"Get on the boat!" Divine Slash shouted.
Orson, having accepted the hidden quest, turned around to find that the small boat had already drifted too far.
Seeing that Orson wasn't getting on the boat, Raven assumed that the game wouldn't allow NPCs to do so, and casually said, "He doesn't have the guts to follow us. Don't worry, Captain, I can handle the treasure alone."
"Of course," Orson replied with a smile, his feet glowing with a six-pointed star as he clapped his hands together. "Earthquake!"
A massive stone dragon erupted from beneath his feet, pushing him forward toward the boat.
Raven was stunned by this move, then frowned. "The magic range is impressive, but clearly, it's not enough."
The stone dragon extended to its limit, and Orson mumbled under his breath, as though chanting an incantation, though what he actually said was, "…@!(…@*#!"
Without hesitation, Orson leaped off the stone dragon, and Divine Slash shouted from the shore, "What the hell! He jumped into the water!"
Just as Orson was about to fall into the sea, a wild gust of wind appeared: "Wind God's Sigh."
Orson floated down like a leaf, gently landing on the boat with a Sun Shield beneath his feet, smiling and giving Raven a nod.
"Wow… that's some crazy micro-control skills. Triple Crown winner doesn't even come close to him!" Raven was sweating cold on his back. The mage in front of him was even scarier than the legendary Ninelra, the Holy Master!
The two of them arrived on the island, and a notification popped up: "You have discovered the Celestial Tomb!"
The island was eerily quiet, with strange stone sculptures everywhere and various long swords and battle axes thrust into the ground. Raven casually picked one up to inspect it, but these once mighty divine weapons were now rusted beyond repair and were no longer of any use.
The island was quite large, and the stone sculptures surrounded a series of square stone fortresses, as though this place was the resting ground for the fallen Celestial warriors.
"Golden tombstones. That must be the treasure location!"
Raven looked up and saw ten massive stone monuments at the far end of the island, arranged in a circular formation around the largest golden stone monument, resembling nine black dragons guarding an immortal deity.
"Something's moving!"
Suddenly, with a loud crack, the eerie stone sculptures around them started to stir.
The strange-shaped statues wobbled slightly, and Raven raised a hand to signal them to stop, sensing danger approaching.
The surface of the statues began to shed, revealing grotesque faces resembling pig-like bats, wielding stone spears and stone knives, charging toward them.
Tomb Statue Demon: Level 40
HP: 500,000
Attack: 4000
Skills: Petrification Layer, Gravity Disturbance, Slow Movement
The statues emitted a gray-brown glow, and Raven immediately felt his legs grow heavy. He decisively rolled backward, grabbed his longbow, and fired several quick shots at the stone statue.
Crack!
The arrows shattered!
Raven frowned and fired four more arrows, aiming at the statue demon's seemingly fragile legs, trying to cripple it before going in for the kill.
Although his shots were precise, normal arrows couldn't pierce through the statue demon's defense.
"Young adventurer, sometimes you must give something up to gain something," Orson suddenly spoke, flashing a knowing smile.
"Are you hinting at using armor-piercing arrows?" Raven frowned, calculating. "Thirty armor-piercing arrows cost five silver coins—only a fool would use them all the time!"
According to the Grinder's money-saving theory, using special-effect arrows on elite bosses meant firing hundreds of arrows in one go. That would cost several gold coins—what a massive loss!
Raven ignored the advice, activating his agility skill Spirit Leap, using the tomb's walls to quickly scale and leap over the encircling statue demons.
He accelerated toward the golden stone monument, glancing back at Orson with a mocking smile, "Hope you can keep up."
"Wow, this kid wants to take shortcuts. Does he not fear tripping himself up?" Orson chuckled and activated his domain power, freezing the statue demons in place. He launched his Chaos Magic Balls, targeting each one.
"You killed a Tomb Statue Demon. Experience +3000."
"You killed a…"
"Not bad, the experience is decent. Let's farm a bit."
Orson stood still, letting loose his powerful attacks while stone fragments flew around. Soon, a pile of statue demons lay on the ground.
His priority was reaching level 50 so he could activate his Divine Soul Seal. He couldn't even imagine how ridiculous a mage with insane health would be.
Minutes passed, and the statue demons were wiped out. Orson walked toward the golden stone monument, only to find Raven standing motionless in front of it, staring at the inscription that praised the greatness of the God-Emperor.
Raven frowned, noticing a slot at the base of the monument. He switched to his level 35 legendary bow, which he had found during their quest. It was one of the treasures he discovered in the tomb, along with two other legendary level-40 pieces of armor.
This trip was a huge success; their 1000 gold investment was already multiplied by at least ten!
Raven's breath quickened. He had already acquired so much legendary gear just by moving a stone pillar outside the tomb. If he could crack the code of the golden monument…
His destiny would be rewritten.
He could even rise to challenge someone like Orson!
He had solved similar exploration and puzzle tasks before. Usually, if you followed a specific sequence or inserted the correct stone plates into a slot, the puzzle would unlock.
But despite his efforts, he couldn't find any clues. Was he going to miss his chance to become the king of Infinite Dimensions?
"Why are you stalled? Can't handle the treasure?" Orson walked over with a smile.
Raven, now irritated, snapped, "Shut up."
Orson yawned, "I think I saw a red coffin on the way here. It had some strange patterns on it, but I don't understand them."
"Coffin? Water? The answer!" Raven felt an electric jolt run through him and grabbed Orson by the collar, "Where did you see it? Tell me now!"
Raven quickly realized that Orson could kill him easily, so he quickly let go.
"Over there."
Orson casually pointed in the direction, and Raven, ecstatic, activated his movement skill, rushing toward the top of the tomb.
Sure enough, he found the blood-red coffin in a hidden corner.
He moved the coffin, and the patterns on it began to glow. Raven's mind raced as he began searching for a water source.
Water source!
On an altar, he found a faintly blue water source. He pushed the coffin into it, and it suddenly opened, revealing two golden stone plates!
"I'll leave everyone else in the dust. I'm going to be the new king of Infinite Dimensions!" Raven trembled as he picked up the stone plates, tears streaming down his face in excitement.
He was even more convinced of Infinite Dimensions' slogan: "Infinite Dimensions, anything is possible!"
Before he could savor the moment, the ground beneath him began to bubble with black water.
Soon, several bloated, grotesque fish-like creatures with big bellies emerged.
Tomb Merfolk: Level 40
HP: 200,000
Attack: 4000
Skills: Corrosive Liquid, Swift Strike
Raven felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly leaped to the top of the tomb, but soon, monstrous bird-headed creatures with sharp teeth swooped down from the sky.
"I won't die here. I'll go even further!" Raven roared, baring his teeth, and pulled out his "Silver Coin Arrows."
Storm Feather!
Crushing Blow!
Rapid Fire!
The A-rank hidden-class Forest Ranger unleashed a devastating barrage, firing arrows with frightening accuracy.
But the monsters kept coming, and Raven's expression grew grim. He wasn't willing to let his chance of becoming the king of Infinite Dimensions slip away!
As the bird creatures closed in on him, about to tear him apart, a voice that sounded like a divine presence echoed in his ear: "Awaken—Grip of the Underworld."
With a loud crash, a giant hand appeared, crushing the bird monsters into a bloody mess, splattering the ground with blood.
"Nice job! I'll cover you—let's create your epic story!" The divine voice spoke again.
Raven looked at the white-robed figure with a look of admiration. He was truly amazing!
A torrent of magic descended, obliterating countless monsters. Raven now realized that Orson… no, he should be called the Supreme Orson!
This was the mighty mage god in the world of Infinite Dimensions!
Thanks to Raven's intelligence and Orson's subtle hints, he soon gathered ten golden stone plates.
Standing before the slot, Raven whispered in awe, "Orgod dares to call himself the strongest mage in Infinite Dimensions? In the eyes of a true god, he's not even worthy of being a magic apprentice!"