"Speak. What now?" Blacksmith Hu stood before Nameless, arms crossed, with an imposing air.
The blacksmith’s presence startled Nameless slightly.
It wasn’t the man’s intensity that surprised him—after all, anyone would be furious if their roof suddenly got smashed open.
What truly caught Nameless off guard was how utterly *human* Blacksmith Hu seemed. He couldn’t spot a single detail distinguishing the blacksmith from the gawking crowd nearby.
Han Ge’s guidebook had mentioned it: NPCs in *EndlessHorizon* weren’t rigid programs. They moved and thought like real people. After observing them briefly, Nameless had to admit—it was true. *Just how powerful is this quantum brain?*
"Uh…" Nameless glanced at the blacksmith, then at the ruined roof behind him. He finally managed to squeeze out, "…Sorry?"
"…" The onlookers were stunned into silence by his response.
Blacksmith Hu merely grunted.
"Then… I’ll fix your roof?" Nameless added when the man stayed silent.
"You haven’t even reached the threshold of a novice profession, let alone become an Architect. You think you can repair this?" The blacksmith scoffed.
"Novice profession" meant first job advancement. Players needed Level 10 and had to leave BeginnerVillage for that—whether combat or crafting roles. Nameless was only Level 1. The blacksmith’s point was clear: *Only a Level 10 Architect could handle this.* But his glare made it obvious he wouldn’t let Nameless just go level up.
"Need help?" someone shouted from the crowd. With NPCs this advanced, maybe they could snatch the hidden quest.
"I’ll help too! Just say what you need!"
"Me too! Count me in!"
One voice sparked a frenzy. Hidden quests meant rich rewards. Stealing one would be sweet—or sabotaging it worked too.
"Repair cost: three gold coins." Blacksmith Hu ignored the clamor, staring straight at Nameless.
"…" The noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
*EndlessHorizon*’s currency: 1 gold = 100 silver, 1 silver = 100 copper. In the game’s first half-hour, monster drops were the only income source. But coins rarely dropped—maybe one copper per five or six kills. Materials sold for pennies, yet most were needed for quests nobody had finished yet. Starter quests gave gear and potions, no coins.
Real-money trading wouldn’t unlock until the second chip batch released—a perk for latecomers. Right now, even if every player in BeginnerVillage #2 pooled their coins, they couldn’t scrape together three gold.
But games always offered alternatives when demands seemed impossible—like that unaffordable bike in *that* other game.
Sure enough, Blacksmith Hu continued, "But if you do one thing for me, I’ll forget the roof."
*Finally.* Nameless exhaled inwardly. Since logging in, he’d felt targeted. Now the plot flowed familiarly, easing his tension.
*Is EndlessHorizon really different?* He’d never been treated like this in other games.
"Go to the second level of the mine west of the village. Bring back a ring." The blacksmith’s eyes hardened. "Return it, and I’ll waive the repair fee… plus give you extra rewards."
*Weapons.* The most valuable gear. A blacksmith’s "extra rewards" could only mean one thing.
And this was a *hidden quest*.
Half the crowd bolted toward the mine the moment he finished speaking.
*Ridiculous.* The quest item was obviously unique—whoever grabbed it first won.
But Nameless stayed put. "Just bring you the ring?" he confirmed.
"Yes." Blacksmith Hu nodded. "But you must finish before Level 6. No bonus after that."
The remaining onlookers scattered—not toward the mine, but to grind levels outside the village.
Tasks with level caps were brutal. Smart players waited until they hit the max allowed level. Level 6 was a full tier above Level 5 in *EndlessHorizon*. Attempting this at Level 1? Suicide.
Nameless eyed the ring on the blacksmith’s left hand. "That ring… is it important to you?" He understood what a *wedding band* meant, even without a partner.
"…It is." The blacksmith paused, then nodded.
"I’ll go." Nameless turned toward the mine.
"Hold it!" Blacksmith Hu barked. "Inside. Now."
He led Nameless into his hut and rummaged through a large chest.
"What’s this about?" Nameless finally asked after a long wait.
The blacksmith ignored him, still digging.
"Youngsters these days—no patience." He finally surfaced, tossing a palm-sized, milky-white orb to Nameless. It felt warm, smooth as jade. "Take this."
"What is it?" Nameless caught it, squeezing lightly.
"Check its stats yourself! Do Adventurers not know how to inspect items anymore?" Blacksmith Hu rolled his eyes. "How you earned that Valor Emblem is beyond me."
*…Not worth explaining to an NPC.* Nameless silently examined the orb.
> **Holy Light Essence (Uncommon)**
> *Condensed Holy Light. Grants power against the undead.*
> **Effect:** +1 Tier advantage when fighting undead.
> **Quest Item** — Indestructible. Untradable. Undiscardable.
> *Temporary use granted to player [Nameless One] during quest.*
Per official info, *EndlessHorizon*’s item tiers were: Shoddy (Gray), Common (White), Uncommon (Green), Fine (Blue), Rare (Red), Epic (Purple), Legendary (Orange). Rumors whispered of Mythic-tier—true artifacts—but the devs stayed silent.
"Valor Emblem or not, it’s on you," the blacksmith said once Nameless looked up. "That’s the only reason I’m trusting you with this."
"…I’ll head out then." Nameless didn’t linger. The man had lost his wife’s ring, after all.
"Holy Light Essence helps, but you’re still weak for this task," Blacksmith Hu added. "Grind a bit first."
As he spoke, a system prompt flashed before Nameless:
> **Quest Accepted: Find the Ring (Extreme Difficulty)**
> **Objective:** Retrieve a ring from Level 2 of the western mine.
> **Limit:** Complete within 72 hours. *(Advanced: Finish below Level 6)*
> **Details:** Blacksmith Hu of BeginnerVillage #2 wants a ring from the mine’s second level. No specifics given—but what other rings would be there?
> **Reward:** Waived roof repair fee. *(Advanced: ???)*
> **Failure Penalty:** 3 Gold Coins.
Quest difficulty scaled with the player’s stats. A "Hard" quest at Level 10 might become "Normal" at Level 11. For Nameless? Anything beyond fetch quests would likely stay "Normal" or worse.
Leaving the smithy, he headed straight for the western mine. Grinding mobs to level up? Not in his playbook.
Unseen by him, moments later, the village’s resurrection Altar flared with light. Dozens of players materialized in rapid succession, drawing stares. The glow pulsed for minutes before fading.
"Blast it! We were *this close*!" The last arrivals wore pure dismay.
