"Congratulations, player Valkarion! You’ve successfully triggered the orange-tier legendary book quest: Gemstone Isles. The questline is now initializing—please wait!"
"Questline initialization complete... Congratulations, player Valkarion! You’ve unlocked a special hidden chained orange-tier legendary book quest: Artifact — Gem Dragon’s Might. Quest difficulty: SS-rank. Time limit: Unknown. Quest chain: Step 1 / ?."
"Special Notice: SS-rank hidden chained quests are extremely difficult and highly dangerous! Proceed with extreme caution. Abandoning the quest will be considered a failure!"
"Congratulations, player Valkarion! You’ve triggered the first step of the special hidden chained quest Artifact — Gem Dragon’s Might: Reclaim the Gem Dragon Bracelet. Quest objective: Travel to the Deep Sea Leviathan’s lair beneath the ocean and retrieve the sacred relic of the Gem Dragon clan — the Gem Dragon Bracelet! Step difficulty: SS-rank. Time limit: None."
"Note: The more wild units you defeat along the way, the faster your progress and the higher your completion rating!"
"Do you accept this quest?"
Ethan’s whole body jolted as if struck by lightning. His pupils shrank, his face went pale, and he blurted out—
"An SS-rank... special hidden chained quest?!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI★Fire.net
He was completely thrown off for a moment. Just an SS-rank quest alone was terrifying enough—but a special hidden chained SS-rank quest? Was this some kind of sick joke?!
"The Sacred Altar is our clan’s most treasured relic, a gift left to us by the Dragon King himself... If you want to receive its blessing, you’ll have to prove yourself worthy."
The Gem Dragon Grand Elder’s voice was calm, his ancient, deep-set eyes locked onto Ethan with a quiet intensity.
"I accept!" Ethan snapped out of his shock, his expression hardening. He nodded firmly, jaw clenched.
Yeah, this quest was insanely difficult. SS-rank, special, hidden, chained—every word screamed danger. But danger always walked hand-in-hand with opportunity. The harder the quest, the better the rewards. Sometimes, one mission could change everything.
This was it. The biggest shot he’d ever had.
If he pulled this off, he wouldn’t just rise—he’d soar. Straight to the top.
So why not take the gamble?
Worst case, he failed. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. He wasn’t the kind of guy who couldn’t take a loss.
Besides, with the strength he had now, SS-rank didn’t feel as impossible as it once did—back when he’d just left Sylvanwood and first stepped into the open sea. Back then, it had felt like chasing a dream. Now? It felt like something he could actually reach.
As long as he prepared well and didn’t make any rookie mistakes, he believed—no, he knew—that he, Ethan of Emerald Castle, had what it took to conquer this SS-rank special hidden chained quest.
The Grand Elder’s eyes glimmered with a faint smile at Ethan’s answer.
The dragonkin had always valued courage and strength. They had no patience for hesitation or fear. Ethan’s decisiveness had clearly earned the elder’s respect.
"Young one, let me share some intel about those vile Deep Sea Leviathans."
"Thank you, Grand Elder," Ethan said quickly, nodding in gratitude. He knew this kind of information wasn’t required—after all, it was supposed to be a trial. They could’ve easily left him to figure it out on his own.
But getting a head start ? It saved him a ton of time and trouble.
"From here, head northeast—about sixty thousand nautical miles. There, you’ll find a mid-sized Arcane Mistsea. Beneath its depths lies the lair of a Deep Sea Leviathan."
"Wait—Deep Sea Leviathan? What exactly are they? Mythic Units?" Ethan asked.
"Yes," the Grand Elder replied with a slow nod, his gaze sharp. "The Deep Sea Leviathan is a Tier-14 Mythic Unit, a sea-based monster. The Leviathan, on the other hand, is a Tier-13 Legendary Unit. Both were once the pillars of a powerful oceanic civilization, long lost to the chaos of history and the erosion of time. That civilization is now nothing more than dust and legend."
"Still, while Deep Sea Leviathans and Leviathans are rare today, they’re not extinct. If you search carefully, you can still find traces of them in the vast oceans..."
The elder paused, then looked at Ethan with a knowing glint in his eye.
"You have a Crimson Ultimate Hero from the noble Kirin clan, don’t you? In that case, you might want to ask him about the Deep Sea Leviathans. Long ago, those beasts challenged the Kirin for dominion over the seas more than once. As former enemies, he may know them better than anyone."
Ethan blinked, then nodded. "Thanks for the tip. I know what I need to do now."
"Very well..." The Gem Dragon Grand Elder gave a small smile as he looked at Ethan. "Young one, believe me—if you can reclaim our sacred relic from those vile Deep Sea Leviathans, the reward will not disappoint you. Especially the blessing of the Sacred Altar... even a true Crimson Ultimate Hero would be tempted by that."
Even a Crimson Ultimate Hero would be tempted?
Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and his breath caught for a moment.
Yeah... this SS-rank special hidden chained quest?
He had to get it. No matter what.
The moment that thought solidified in his mind, he didn’t waste another second. He gave a quick bow and turned to leave.
"In that case, Elders of the Gem Dragon clan, I’ll take my leave. I promise—I’ll return with your sacred relic in hand!"
The Grand Elder gave a slow nod, and Ethan turned, striding away with purpose.
But just as he was about to exit the chamber, one of the six Gem Dragon Elders—who had been silently watching—suddenly spoke up, his voice calm but sharp:
"Be careful. There’s a Crimson Ultimate Hero among the Leviathan clan as well."
Ethan froze mid-step.
His expression shifted rapidly, eyes narrowing.
A... Crimson Ultimate Hero?!
But no one else seemed inclined to elaborate. The other five Elders just stared at him with strange expressions—like they hadn’t expected that Elder to say anything at all.
"...Thanks for the warning," Ethan finally said, exhaling slowly. His voice was steady, but his mind was racing.
A Crimson Ultimate Hero on the enemy’s side?
No wonder this was an SS-rank special hidden chained quest. The stakes were on a whole different level.
This was going to be brutal.
As Ethan left, the five remaining Elders turned their gazes toward the one who had spoken—Elder Seran. Their eyes narrowed, brows furrowed.
"Elder Seran... what was that about?"
"Apologies, Grand Elder," Seran said, bowing slightly. "It just came to mind. And besides, it’s not like we’re giving away a secret. He’ll have to face that Crimson Ultimate Hero eventually if he wants to reclaim the relic. There’s no avoiding it."
"Still, I wonder when we’ll get the other relic back. Damn that Maelthorak... If the Dragon King were still here, that bastard wouldn’t dare act so arrogant."
"Enough," the Grand Elder cut in. "Maelthorak is a Sea King. Even if he’s not as strong as he once was—wounded or not—he’s still far beyond what we can handle. Don’t even think about provoking him. We can’t afford to bring disaster down on our people."
Meanwhile, Ethan had already left Gem Dragon Isle, accompanied by Mana Crystal Dragon Zyraxis.
He also learned that The Tidebreaker—Paxton—had already departed.