...

Approximately 15 minutes earlier...

'This should be the place. Have they not arrived yet?'

At the moment, Izroth was waiting at the coordinates near a small hill to meet with a certain individual who had unexpectedly contacted him a couple of hours ago.

Izroth had spent the last day, or rather three days in-game time, accepting and completing multiple war objectives. During the process, he gained nearly 300 contribution points! This was mostly due to the advantage of his Captain rank and his ability to accept higher rewarding war objectives.

Izroth did not realize how fortunate he was when it came to his previous methods of acquiring contribution points. Unfortunately, destroying a city's magic grid and wiping out its entire population was not something that could be done on a whim.

'Hm?'

Izroth glanced to his left side as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his position.

"You're early. If I had known you were already here, I would not have wasted time stopping off by the outpost first." A familiar voice sounded.

"I just arrived. Your timing could not have been better placed." Izroth replied.

He then continued, "I have to say your message was an unexpected one, Captain Niflheim."

Niflheim shook his head and said, "It's just Niflheim, now. Though if we are going by our event ranks, then I suppose 10-man Squad Leader Niflheim would be my official title. Too much of a mouthful if you ask me."

A couple of hours ago, Niflheim contacted Izroth out of the blue with a request, which Izroth ultimately accepted. At the time of his message, Niflheim could not pull away from his responsibilities as a 10-man Squad Leader. But, after two hours, he was finally able to move freely—at least for a few hours or so.

"To be truthful, I'm surprised you accepted my sudden request. The last time we met face to face, we didn't exactly part ways under desirable circ.u.mstances." Niflheim stated.

"You had a debt, and to that debt, you have already repaid, Niflheim," Izroth replied in a carefree manner.

Izroth did not blame Niflheim for Blue Oasis' decision back at the Great Sea Palace raid. In the end, it was up to the guild leader of Blue Oasis, Asgard, and despite the theatrics, he made his choice clear.

"Besides, the task you mentioned sounded quite intriguing. I'm just curious as to why you chose me to share it with." Izroth mentioned.

Niflheim sighed, "Those I know who meet the requirements for it are all a part of Blue Oasis, and those who aren't from Blue Oasis are too unpredictable or cannot be fully trusted. Since I have cut ties with my former guild, naturally, I cannot ask for their assistance. You, on the other hand, more than meet the requirements and can be taken at your word."

He then continued, "I gave you the rough rundown over chat. But, nothing beats seeing it for yourself in person. Follow me."

Niflheim led the way into a nearby damp, narrow cave located at a hard to find point by the foot of the small hill. From the outside, the cave itself did not seem that big; however, the further inside one traveled, the more they realized just how deep this cave ran underground.

Izroth followed Niflheim, and the two soon came before a dead end—at least, on the surface.

"I stumbled upon this place by chance when I was first assigned this hill area to investigate with my squad to complete a war objective. Since I'm the only one from my squad who knows of its existence, I decided to leave the information out of my report. After all, this place has nothing to do with either side." Niflheim said as he unequipped his weapon and shield.

"For this part, you'll need to unequip your weapon." Niflheim stepped forward, and the moment he did so, he passed right through the wall!

'This is one of the black spots I observed using my Energy Vision Sense when I first reached the Demilitarization Belt. I thought they were all the work of one of the two sides, but it seems hidden areas like this are also a cause. Interesting.'

Izroth unequipped his Sword of The Storm and walked forward. Just like Niflheim, he also moved through the cave's wall, and the scenery around him instantly changed when he arrived on the other side.

〈System Alert: You have received the quest «Resseki & Kiren's Challenge: Sword & Shield»!〉

〈System Alert: Your stats have been temporarily adjusted!〉

〈System Alert: HP Regeneration and use of inventory have been temporarily disabled!〉

〈System Alert: The cooldown on all your skills have been refreshed!〉

〈System Alert: Certain skills have been temporarily disabled!〉

Instantly after he walked into the room, Izroth received some alerts from the system regarding a quest along with a few limitations to his stats and skills. Of course, Niflheim had already explained this part to him when they spoke via chat.

Name: Izroth

...

[HP(Hit Points): 3/3] [Adjusted]

[Energy: 500] [Adjusted]

[MP: 10,000] [Adjusted]

[Attack: 1] [Adjusted]

[Defense: 0] [Adjusted]

[Agility: 1,000] [Adjusted]

[Magic: 1] [Adjusted]

...

'A strange adjustment. My mana and energy have increased, but everything else has dropped drastically. Most of my non-sword skills have been grayed out and cannot be utilized. However, the biggest problem is that the amount of HP and defense provided are a bit concerning.'

Izroth swept his gaze throughout the room and examined every corner of his new environment.

'No one would guess such a structure was secretly hiding away underneath a small hill in the Demilitarization Belt.'

The room was shaped like a giant oval with white concrete walls that spanned upward nearly fifty meters and went across fifteen meters in diameters. There were gray tiles that covered the entire floor, and in the near distance, an ordinary steel sword and plain metal shield hovered a few centimeters off the ground at the room's center.

As he made his way towards the center of the room, Izroth swiftly read over the new entry in his quest logs.

Quest Name: Resseki & Kiren's Challenge: Sword & Shield

Recommended Level: None

Recommended Party Size: 2

Quest Rank: Unique*

Quest Requirement(s):

-Must have exactly two party members to participate.

-One party member must wield only a sword.

-One party member must wield only a shield.

Quest Objective: He who wields the sword can only attack, never defend. He who holds the shield can only defend, never attack. Attack and Defend for as long as possible. The longer you survive and the higher your score, the better rewards you will receive upon completion. (Must survive a minimum of 10 minutes, or this quest will be considered an automatic fail.)

Time Limit: None

0/1 Survive as long as possible.

Reward:

-x1 «Resseki's Flawless Armament» (Sword User Only)

-x1 «Kiren's Perfect Guardna» (Shield User Only)

-??? (Determined By Score Achieved)

Failure:

-Resseki & Kiren's challenge is destroyed and can no longer be attempted by anyone.

Special Note: This quest is automatically assigned to a max of 2 players upon entry. All requirements must be met for players to begin the quest.

'A game of survival where the score influences the reward.'

Izroth reached the center of the room where Niflheim was already standing in front of the metal shield. As for Izroth, he, of course, stood before the steel sword.

"I'll tell you now; I have no idea what to expect. Nevertheless, once we pick up this sword and shield, there will be no choice but for us to depend on one another to survive." Niflheim stated as he took the metal shield into his hands.

"Life is often full of the unforeseen. One can only adapt or perish." Izroth grabbed the hilt of the steel sword.

Rmmmmmble!

Four passageways opened at the north, south, east, and west sections of the room.

〈System Alert: «Resseki & Kiren's Challenge: Sword & Shield» has commenced! Starting timer...〉

〈System Alert: Challenge difficulty has been set to x1!〉

Clank. Clank. Clank.

"Something's coming," Niflheim warned.

The sound of rattling wood could be heard coming from the other side of the passageways. A few moments later, four human-like wooden training dolls emerged—one from each recently opened passage.

The north wooden doll held a claymore, the south a dagger, the east a saber, and the west a standard steel sword.

"Welcome, challengers of the sword and shield. My name is Resseki." A voice rang out.

"If you've discovered this place and can hear my voice, then my brother Kiren and I have departed from this world. Before we journeyed to explore the Danger Lands, we decided to leave behind a piece of ourselves in case we never return. But, we won't hand over our inheritance to just anyone who stumbles upon this place." The voice of Resseki sounded.