"Quest: [Audience with the Emperor]"
"Difficulty: Hard"
"Quest Description: Travel to the Light Dragon Empire's capital and speak with the Emperor."
"Upon accepting the Emperor's appointment as [Northern Demon General] (Title), you will receive:
800 free attribute points 1,200 skill points 10 talent points 500,000 gold"
"Quest Failure Penalty: None."
"Refusing this quest may result in hostility from the Light Dragon Emperor."
The entire player base stared at the world announcement, utterly dumbfounded.
"500,000 gold? Is this game bankrupt or something?"
"Reincarnation of Infinite Dimensions' favorite son! Uninstalling now!"
"This guy massacred Pondenorlin City's imperial guards, and the Light Dragon Emperor still wants to reward him? Is he brain-dead?"
Madman: "Damn, the emperor must've eaten Bradley's brain for breakfast. This makes no sense."
Bradley: "Stick to your lockpicking, you idiot. This quest is shady as hell. I've never seen quest details broadcast to the entire world like this."
Even Orson found the situation bizarre. He muttered, "Since when does Infinite Dimensions just hand out free rewards?"
On the surface, this quest seemed ridiculously easy.
Pondenorlin City was located far from the Empire's capital, meaning most players would need to travel long distances and risk encounters with powerful monsters to reach their destination. That's why the system classified it as "Hard" difficulty.
But for someone like Orson, who possessed a high-level flying mount, the difficulty was virtually non-existent.
Yet the reward was beyond excessive for just taking a trip and having a chat with an NPC emperor.
Which meant there were only two possible explanations.
It's a trap. The quest would inevitably lead to a dangerous situation. Accepting it would place severe restrictions on his future actions in the Light Dragon Empire.
Ride Donkey: "Bro, that's 500,000 gold. What's there to think about?!"
Orson didn't respond. He merely smirked coldly. "Nice try, but I see right through your little scheme."
[Major Announcement: Player Orgod must decide whether to accept the quest. Countdown: 10 seconds.]
"Did he disconnect? The system is literally throwing money at him, and he's not even reacting?"
"Maybe he can't visit the Empire's capital? Triple Crown winner can't afford to be exposed, huh?"
"LMAO, imagine being too scared to take a free half-million gold. Guy must be sweating bullets."
"Nah, think about it—Infinite Dimensions doesn't just give out free stuff. There's gotta be a catch."
The world chat was in an uproar, yet a few veteran players had started to understand Infinite Dimensions' design philosophy. They realized that Orson's refusal might be the smartest choice.
Bradley: "I don't know what the catch is, but free stuff in this game always comes with a price."
Orson nodded in agreement. Bradley was absolutely right. In all his experience, he'd never seen a hidden quest's details get broadcasted to the world.
That alone was a huge red flag.
[Major Announcement: Player Orgod has declined the quest!]
"WTF! Did this guy just turn down 500,000 gold?"
"Is he out of his damn mind?!"
"There's no way! Did the system bug out?!"
"This dude is something else. Either he's a genius… or an absolute idiot."
"How dare you reject the appointment of the Supreme Emperor?! Heretic, you deserve to die!"
A furious voice roared from below.
A white-robed priest—Goyordel, a Level 70 NPC High Priest, raised his staff, unleashing a torrent of holy light.
+60,000 HP!
+70,000 HP!
+80,000 HP!
The weakened Imperial NPCs were rapidly recovering, their eyes burning with fury.
Orson met their rage with a chilling smirk.
"Why should I accept the title of an incompetent ruler?"
The Light Dragon Empire's Emperor was nothing more than a spoiled child.
In the previous timeline, he had led millions of NPC troops to their deaths, forcing dozens of Dragon Knights to defect to the Heaven Demons.
There was no way Orson would swear allegiance to such an imbecile.
"Reinforcements are on their way! We fight in the name of the Empire!"
Goyordel shouted, rallying 500 Imperial Clerics to unleash a powerful B-rank holy spell: [Heaven's Blade].
The sky flashed white, resembling the opening of Heaven's Gates, and thousands of blades of holy light rained down upon Celestial Fortress.
"Time to go."
Madman laughed as he signaled the retreat. "No need to take unnecessary damage."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The holy blades struck Celestial Fortress, causing:
-5,000,000 HP!
-10,000,000 HP!
-15,000,000 HP!
The attacks left massive scorch marks on the fortress's hull, but the structure remained completely intact.
Orson merely smirked.
"Fools. Do you even know what you're up against?"
Celestial Fortress was designed to withstand the combined assault of two Dragon Kings and an entire empire's elite forces during the God-Emperor's era.
Its outer walls were composed of 30+ divine artifacts fused into a single entity, with a total HP pool exceeding 20 billion.
No mortal army could bring it down.
"Reinforcements? Too bad you won't live to see them."
Orson raised his staff. "DEATH WAVE—FIRE AT WILL!"
[The Divine Legion]'s thirty-two massive cannons roared to life once again.
A blinding tsunami of destruction surged toward Pondenorlin City.
"This is history in the making!"
SirLagsALot screamed into his livestream mic.
"This crazy bastard is wiping an entire NPC city off the map!"
The Death Wave descended.
Beneath its ominous shadow, the Imperial NPCs trembled.
Even the high-level boss monsters roaming the distant forests stopped attacking and began fleeing in terror—as if an apocalyptic force had been unleashed.
BOOM!
A world-shattering explosion engulfed Pondenorlin City.
The once-proud Imperial stronghold was obliterated, leaving behind a massive crater spanning two kilometers.
"You have slain High Priest Borne. Infamy +10,000!"
"You have slain Grand Priest Goyordel. Infamy +40,000!"
"You have slain over 9,667 Imperial Soldiers. Infamy +2,000,000!"
[Your Infamy has exceeded 7,000,000!]
The entire player base fell silent.
They stared in awe at Orson's golden nameplate, which radiated an unearthly glow.
Was he a holy figure of unparalleled virtue?
Or…
Was he the Golden Demon King—a harbinger of death that even empires feared?
Treasure chests rained from the sky.
The air shimmered with golden, purple, and even divine-tier loot.
"HOLY SH*T! He actually did it! The entire city is gone!"
"This guy is untouchable! Who in the game could possibly stop him now?!"
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: US Player Orgod has demonstrated overwhelming power, eradicating all life in Pondenorlin City!]
"You have unlocked a hidden quest: [The Emperor's Grand Invitation]."