Kaito retrieved the golden scroll from his inventory. Its surface shimmered faintly, runes glowing as if alive. The moment he saw it, he froze. His hand hovered, ready to unlock it, but he stopped himself. This wasn't an ordinary scroll.
He knew what it was the rare Quest Scrolls that sometimes dropped from high-level bosses. He hadn't expected to see one here, not in the Misty Palace. These scrolls were special. Completing the quest tied to them often granted a God's Blessing. Such blessings gave immense advantages: extra strength when fighting Abyss monsters, a holy light effect added to every attack against them, and even discounts inside kingdoms that worshipped the respective god. For many players, just one blessing could change the course of their journey.
But these quests came with a price they were notoriously difficult. The harder the reward, the harsher the task. Every God's Blessing Quest scroll was linked to the Abyss, and the Abyss never gave anything easily.
Kaito remembered one tale from his previous life. A high-ranking player once obtained such a scroll. His quest was to slay 10,000 Abyssal monsters of Gold rank or higher, all at or above his own level. At first, that player thought it was simple enough. He called in friends, formed a strong party, and started farming Abyssal monsters.
But after only a hundred kills, disaster struck. The Abyss had marked him. The Floor Lord who ruled over those monsters had noticed. From that day on, every time he stepped outside a neutral city or safe zone, swarms of Abyssal demons ambushed him. Hunting for his quest became impossible just surviving was a struggle. What was supposed to be a blessing had nearly become a curse.
Not only had that player failed the quest, but because the reward involved a God's Blessing, the punishment for failure was just as extreme it came with a God's Curse.
This curse was terrifying. It didn't just lower your stats it reduced the favorability of NPCs everywhere. In almost every city of Glory, there were always worshippers of different gods. Only two or three cities in the entire world had no worshippers at all, and even those were rare exceptions. Most kingdoms might not officially serve a god, but inside their cities, there were always people who prayed to one. And the holy kingdoms, the ones built directly around worship, were even worse. They were named after their gods and ruled under their divine will.
So when that player failed his quest, his curse spread wide. Not only did all NPCs treat him with hostility, but the church of the god he had got the curse from, placed a bounty on his head. From then on, he was hunted both outside and inside the cities. The Abyssal monsters that had already marked him never stopped besieging him, and now the NPCs also joined in.
He became like a rat crossing the street whoever saw him killed him.
And this wasn't some weak player. He had been a high-rank, god-level expert, with years of progress. But just because of one quest scroll, his entire account was crippled. In the end, he had no choice but to delete it and start fresh from level one. All his hard work, all those years, gone in a moment.
That was why Kaito was cautious now. Even though he was only level fifteen, he knew how dangerous this scroll could be. Sometimes the quest began the very moment the scroll was unlocked. And if that happened, he would be trapped in it whether he wanted to or not.
So when the golden scroll in his hand asked if he wanted to unlock it, Kaito didn't hesitate.
He chose NO.
After selecting No, then Kaito carefully stored the golden scroll back into his inventory. He wasn't going to take chances with it now. The scroll could wait. Before he touched something so dangerous, he would need backup plans in place.
With that settled, he turned his attention back to his team. They had fought hard, and now it was time to tally their rewards from the dungeon.
Together, they gathered all the equipment and items dropped throughout the entire run from the very first monster in the Misty Palace all the way to the final battle against the Abyssal Wraith Royal Guards and the Mist Queen Demon.
When the pile was sorted, the numbers surprised even Kaito.
Before the final battle with the Mist Queen, their haul had already been impressive: 29 pieces of Mysterious Iron gear, 51 Bronze pieces, and 4 Silver pieces, most of which were already equipped by Hiroto, Suzune, and Raven Blade. They had also collected 2 gold coins.
But after the final clash, their loot had grown even more. From the Abyssal Wraith Royal Guards alone, they gained 30 more Mysterious Iron pieces. No Bronze dropped this time every Guard left behind at least Mysterious Iron rank equipment.
The Queen herself dropped even better rewards. Along with her two Gold rank treasures the necklace and the mist-discharging ring she also gave them 5 Silver pieces. On top of that came mana cores: 10 low-grade Rank 0 cores, 10 medium Rank 0 cores, 30 high-grade Rank 0 cores, and 10 high-grade Rank 1 cores. Finally, there were the coins. Counting everything the Guards and Queen had dropped, their purse now held 40 gold coins in total.
When the tally was finished, the team couldn't hide their excitement. Their tired faces brightened as they finally understood just how much they had earned.
Kaito let them enjoy the moment for a little while before speaking. "Take a short rest and recover," he told them. Hearing this, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Some simply sat down on the cracked floor, leaning back against broken pillars. Others slid down the walls or dropped to where rubble lay scattered. Wherever there was space, they collapsed, breathing hard but relieved that it was finally over.
Kaito, however, didn't sit. Instead, his eyes moved toward the throne the one object that had remained untouched in the destruction of the room. He walked toward it slowly, thoughts stirring in his mind.
He remembered something.
In his previous life, there had been a secret here, hidden so well that almost no one knew about it. Even among the strongest players who had cleared the Misty Palace King-level dungeon, nearly all had missed it. It had only been discovered after more than a hundred clears, when one exhausted player had slumped into the throne and accidentally pressed a mechanism hidden near it. That had revealed a secret compartment below the throne room a hidden mission.
And that mission had changed everything.
The player who discovered it had been nothing special before. For half of his time in Glory, he had been considered average, never standing out. But after completing that hidden mission, he was suddenly raised to the rank of a god-level player, surpassing countless others. The mission was unique, able to be completed only once in the history of Glory. When he cleared it, he boasted the reason for his success endlessly on the forums, and his name became famous.
The discovery caused chaos. Other players, realizing they had overlooked something so huge, went back to search dungeons far more carefully. And in the higher-level ones, they found other secrets too. From that moment on, people understood that Glory wasn't like other games. Here, patience, sharp eyes, and caution could matter just as much as battle strength.
Remembering all this, Kaito's expression turned firm. This was the chance.
He approached the throne. Though he already knew a mechanism was hidden nearby, its exact spot was unknown. He would have to search carefully. Still, he felt confident. In his past life, after the secret was revealed, he and his old team had gained plenty of experience in uncovering hidden mechanisms. With that knowledge, and the clue that it was near the throne, he believed he would find it.
Kaito placed his hand on the cold surface of the throne and began his careful search.