[Hidden Quest: Search for the lost Supreme Series blueprint.]
[Difficulty: Abyss-Tier]
[Background: To escape the endless wars of the Infinite Dimensions continent, the gray artisans retreated deep underground. Of course, it might also have something to do with their love for shiny ores…]
[Note: You will travel to the Ashen Lands. The people there do not welcome uninvited guests. The blueprint holder may refuse to meet you.]
Ashen Lands.
Orson's eyes darkened slightly. This was the legendary underground kingdom of the Gray Dwarves, a place that was nearly impossible for players to enter without a fateful quest trigger.
The Gray Dwarf King, Augus, was obsessed with blacksmithing and was one of the three Divine Smiths in Infinite Dimensions—a rank even beyond Grandmaster.
He had forged countless Artifacts, most of which had been lost in ancient wars. The most famous surviving weapon was the Demon-Slaying Emperor's Blade, a symbol of power in the Light Dragon Empire, currently wielded by the Light Dragon Emperor himself.
As for whether the God-Emperor's Blade was also one of Augus's creations, Orson had no way of knowing.
The truth was, there was very little information about God-Emperor Gaedashiram in the entire lore of Infinite Dimensions, almost as if it had been deliberately erased.
It wasn't hard to understand why. A thousand years ago, the God-Emperor had emerged as an unstoppable force, instilling fear in the two great NPC empires.
If not for that, the two supreme rulers—who were normally at odds—would never have joined forces to defeat him and seal Celestial Fortress away.
While Orson was lost in thought, intricate arcane runes lit up on the walls of the abandoned blacksmith's forge.
A small teleportation gate appeared before him.
[This teleportation array leads to the entrance of the hidden realm: Ashen Lands.]
Orson glanced at the swirling portal and smirked.
"Might be denied entry, huh? Looks like I need to make some preparations first."
After a brief moment of contemplation, he didn't step in immediately but instead returned to the surface of Pondenorlin City.
"This should get that NPC's attention."
Orson pulled out a bottle of Rootless Water.
Artifacts and divine items often had hidden uses beyond their listed effects. For instance, gifting such items to NPCs in need could trigger special fate-bound quests.
"Holy shit! Orgod is here! Is he about to go after the Golden Dragon Knight?!"
"Go after him? With what? If he's unlucky enough to get a melee encounter, he's just as dead as the rest of us."
Orson tilted his head and looked up at the grand coliseum in the sky, which was slowly restoring itself after the previous battle.
The entire area surrounding Pondenorlin City was packed with players.
"That's Orgod?"
A man riding a ghost-faced beast turned to glance at him.
"Global Rank #1, huh? Impressive."
A nearby mage sneered, gritting his teeth.
Orson's gaze flickered. That mage was SSR's young prodigy, DonutWizard.
Oddly enough, Wedge wasn't with him. Could he have actually rage-quit the game after getting hunted down?
He found it amusing. After all, SSR hadn't been broken apart by him directly—the final straw had actually been Snow Dream's betrayal.
That must have been a heavy blow for Wedge.
"Hello, Orgod. I've heard a lot about you."
The man on the ghost-faced beast smiled and nodded.
His attire was plain, nothing more than basic white newbie robes. Despite being a warrior, he wore no armor at all, looking strangely under-equipped.
However, in his hand was an elegant dark-gold longsword, a Level 40 legendary weapon of obviously high quality.
Even more striking was his mount—a Domain Lord-Class Ghost-Faced Dragon Lion with 60 million HP, covered in blue scales the size of a human palm, radiating an eerie, overwhelming presence.
Orson's expression shifted slightly. He fixed his gaze on the man's ID and was shocked.
"A Heavenly-Tier player… Alexander!"
Just as Orgod had become a legend, this man—Alexander—had once been revered in the endgame as the Sword God.
With a single swing of his blade, thousands of Heaven Demons had fallen before him. His combat prowess was absolutely terrifying.
The reason he wore no armor was simple—it was his way of training himself. He constantly kept his HP dangerously low to sharpen his reaction time, pushing himself to the absolute limit in battle.
Despite this, he remained low-key, never seeking fame. Even on the global leaderboards, he had always chosen to stay anonymous.
Whether in this life or the last, very few knew his true origins. The only known fact was that he had close ties to The Ziegler Family, one of the Ten Overlords of the US.
Orson was certain that Alexander was Sword God because he had witnessed the moment this man obtained the US server's first SSS-tier class: Divine Blade Master.
This was one of the few rumored individuals who could rival Usher.
Purely in terms of individual combat strength, Divine Blade Master might even surpass Usher's Dragon's Kiss Guild—but that was purely speculation.
After all, ever since the World Fusion Update, the Divine Blade Master class had remained anonymous on the Heavenly-Tier rankings. No one had ever stepped forward to claim it.
"You want to be the lord of Pondenorlin City?" Orson asked, his eyes glinting with amusement.
Alexander merely shook his head. "I'm only interested in the Golden Dragon Knight, but at my current strength, I doubt I can defeat him."
"Alexander, kill him for me! I'll give you all my gold and equipment!" DonutWizard growled.
If looks could kill, Orson would have already died a hundred times over.
Unfortunately, they couldn't.
Alexander simply ruffled DonutWizard's hair with a warm smile, like an older brother indulging his little sibling.
"If I fight him, I'll die."
DonutWizard froze.
He knew exactly how powerful Alexander was—this was a man who soloed a Domain Lord-Class Terror Serpent without taking damage and secured first clears on three Abyss-Tier dungeons.
If even Alexander said he would die, what did that mean?
Especially considering that, had Alexander equipped proper gear and leveled beyond 40, he would have long since topped the global leaderboards.
Yet, his response was so simple and direct.
Alexander casually turned and began leading DonutWizard away.
Orson chuckled. "Which of the Ten Overlords of the US do you belong to?"
Alexander paused in his tracks. His sharp, handsome face turned cold.
"Lambert."
Orson nodded without saying another word.
He didn't know much about the Ten Overlords, only that there were internal divisions within Radiant Shuttle.
The fact that only a handful of families had shown up at his previous meeting with K.D in the mountain villa made it clear—not every Overlord Family supported him.
"I look forward to fighting you. Be ready anytime."
Alexander's tone turned frosty. Clearly, he wasn't pleased that Orson had brought up the Overlords.
"I'm already ready."
Orson smirked. Alexander hesitated, but before he could react—
A six-pointed star of chaos magic lit up beneath him.
A massive Flame Dragon descended.
"Shit! You sneaky bastard, you're launching a surprise attack?!"
DonutWizard shouted furiously.
Orson grinned, flashing his white teeth. "You wanted to fight me. I'm always on standby."
Alexander's expression darkened as he turned and fled.
Orson watched him go, then murmured, "I look forward to facing you at the peak."
"I'll be waiting."
In the distance, Alexander clenched his jaw and vanished into the horizon.