in turn, would move the quest forward.
Sure enough, the mayor took a deep breath.
"The Deities haven't abandoned us. Thank the heavens… Our long vigil… was not in vain."
"Traveler, do you know the history of Riverwood? This place was once under the protection of the Deities. But ever since that great catastrophe, everything changed. The Deities' blessing vanished, and the Fiends emerged in full force. Our lands have been shrinking ever since."
At this, the mayor let out a long, heavy sigh.
"We once believed that the Deities… had forsaken us. But the message recorded on this tablet proves otherwise. We were not abandoned—we were…"
Rhys's eyes flickered with interest. "Elder, please take your time. What exactly does the tablet say?"
"The Deities encountered a great calamity… and were forced to leave this realm. They didn't even have time to inform their followers—only managed to inscribe everything onto this stone tablet so we would know the truth."
"It was our own weakness that brought this on. Without the Deities' protection, we couldn't stand against the Fiends. And in the end…"
The old mayor broke into tears, covering his face as his eyes reddened further.
Rhys's pupils narrowed slightly.
The Deities suffered a great calamity?
That was something he had never heard in his past life. That friend of his had only ever told him the quest's trigger conditions and its rewards. As for the content of the quest itself, out of a desire to forget the painful memories, the friend had never gone into detail.
Most of that friend's team had perished during this questline. The few who escaped had come out either maimed or broken in spirit—the group was completely shattered afterward.
So this news—that the Deities had faced some kind of disaster—was entirely new to Rhys. And yet… what kind of catastrophe could possibly force such mighty and divine beings to flee?
"What kind of calamity was it?"
Rhys asked urgently.
The mayor shook his head.
"It wasn't recorded on the tablet. But if the Deities have not forsaken us, then the rite of worship must be restarted. Traveler, would you be willing to…"
[Chain Quest: Relic of the Deity (1) — Completed.]
[Do you wish to accept Chain Quest: Relic of the Deity (2)?]