"The unspeakable [Calamity] will descend from [Sea Treasure Island] and [Land of Light]..."
Raven carefully placed the differently shaped golden stone tablets into the slots, and suddenly, he froze.
With a sharp mind, he realized that each connected stone tablet corresponded to the phrase from the earlier riddle.
As he continued to fit the pieces together, his heart began to race. He muttered to himself, "A series of [coffins] will be sent to the fortress? No, wait, I got that wrong earlier..."
"It's not the fortress, it's [the town]," Orson casually corrected him with a smile, playing the role of the helpful NPC.
Raven looked up at Orson with admiration and then continued piecing together the stone tablets, unraveling the riddle: "Only those holding the [God-Emperor's treasure] can stop all of this from happening."
Orson quietly considered the connections Raven had made, gazing at the crescent moon in the distance. "Could monster invasions be coming from a nearby royal city?"
Click!
With a sharp sound, a half-statue of the God-Emperor appeared in the slot. The statue depicted the God-Emperor with hands clasped in a posture of pity, clearly showing his once-strong body now diminished with age, his hair turned white at the temples.
"It's done!!"
Raven was ecstatic, his smile wild and manic before bursting into tears of joy. Orson, standing beside him, shook his head with a faint smile.
He understood Raven's emotions—he knew well the reason behind Raven's overzealous dedication and reluctance to fail. Raven had been an academic prodigy in his past life, a man who believed that with enough effort and talent, success was inevitable.
Even though he had faced failure and heartbreak for over ten years, saddled with debt and estranged from his family, he never gave up. Raven had always believed that if he worked hard enough, he could turn everything around.
Unfortunately, Orson knew all too well that if success were only about effort, then his past life wouldn't have ended so miserably.
"You've solved the God-Emperor's riddle!"
"You have earned the God-Emperor's blessing: 200 Free Attributes, 280 Skill Points, 50,000 Reputation, and 1000 Gold Coins."
Upon hearing this, Raven's face radiated with confidence. This was it—the final step before success!
He was about to unlock the divine treasure and become the ruler of his own destiny.
A golden light beam descended before them, like a spotlight on a stage, promising that whoever stepped into it would become the center of attention—or even take the throne as the new God-Emperor.
"Thank you so much." Raven bowed deeply to Orson, tears welling up in his eyes. He knew that without this mysterious NPC, he would never have come this far.
Orson shook his head lightly, silently watching Raven step into the light.
Raven stood firm, and the mechanisms inside the stone tablets clicked once again. A keyhole-like device appeared before him.
"What... What is this? Do I need a treasure key?"
Raven's face turned pale as his ambitions to conquer the Bright Galaxy sea suddenly plummeted into despair.
Ding—
"You do not have the qualification to open The Divine Legion's Treasure."
"You do not have the treasure key."
The cold system message hit Raven like a ton of bricks, his face drained of color. So close… just one step away…
"This can't be! I solved the riddle! Why do I still need a key?"
"Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Why is the game doing this to me? I won't believe it!"
Raven went mad, his voice filled with decades of frustration and bitterness, his screams a release of pent-up emotions.
Just then, a hand clapped him on the shoulder, a soft voice whispering, "Sorry, I played a little joke on you. Didn't expect you to react like this."
Raven spun around to stare at Orson. The tone of the voice wasn't anything an NPC should have.
"You…"
Cough, Orson awkwardly cleared his throat, avoiding Raven's murderous gaze. "I'll make it up to you. Just step aside for a moment."
Orson mumbled to himself, thinking, "This guy is taking things too seriously."
With just the golden treasure map in his hands, Raven thought he could claim the entire Divine Legion's Treasure...
Ambition was a good thing, but maybe his abilities weren't enough to support it.
Raven reluctantly moved to the side, watching as Orson stepped into the light.
"You are the holder of the Celestial Fortress. You have earned the qualification to open the treasure!"
The system prompt sounded, and the Divine Soul Seal [Heavenly Spirit's Right Eye] flew up in a swirl of starlight, entering the keyhole. The treasure door swung open with a resounding crash, and countless rays of light shot into the sky.
"You have unlocked The Divine Legion's Treasure!"
"This… This is the Divine Soul Seal? How come there are so many?!" Raven looked up, his mouth agape as he saw a staggering number of Soul Seals—999 of them!
A sea of Soul Seals formed above their heads, dazzling and beautiful enough to take their breath away.
Raven's hair stood on end. He casually inspected one of the Soul Seals' attributes.
[The Divine Legion · Steel Torrent]: Lord-Class
Passive Skill: For every monster killed, gain 1 HP and 0.1 attack power (Initial maximum attack power: 1000 / HP: 10000)
Active Skill: A hundred steel warriors unite for a powerful strike, dealing 5x total attack damage (Initial maximum multiplier: 5x)
...
"Just one of these is Lord-Class, and there are so many Soul Seals… Their value is beyond measure!" Raven was stunned.
"Though I expected the number of Soul Seals to be high, I didn't expect this many," Orson said, equally astonished. Every one of these Human Soul Seals was at least Lord-Class.
Among them, six Soul Seals stood out, shimmering brightly with a dazzling light that set them apart from the rest.
Orson's heart raced as he muttered, "Six Divine Soul Seals of the God-Class!"
In the world of Infinite Dimensions, the harder the difficulty, the more lucrative the rewards—this was common knowledge. Completing the [Guarding Celestial Fortress] quest was exceedingly difficult, requiring many prerequisites, every bit of luck and player traits to align.
These six Divine Soul Seals could potentially change the course of the entire game... or rather, the entire world of Infinite Dimensions.
Orson reached out, touching the starlit river of Soul Seals, and they flowed into his inventory one after another.
Raven, eyes filled with a mix of emotions, trembled. "Who… who are you?"
"You've suspected it for a while, but greed blinded you," Orson sighed. "As an explorer, you shouldn't be like this."
Raven raised his longbow, eyes burning with hatred and greed.
Yet, sanity prevailed over madness. He clenched his teeth and finally set the weapon down.
Raven understood deep down that without Orson, he would never have gotten this far.
With a bitter smile, he turned and walked away, his shoulders trembling as if he had lost his soul.
He couldn't understand it—he had the willpower and intelligence to surpass ordinary people, yet the result was always failure.
He had been a prodigy, the pride of others—but in the end, he had become nothing more than a "scavenger" in the eyes of top guild players.
"The heavens sure love to joke around," Raven muttered, a deranged smile on his face.
Suddenly, a system prompt interrupted his thoughts.
"Guild Leader Orgod of the [Godslayer] Guild invites you to join the guild."
Raven froze, eyes wide in shock as he turned to look behind him.
There stood the man, no longer hiding his true form. A fiery aura from the Bright Galaxy surrounded him, and his staff gleamed with light. A kind smile adorned his handsome face.
"Triple Crown winner Orgod..." Raven's brain felt like it had just exploded.
The man's smile, usually warm, now appeared distasteful to Raven—he could almost feel the urge to strike him down.
Before he could speak, a blue crystal stone floated before him.
[The Divine Legion · Archery God's Hand of Strength]
Quality: Divine!
...
The Divine Soul Seal's mind-blowing quality left Raven speechless.
The man's voice, smooth and captivating, echoed in his ears. "You are very skilled. You're just lacking a little bit of opportunity."
"I will give you the grandest stage."
"I will give you the highest-level Soul Seals."
"I will give you… the will to reverse your future!"
Raven stood frozen in place as the man calmly waved his hand. The Battle Space tore open, and a terrifying sky beast let out a long, deafening roar.
The man and the beast vanished into the distance, leaving behind a final message: "I hate archers, that's true. But I need an archer capable of commanding a team. You've taught me a lot. Please don't disappoint me."
Raven stood there, dazed, for a long time before finally laughing. His vision blurred, and he whispered to himself, "Thank… thank you."