Chapter 169 - Graveyard Of The Corrupted Dryads

Entering the dungeon, we didn't waste our time and cleared it in the fastest time possible that even if Kazuki and the others wanted to clear it, they can't just claim it as their own as they can't even take the clear time as their own. It is a general rule to all players that if they managed to make a record of their fastest clear time on a specific dungeon and it remains uncleared by others, then that only means they can claim it as theirs. So if the clear time is ours and not Kazuki's or his guild members, they can't just openly claim it as the other players would fight against them just to get inside the dungeon and gain its chances to be entered normally by everyone else.

[Congratulations for being the first players to clear the [Graveyard of the Corrupted Dryads]!]

Iron and Topaz are all smiles after clearing dungeons to dungeons.

"Damn, I can't believe there is a way to speedrun these dungeons without any usage of bugs or exploits!" Iron said as he was picking up the loot he likes on the ground.

"It is hardly a speedrun, it was a complete ownership of the dungeon, brother!" Topaz corrected his brother.

"No, we are not going to lay ownership of the dungeons we cleared, Topaz. These dungeons are open to all players who wanted to play, not for just specific people. And since these dungeons are not similar to the lairs of undead and skeletons near the mansion, it is different to these natural dungeons that manifested before our arrival in this game. They don't belong to anyone and any player should at least get a chance to clear it by themselves."

Yes, my reason for clearing these dungeons are not just for the humiliation of Kazuki and preventing his guild from claiming the dungeon as theirs. It is for every players will have an equal rights to at least clear the dungeon by themselves without the necessity to go through someone just to clear it.

My thoughts were interrupted when Lina stopped me from daydreaming and pulled me back from reality.

"Master, it seems I found something peculiar among the boss drops. I can't see its attributes but I can tell that it is a unique item. Can you inspect its properties?"

Lina handed a small pouch of seeds placed in a tattered bag. It doesn't look like seeds that will grow into crops as the pouch doesn't have any signs that it would be a seed crop. Any seed crop that is dropped by enemies will always be inside a small pouch with a mark of what kind of crop you would expect if you plant it on the ground.

The moment I touched the seed, a notification appeared and the notification is not only limited to me but also to Iron and Topaz who were surprised by the sudden appearance of the pop-up notification.

[Hidden Main Quest]

[The Fall and Rise of the Dryads]

Info: A long time ago, after the war of the gods occurred, the dryads were once the protectors of the forest and were the main guardian of the sacred tree, Ygdrassil. However, due to the strong darkness that corrupted many forests in the past, the dryads that were protecting the forests were corrupted, giving birth to the Corrupted Dryads that are now polluting the forests.

To avoid the destruction of the forests and to at least mitigate the spread of darkness to the Ygdrassil, the remaining dryads who were able to resist the corruption decided to bury the remaining corrupted dryads to a sealed place where they can prevent the spread of darkness. However, as a result of isolating the corrupted dryads, the remaining dryads were forced to enter into a slumber just to recover their powers.

Its been centuries since it occurred and it seems the corrupted dryads has finally been getting rid of their corruption. The seed in the hands of the adventurers are still young but they are the future of the dryads. Seek out the head of the dryads, Leto and asked her how to restore the dryads' might.]

Reward: ???

Hidden Main Quest? There is something like that?! From what I know, only the Main Quests and side quests are available in the game and I truly believe that was always the case. The Main Quest has already started and some parts of the main quest is related to the Pioneer Quests though the latter can be said to be an exclusive one time event with raid and a new land to explore as a bonus unlike Main Quest where the lore of the world progress instead.

Now what is a Hidden Main Quest? That is something I don't know. I never encountered a Hidden Main Quest in the past timeline and I also didn't hear anything about anyone getting a quest labeled as Hidden Main Quest.

So, is this some sort of hidden side of the main quest where a hidden side of the game's storyline is revealed? Maybe so.

Now here is what makes my interest piqued. The quest info mentioned Leto, the Grand Dryad Protector. She is an important character in the main quest as she has the connection to the Ygdrassil. I also know that the dryad's are getting weaker and Leto is struggling to keep her powers intact due to the declining numbers of the dryad's existing in this world.

So if we consider this quest as a part of the main quest, is this the hidden part where someone help restore the power of the dryads and help them recover their lost power back to their prime?

"Bladeheart! Just look at this! A hidden Main Quest! Did you also received it sis?" Iron asked.

"Yeah, I did. It was very sudden so I didn't expect anything about it and thought it was just the usual notification."

"We can't underestimate this quest guys. I never heard of Hidden Main Quest before and having this appear after we obtain a specific item dropped in the dungeon, I think there is still something we need to reconsider."

"Is this about revealing the Hidden Main Quest to everyone in the game?" Topaz asked.

"Yes. Since it is part of the main scenario, this might become a huge part of the main story's story flow. Those who have already started the main quest line might be in big trouble if we don't tell them about this."

"Is that a wise decision, Bladeheart? I don't think it is. It is a hidden mission though so I think we can keep it quiet to everyone until we clear it without any problem? Some players will definitely want to steal this quest for themselves."

"..." I also thought about it. Since Main scenario is a mandatory story chapter, everyone in the game will know of it eventually, however, we didn't hear anything about the Hidden Main Quest from triggering. If it is similar to the Main Quest, they will display the situation as always to all the players and they everyone will gain access to the main quest.

However, it was clear they didn't do it. The only people who knows this quest is available are us.

"I think we should refrain of making this matter public. As much as the Hidden Main Quest is connected to the main quests, we also didn't have any signs it will be similar to that. The rewards are in question mark so if we clear it, there will be a good surprise for us in here."

I inspected the seeds in my hands. It didn't show anything useful and only shows the ??? label on them. If that was the case, we still have not acquired the necessary requirements to view it's information. Even if we try to brute force to examine the seed, there is nothing we can do if we can't do it.

"Are we going to proceed with the quest, Bladeheart?" Iron asked.

"Yes. We should. If the lore is the real deal, there is a chance that Leto's powers will awaken and will grant the areas around the dungeons as blessed and part of her authority. We should take advantage of this to also raise the relationship with Leto."

The others nodded. Lina also bowee down after discovering the seed.

"Where did you find this seed anyway, Lina?"

"It was one of the drops of the corrupted dryad that we just killed earlier. It didn't drop from the boss so my guess is that a random mob has this seed and will only drop with chances only."

I scratch my head for a little bit. This situation is a bit similar to the situation of the Guild Tokens before. Lina was the one who managed to gather three Guild Tokens. Now, she is also the one who managed to discover something related to the main quest. Is this some sort of coincidence or there is a force behind it all?

Maybe I still don't have the slightest idea of Lina's capability after all.