Chapter 278: Open the Gates! Release the Fourth Calamity!
Heaven's Chosen Space, Mission Center area.
In the bounty mission list, which only players of Black Iron rank or higher could view, a red-highlighted mission had been updated and pinned to the very top of all tasks.
Currently, it was the early stage of a new month, and it also overlapped with the auction day, so the space had a higher-than-usual flow of people. Many independent players and player guilds would consciously pay attention to the refresh of bounty missions, and this red-highlighted special mission immediately entered their sight.
Bounty Mission: Ys Origin: The Twin Towers' Valiant Warriors
Mission Description: Under the interference of the Clan of Darkness, an evil Black Tower capable of containing and producing monsters has been erected on the distorted land. To counter it, the Twin Goddesses have built a righteous White Tower. Your mission is to assist the Twin Goddesses' faction in fending off the surging tide of monster armies.
Dungeon Blueprint: Ys Origin
Key Terms: Head-to-Head Tower Defense PVE — Players will join the "Twin Goddesses" faction, which is currently at a distinct disadvantage, as reinforcements from the Space to collectively resist the "Clan of Darkness". Players need to defend the main base building of the Twin Goddesses' faction, the "White Tower", while resisting and killing an endless stream of monsters, counter-attacking the enemy, and ultimately conquering the "Black Tower" and its creator. If their own "White Tower" or the Twin Goddesses are overrun, the mission will be considered a forced failure, players will lose all earnings within the dungeon, and will be forced into the evacuation phase.
Soul Fragments — In addition to a chance of dropping treasure chests, killing any monster will inevitably drop a special resource called "Soul Fragments". This resource will be automatically picked up and recorded under the killer's personal name. Players can consume the corresponding number of Soul Fragments to purchase special options, including but not limited to "Consumables (HP recovery, MP recovery)", "Goddess's Blessing (various types)", "Summon a projection of an NPC with whom the player has established a personal reputation of friendly or higher"; drops from monsters killed by summoned projected NPC units will also be counted as that player's drops; some NPC projections are unique and can only be re-summoned after being killed, and the killing of an NPC projection will not affect the main body; NPC projections are not subject to the restrictions of the "Knights and Mages" term.
Cleria Ore — Cleria Ore, which was the foundation of the ancient Ys Kingdom yet also the source of monster generation, will appear as a low-probability drop in monster treasure chests. The essence of this ore is Enchanted Mithril and can be used in various situations. Players can submit Cleria Ore to the Twin Goddesses / Holy Beast Reah / Six High Priests Jemma Family to enhance equipment items. The success rate for enhancements before +7 is 100%, and the success rate for enhancements above +7 will decrease, but at least a 10% enhancement success bonus will be retained.
Knights and Mages — Omitted.
No-Fly Twin Towers — Equivalent to No-Fly Black Tower, the no-fly zone extends to both the Twin Black and White Towers.
Entry Conditions: Black Iron / Bronze rank, White-name player, 1W entry fee, 10-person instance limit, 10-minute entry countdown.
As the star item of the month's auction, the 'Crimson Chaos Staff' probably had a higher recall value than the 'Angel's Clothes' that capped the event.
The Angel's Clothes were unattainable for most people, but the Crimson Chaos Staff gave some specific wealthy individuals the illusion that they might be able to afford it if they tried hard enough.
Moreover, its permanent buffs were even more powerful than clearing some regular main quests, so it was enough to be talked about for quite some time.
Based on this, a portion of players paid some extra attention to the black pearl fragment that Cheng Tian ultimately received from buyer number 3.
A brand new, completely unknown dungeon delve might yield high rewards, but at the same time, one must bear uncertain risks. It belonged to the domain that only true adventurers and confident powerhouses dared to touch.
The reactions of the players who were staking out the bounty dungeons when they saw the Ys Origin dungeon appear were quite interesting.
The entry conditions seemed strict, with player rank limitations, a hefty entry fee, and the requirement of being a white-name player, among others. However, when the target group expanded to all Heaven's Chosen players, those who met the conditions were plentiful.
In less than a minute, the 10 slots were filled, causing many players who learned about the dungeon later to arrive and read the dungeon terms, only to pound their chests in frustration.
Several key terms of this dungeon were unprecedented for players, but anyone who wasn't a complete newcomer could immediately grasp their special nature.
"Head-to-Head Tower Defense" represented another form of faction confrontation, but because the Clan of Darkness faction and its strength within the dungeon were overwhelmingly superior to the Twin Goddesses' side, player intervention was not needed at all. Therefore, what should have been a "Head-to-Head Tower Defense PVP" format became "Head-to-Head Tower Defense PVE".
"Soul Fragments" were somewhat novel; besides being able to buy supplies and buffs for oneself, one could even experience the feeling of being a summoner. However, the exact situation would need to be confirmed after entering the dungeon. Those who couldn't enter could only wait outside.
And the "Cleria Ore" term, which allowed for permanent upgrades to equipment items, obviously held a strong appeal for all players, even including the Big Boss of Bronze rank and above.
As for "Knights and Mages" and "No-Fly Twin Towers", these two terms imposed restrictions on players and the area, respectively, further narrowing the range of eligible players to a certain extent.
Compared to the players who were pounding their chests in frustration at the mission center service desk, the players who had successfully secured a spot in person were already making the most of the last 10 minutes to stock up on supplies.
Those who could decisively decide to pay the 1W entry fee would have some surplus themselves; they had enough savings to buy some supplies and essence potions.
As the teleportation light shone, 10 players entered the dungeon one after another, then appeared almost simultaneously in the center of the plaza on the lowest level of the White Tower.
Not only were these players present here, but there was also a group of "knight" and "mage" NPCs dressed in very magical attire waiting around.
Upon discovering their presence, these NPCs showed a considerable degree of enthusiasm, treating them entirely as comrades-in-arms. This was a very rare attitude, even for white-name players who often started in righteous factions.
After a brief exchange, the players learned that the power system of this world was typical medieval fantasy, and the knight profession essentially leaned more towards a magic-wielding knight who practiced both martial arts and magic, with both physical and magical professions drawing their power from magic.
However, just as the players believed that the gentle man whom the NPCs called "High Priest" was the main spokesperson for the current faction besides the Twin Goddesses, the NPCs' sudden chatter ceased.
Everyone followed the NPCs' gaze and saw a person wearing a peculiar mask step out of the White Tower.
At the same time, a fully armored shield guard, Ogrun, who was very conspicuous in the crowd, felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from the newcomer.