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n

n‘What-what?! What should I call this? Lava waterfall?’

nA giant waterfall made of lava was flowing down in front of Ian.

nIt was a grand landscape, just like the Niagara.

n‘Uh… but the heat is so intense. It is getting hard to breathe!’

nThe dungeon was hot as Ian was right in front of the waterfall made of lava, so it was only natural that

nhe couldn’t breathe well.

nIan was thinking like that when suddenly system messages appeared.

nDing-

n‘What?! I have never heard of something like this…’

nWhile he was surprised, he also felt good.

n‘The first… even if this place was added with the update, there must have been some users who

ncame here first… hmm…’

nHowever, that wasn’t the end…

nSuddenly, one side of the waterfall started to move and form a shape!

n“Huh?”

nIan stared at that. The lava started to change into something that moved toward Ian.

n‘What-what’s this? Should I run away?’

nThe lava monster was huge, Ian was overwhelmed by its presence.

nHe thought about running away but he didn’t move.

nIt was partly because he was curious about what would happen, but more because he knew he would

nsoon be get caught even if he ran.

nThe creature came near Ian and opened its mouth slowly.

nIan had feared that it might attack him, but he sighed in relief at hearing this.

n‘Just as I thought, a quest.’

nOne of his questions was also answered, ‘Oh! it’s a hidden place that only Summoners can enter!’

nIan could now understand why he was the one to find the Source of Lava first.

nThere was probably no Summoner who had a higher level than Ian’s.

nThe lava monster had completely taken form. It was floating in the air and had a large scythe. It

nlooked a lot like a grim reaper.

n‘It looks a bit like a ghost… and a demon…’

nExcited, Ian spoke to the NPC, he had met so many NPCs that talking to them no longer felt

nawkward.

n“Um… is this the Source of Lava?”

nThe huge lava NPC answered.

nHe continued to talk.

n“I am Ian.”

nHe took some time and slowly spoke.

nIt was clearly an unknown hidden quest and Ian had no reason to refuse.

n‘Who knows what kind of quest it is?’ Ian immediately replied, “Yes, Hellyan. I would like to help if I

ncan.”

nIan spoke politely at which Hellyan nodded with satisfaction.

nHellyan started to tell the story behind the quest.

nHe talked for about 5 minutes but, to sum it all up, he wanted Ian to help him purify the polluted

nSource of Lava.

nWhen Hellyan finished, Ian asked, “Then Hellyan, what should I do to purify the Source of Lava?”

nInstead of replying, Hellyan blew his breath.

nIan was surprised at that great heat.

n‘Oh! I thought he was using flamethrower or something.’

nIan sweated while Hellyan spoke again.

n“Tell me what to do.”

nIn the place where Hellyan had blown his breath, there was a fist-sized stone that glowed in red. It

nwas floating in the air.

nHellyan raised his hand and the red stone started moving toward Ian.

nAs soon as Hellyan finished talking, a quest window appeared.

nDing-

nPurifying the Polluted Source of Lava

nHellyan, the guardian of lava, has asked you to capture at least 20 polluted lava monsters to purify the

nSource of Lava.

nTake the Binding Stone of Lava from him, capture as many lava monsters as you can and return.

n(The Binding Stone of Lava can be used in the same way with the Scroll of Binding. Multiple polluted

nmonsters can be sealed in one Stone.)

nQuest Difficulty Level: B

nQuest Limit: Summoner of Lv. 50 or higher.

nTime Limit: 3 hours

nReward: 42500 EP per one captured polluted monster.

nIan’s eyes widened.

n‘42500 EP per one monster?’

nUnlike the EP earned by hunting, EP earned through a quest wasn’t divided.

nIan and all his pets would each get 42500 EP.

nTo get 42500 EP, Ian had to hunt about a dozen monsters in the dungeon.

nIan thought about the time he captured Clofia, a Rare rank monster of a similar level.

n‘It took me about 15 minutes to capture one Clofia… and that was a Rare rank monster, so capturing

nRegular rank Lava Spawns would take even less time…’

nWith the Exploding Potential skill’s cooldown time, Ian would have to spend at least 20 minutes to kill

na dozen Lava Spawns.

nIan thought quickly, ‘I can capture at least 3 Lava Spawns in 20 minutes.’

nEven capturing 3 of them would provide Ian the same EP he would get for killing about 40 of them.

nFor a hidden quest, the reward was quite ordinary. However, the huge EP was far sweeter than

nanything else for Ian.

n“I will capture as many as I can!”

nAs Ian answered confidently, Hellyan started to look doubtful.

nCapturing a monster whose level was 3~5 higher took more than 10 minutes to an ordinary

nSummoner.

nSo, capturing 20 in three hours was almost impossible.

nHowever, Ian’s Friendship stat was at least 1.5 times higher than ordinary Summoners.

nThe Taming Master hidden class would give more Friendship stat than ordinary Summoners and Ian

nreceived more Friendship stat point as the First Finder reward.

nIan finished calculating and nodded confidently, “I can do it. Don’t worry.”

nA system message was announced.

nDing-

nIan hurried to get the Binding Stone.

nIan had to capture as many monsters he could, so every second counted.

n“Then, I will be back!”

nIan left in hurry without waiting for a reply. Hellyan started muttering.

n…

nIan returned to Hellyan exactly when there two minutes left.

nIan was breathing heavily as he ran toward Hellyan. Then, the monster asked.

n“Pant… pant…” Ian caught his breath before answering, “Yes, Hellyan. I have captured 31 of them in

ntotal.”

nIan took out the Binding Stone from his inventory and handed it to Hellyan, the monster’s eyes

nwidened.

n-Oh… oh! There really are 31 monsters sealed in it!

nHellyan couldn’t believe it.

nThree hours wasn’t enough time to capture 20 of them, much less 31.

n“Haha! I told you I can do it.”

nIan was happy as Hellyan admitted the truth.

nA system message came up.

nDing-

nIan stupidly grinned at seeing the 1,300,000 EP.

nThat much EP required at least half a day’s restless hunting.

nHe looked at his EP bar. Now he had only 10% to go to Lv. 71.

n‘Good, good.’

nIan was proud of himself. Hellyan then spoke again.

n“Thank you, Hellyan. Is there anything more I can do?”

nIan got excited as he asked Hellyan. He felt like he could do a dozen more quests this easy and

nprofitable.

nHellyan spoke.

nWith Hellyan’s answer, a related quest was started immediately.

nIan didn’t realize yet that it was the beginning of a fiery hell.

n…

nThe imperial castle of the Luspell Empire.

nEmperor Salias, the owner of the Empire, was talking to a man seriously.

nThe man’s name was Hellaim, the captain of the Imperial Guard.

n“Hellaim, haven’t you heard from that pioneer of Summoning?”

nHellaim knelt and answered, “Yes, Your Majesty. Shall I find him and bring him here?”

nSalias shook his head, “No. The great scholars of my court couldn’t find the way for more than half a

nyear. It has been only a month. I am not expecting him to find the answer so quickly.”

nSalias was a generous emperor.

nHowever, if he found out that Ian didn’t even care about the empire quest and was focusing on

ngaining levels, he would be enraged.

n“Your Majesty, maybe you are putting too much faith on this man…”

nSalias smiled at hearing this. He sipped from his teacup as he spoke again, “How much time do we

nhave left until the National Foundation Day, Hellaim?”

n“About four months, Your Majesty.”

n“I see. Four months…”

nSalias thought about something for a while then spoke again, “I would like to see the Griffin’s egg

nhatch before that day. If the Griffin, the symbol of this empire, appears at the event of the National

nFoundation Day, my dignity will certainly rise.”

nSalias imagined the Griffin guarding the imperial castle in the air. He was satisfied, “What do you

nthink, Hellaim? Will it happen?”

nHellaim bowed, “Of course, Your Majesty.”

nSalias stared at Hellaim and added, “Find him if he doesn’t report in two months.”

n