King Theodarren of Rosenheim has little time left to live. In preparation for his death, he desires for an imperial tomb.
Difficulty: ‘B’.
Reward: If successful, you will receive at least 50 points of reputation with Royal Court.
Depending on the amount of work you’ve done, additional Fame and rewards might be granted.
“Thank you.”
“Really, you have my gratitude.”
After receiving the quest, players gratefully thanked him.
Because the quest was originally given to Weed, he had the authority to select who he wanted to join him. Though the rewards for other people were different from the initial quest, people were still happy to be able to join a B rank quest given by the King.
Finally, it was Pale and his party’s turn.
“Wow, a B rank quest...”
“You said you needed our help?”
Pale felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.
Why did he ever believe Weed?!
The moment he saw Weed with his innocent expression, he should have suspected something. And once he heard Weed announced that he will be sharing the quest, he should have thought of an excuse and ran away.
He should have felt something was strange. The B rank quest.
Pale and the girls knew exactly how Weed had completed a similar quest back in the province of Mora, so now they were in the state of panic and dreaded what was coming.
“I will follow your every command.”
“Assign any task to me, I won’t fail you.”
Almost every player who was present wanted to participate in the construction of the tomb. Getting such a quest was the cause of excitement for everyone in the crowd. This was no surprise since the majority of the people were beginners and never before had someone commissioned a B rank quest, usually restricted to higher level players, for just 1 gold.
While commissioning people, Weed started visualizing a plan in his head.
“First of all, I need to pick a good spot to build the tomb. An open area with a good view of mountains and rivers. Does anyone know of such a place?”
As soon as Weed asked, a couple of people raised their hands.
“I know a place like that!”
“Me too. It’s closed to the Serabourg’s castle on the eastern plains. It has a river to the north, and mountains to the south.”
“What about the hill north of the castle? It’s a sunny area with a great view”
One of the most important elements of a creating successful sculpture is to take its surroundings into account and take advantage of where the sculpture will be built.
Feng-Shui!
For a greater chance of success, he needed to choose a perfect place. Weed decided to personally visit the suggested sites before settling for the best.
When Weed moved, thousands of players followed. Along the way, other players started join, similar to resonating a snowball.
Finally, Weed stopped in an area East of Serabourg’s Palace. The area was spacious enough for the construction, and there were large boulders everywhere.
‘If there are a lot of stones, then the ground’s pretty solid... The scenery is decent. This is the one.’
Usually, tombs were built in ravines or mountains. But to make a grave to Weed’s concept, he needed a broad and flat area.
“Now that that I’ve decided on this place, we’ll need a lot of building materials to construct the tomb. Does anyone know of any nearby quarries? We’ll need stones that can withstand a great deal of weight.”
“I know of one” an answer was immediately heard from the crowd.
People usually overlook places such as quarries, however, the people in the crowd knew of many places.
Weed decided to visit the quarries.
Incredible large stones were piled up like a mountain
Though with some work, they will be able to harness the stones into proper building materials for the tomb.
Once again, Weed instigated the people gathered in front of the quarry.
“Now then, let’s get started on the B rank quest!”
“Whhooooaaa!”
“As you know, the rewards will be given according to your performance, so we’ll start working as soon as possible, and that means now. For those who are unwilling to participate now, can begin tomorrow”
“Let’s get started!”
“We’ve got no time to lose!”
The fame and reward they receive depends on their participation. Naturally, people wanted to start at once.
***
There are many Kingdoms and adventurers in the continent of Versailles! However, despite the great distances, rumors traveled at the speed of light.
On Royal Road’s website, someone wrote an article:
Topic: B rank difficulty quest.
Something incredible is happening in Rosenheim Kingdom.
For the first time ever, a player appeared and received an audience with the King. And what’s even more surprising, he announced that the King commissioned him to a B rank quest and shared with amongst other players.
Sharing a high ranking quest made no sense.
Generally, higher level players had to form parties for a slim chance to complete such quests.
And in Rosenheim Kingdom where majority of people are still low levels, sharing a significant quest is reckless.
I was there to witness the event, but negative to the idea.
To my surprise, the player’s profession was a sculptor. The B rank quest was to build a Royal tomb. Yet everyone joined the quest as it seemed to yield great rewards.
The somewhat exciting post of a B rank quest instantly caught the attention of a large amount of people. The article created a chain reaction.
Coincidentally, most of the posted topics on Royal Road’s website were written by players from the center of the continent.
Many players gathered their information from stories of veterans in the center of the continent. Therefore players who started on the edge of the continent were disregarded.
The center of the continent was thought to be exemplary, as most of the good weapons, armors, and information came from there. And it was the first time players from the central regions were envious of those who started in the Kingdom of Rosenheim, which was once considered as an ‘undeveloped frontier’.
- Do you really think it’s a B rank difficulty quest?
- If this is true, it’ll be big.
- And they said anyone can participate... Players from Rosenheim Kingdom sure are lucky.
- I’m from Dor Kingdom, but I’m going to Rosenheim as fast as possible.
- A sculptor... I didn’t know such profession existed. I’m surprised that he met the King and received a high ranking quest.
An illusion about the sculptor profession was ingrained into the minds of people. An exclusive right to a quest commissioned by the King was given to a player with a rare profession!
The number of novice sculptors holding engraving knives had escalated, and often sculpture shops were filled with customers.
***
Players swarmed the mountains around the quarry like ants.
“O ye wind, collect thy power and slay ye foe of mine! The Wind Blade!”
Mages used all their mana to fire spells one after the other. With rocks as their goal!
“My axe rivaled no one! Shatter any obstacle! Double Strike!” Barbarians yelled as they swung their axes.
Players used various skills, spells and techniques to divide the stones and shaped them into squares, then mages used spells to decrease the weight of the stones and the remaining players carry them to the construction site.
“Now everyone, one, two, three, lift! Heave-ho!”
Dozens of players hauled the stones to the foot of the mountain. No one rushed, as carrying a large boulder down the steep mountain slope was dangerous. Stones were then loaded into wagons and carts to be dragged the rest of the way.
“Move faster”
“We can carry these by ourselves”
With great effort, stones were begun to pile up in the area east of Serabourg’s Palace. Players carried stones through sweat and tears!
‘It’s so heavy, that I want to die.’
‘This weight will drive me crazy.’
‘I’m tired.’
Every player who carried stones was tempted to quit a hundred times. But once they delivered the stone they are currently carrying, they always returned for the next one.
Damn addictive!
The prestigious B rank quest distracted their ability to reason. However, that wasn’t the sole cause. Weed racked his brain and devised an effective scheme to brainwash the people. Whenever a player delivers a stone, Weed would tell them how much work they had done.
“That was your 12th stone. At the moment, the record is 14 stones.”
Subtle rivalry.