Treasure Hunting

Chapter 10 The Apprentice Quest

"Choose it yourself? Who said you can choose it yourself? You can't have anything else other than this daily quest." Benjamin's face suddenly looked bored.

As soon as Zachary heard what Benjamin had said, his eyes turned into two slits. He knew in his heart that Benjamin was deliberately giving him a hard time.

"If you don't want this quest, then get out of here!" Benjamin sneered.

Zachary looked at Benjamin with anger on his face. If he didn't accept the quest, he wouldn't be able to earn contribution points and exchange them for pills. But if he accepted the quest, he might fall into a trap set by Benjamin.

Zachary was not the type of person who gave up easily. He burst out laughing and then said, "Well, since it's your idea, then I'll take it."

"You are a wise man, then!" Benjamin never expected that Zachary would accept the quest. He knew well that the quest was difficult. He then tapped Zachary on the shoulder.

The two exchanged hostile stares.

Zachary thought to himself, 'Just don't give me an opportunity to humiliate you, or I'll definitely return the favor!'

Because of Benjamin, Zachary received the daily quest to cut Iron Bamboos in the Iron Bamboo Forest of Welkin Sect.

The Iron Bamboo, as its name suggested, was so hard that even the sharpest blade would only be able to cut off a small piece.

When Zachary reached the Iron Bamboo Forest, he cursed Benjamin's name in his heart again and again.

'How hard it is to chop down an Iron Bamboo! And I have to chop ten each day. What should I do?' Zachary stared at the Iron Bamboo that was barely scratched after he hacked it several times with his machete. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

But to get the pills, Zachary had to continue cutting the Iron Bamboo.

Regardless of the humiliation, the fact remained that chopping down ten Iron Bamboos each day was beyond the ability of normal people. Zachary chopped from morning until night and he was only able to cut two.

Zachary gave up eventually. Instead of chopping Iron Bamboos, his time would better serve him if he entered the second world where he'd be able to improve his cultivation using his double martial speed even without the assistance of pills.

Zachary also knew that this was the only chance for him to become an official disciple of the Welkin Sect, so he had to give it his everything.

"If I could become stronger, maybe I can rob Benjamin of his pills!" Zachary dreamed of a bright future. He knew that in order to stay in the Welkin Sect, he would do anything by hook or crook. However, his power was limited at present, and he could do nothing to deal with Benjamin. After ten days of hard work, Zachary improved his cultivation to the fourth grade of Foundation Establishment by using the rewards—two first-grade white cultivation-aiding pills that he received from the third and fourth newbie quests. Improving that fast was already quite amazing, but there was still a long way to go before he reached the ninth grade of Foundation Establishment. Besides, the cultivating time required for each grade got longer as it went higher. If he practiced at this rate, he would not be able to reach the ninth grade of Foundation Establishment within the time that was left.

"Do I really have to do this step by step?" Just as Zachary pondered this depressing situation, he suddenly heard Mimi's voice. "You have cultivated more than ten days together in the second world. To reward you for your continuous efforts, you may now access the apprentice quest. This allows you to select a beauty master randomly and start the quest. Once you complete the apprentice quest, you can cultivate with your master together."

"The apprentice quest?" Zachary's eyes lit up. He was still a bit far from the fifth grade of Foundation Establishment so he was unable to take the fifth newbie quest. And no fifth quest meant no treasure reward. Originally, his only choice was to practice step by step. But the apprentice quest changed it all. This left him surprised and excited.

"There are no restrictions on the apprentice quest. If you fail, you can try again until you finally succeed!" Mimi continued.

"This is a lucky break. God truly never lets me down!" Zachary laughed loudly after hearing Mimi's words.

The next moment, a lucky wheel appeared in front of Zachary. It contained the names of many of the most recognizable beauties of his original world.

Then the lucky wheel began to turn rapidly clockwise.

"Stop!" Zachary shouted after he watched it spin for a while.

The turntable slowed down and eventually stopped. The pointer stopped on Anne's name.

"Congratulations! The master you selected is Anne. The system will now send you to the Living-dead Tomb where you can get the apprentice quest from her," Mimi said.

Zachary laughed after seeing the name. He said to himself, "Anne? Isn't she the heroine of the classic martial arts fiction that even kids know? In this classic martial arts fiction, she and her apprentice became lovers. If I become her apprentice, then I can play the role of her apprentice in the fiction and have a relationship with her. That is something nice to dream about!"

Mimi continued, "Allow me to give you a quick reminder. If you want to complete Anne's apprentice quest, you will need to be persistent and patient. Although Anne has a unique beauty and extraordinary martial skills, she is withdrawn and quiet. So, completing the quest would depend on your own ability!"

"Activate a new scene—the Living-dead Tomb..."

The place flickered in front of Zachary and he was thrown into another world. He looked around. A bleak forest surrounded him. The atmosphere was dark and the air was cold. A huge, sealed stone door was in front of him. An old stone plaque hung on a nearby wall. On the plaque were inscribed the words Living-dead Tomb! This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

"Anne should be in there." Zachary shivered a little from the cold air. He then went forward and banged on the door of the stone tomb. "Master Anne, I came here to become your apprentice! Please open the door!" he shouted like he and Anne had known each other for some time.

Zachary knocked for a long time, but there was no response from inside the tomb. The surrounding forest was still and silent as death.

"Isn't she at home? Maybe I need to walk around. Perhaps she went out for a walk," Zachary muttered in a low voice. As he turned to leave, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. When he turned around, he saw that the door of the stone tomb had been opened without a sound!

Zachary entered the stone tomb and saw two rows of sarcophagi lined up on both sides under the light of dimly-lit candles. Bits and pieces of ghost money and incense sticks that had not been completely

burnt were scattered about. Between the two rows of sarcophagi lay a path that ended in several chambers.

"Where are you, Master Anne?" Zachary called out. He almost whispered when he called out because he did not want to disturb the peace of the dead that was surely resting inside the sarcophagi that were lined on both sides.

Zachary then heard a faint sound that came from the chamber on the left. He turned around to see where the sound came from. He hesitated for a moment and then walked towards the chamber.

"Who are you? Why are you making so much noise? You're disturbing the peace!" a sweet yet cold voice asked and echoed in the tomb.