Chapter 659 (1/2)

Although he was exhausted to the point he was out of Stamina, Drake felt much better after crushing the monster's body to nothing but mush. He also realized two things.

His own stubborn obliviousness had gotten Drake into this situation. He, as a rule, refused to ask for clarification on an assignment. He had no wish to be an ass kisser, and Drake knew that Sydney wouldn’t appreciate it. But when he then began to get furious at her for failing to give him the proper guidance on this fucked up mission…

If he had just known that he was to seek out Roy and kill him, he could have moved so much more quickly through this godforsaken place.

But there was a new, unforeseen variable. Drake looked down at the Item in his hand. It was almost like a half of a ying-yang symbol, with a deep blue color. It fit naturally in his palm.

Longing of the Naga (S) Lvl 60: A special calcification of energy that occurs when a lessor bloodline of the Naga holds a great amount of dissatisfaction in its heart. Part of a pair. Reuniting the Longing of the Naga with the Hope of the Naga will reveal the item’s true purpose. Distinct Smell V.

Distinct Smell V: Monsters of a certain type can detect the scent of this item from a great distance. Just by touching the item, you will attract such monsters like flies. Monster type: Bloodlines of the Naga.

Drake sighed theatrically as he cursed his mixed luck, but there was only Ryx watching. On the one hand, this meant there would likely be a lot of those fucking Frogipede’s coming. For all that they were good experience, a mass of them would tie him down and crack him open like an egg.

On the other hand… Drake had found what appeared to be a quest item. In the wild. Drake had never seen a quest item himself: they required certain buildings bought from the Village Store, and even then they were extremely rare. Quest Rated bosses were apparently incredibly difficult, but also incredibly rewarding.

The only Quest Item that Drake knew of was the feathered headband that Annie had taken to wearing recently, and that was only because Dozer grew drunk and boast about it one night. As to the exact specifications, no one truly knew.

But it meant something that its specs were enough to sway Annie, the White Archer of Donnyton.

It also did a lot to assuage Drake’s frustration. It had felt like he was wasting his time here on the whim of Sydney, due to his own stubbornness. But he suddenly stumbled across a very good reason to remain here and explore the area. It also lent credence to their being something particular in this Danger Zone. perhaps not the fountain of youth, but still…

The only problem was finding this Hope of the Naga. There were two possibilities that seemed likely as to that. He would need to find and kill more blue Frogipedes, or maybe even a different variant color. Or…

Drake turned and looked at the grey geometric shape with the regular doors. In his palm, the Longing of the Naga grew warm to the touch. Shaking his head, Drake could only begin to walk towards the grey lump. He supposed that was one sort of answer.

What he found did not please him: inside the door was a fucking maze. Clicking his tongue, Drake turned around to depart and get a better lay of the land but found that the door he used to enter had abruptly turned into a solid stone wall.

Fucking perfect.

The high walls met a ceiling about five meters above, but the passages forward were only one and a half meters wide. With Drake in his bone armor, it was very close to him brushing up against the walls. He considered dismissing the armor, but Ryx strongly whined in opposition. That sharpened his attention; Ryx only grew this agitated when the death energy nearby was strong.

With no other choice, Drake entered the maze. There were three passages available to him, and he randomly selected the middle one. The passage was long and winding. Drake was not pleased to notice that the walls of the passage were old and scratched, as though something had dragged itself through this place a long time ago.

Swearing under his breath, Drake continued walking until he came to a turn.

He went left there.

At the next junction, he also went left.