Game of the World Tree
chapter-165

▪️SURRENDER…OR PERISH

“A hidden boss! It’s a hidden boss quest!”

“A mount system! Is the mount system finally going to be introduced!?”

“Don’t get too excited…after all, we’ll only gonna receive those rewards after winning.”

“This Spider Queen…did Boxlunch’s team provoke her? And what’s the deal about this whole living sacrifice? Did they try to offer a live crypt spider?”

“Oh shit! It’s actually possible! Since the spider’s exoskeleton is entirely made of metal, the offering system must have accepted it! Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Hahaha! So that’s why they’re being chased by the boss! Look! There are thousands of spiders chasing after them! This shit is hilarious man, it’s the first time I’ve seen Box in such a sorry state.”

“So…Did the developers already patched the exploit in the offering system?”

“They definitely will! Otherwise, everyone would just offer every boss we encounter. What’s the point of the game then?”

“No more living sacrifices huh… Does that mean we can still sacrifice undead bosses or something of that kind in the future?”

“Haha… maybe you’re onto something! But the offering circle doesn’t just accept everything, right?”

“Oh yeah! I wonder if we can still offer junk items…”

“We should still be able to offer junk items, right? It seems to be an official recycling mechanism. Otherwise, the devs would have patched it already long ago. I guess it’s probably a beneficial for players right?”

As the players saw the new quest prompt, they gradually calmed down and excitedly discussed the details of the quest while hiding from the spiders…

A Hidden boss quest!

And if successfully completed, it will reward players with the mount system!

Mounts! Will mounts finally become available?

All the players exploring Rivendell were filled with exhilaration upon the prospect of riding some animals or perhaps even monsters…

As for what the mount would be,

They could already somewhat guessed it.

Most likely, it would be the crypt spiders!

After all, the devs wouldn’t just put the mount system as a reward if it doesn’t have correlation with the quest. And to be honest, the smaller spiders looked quite fun to ride. Heck, even the larger human-sized variants still possessed a majestic aura.

Of course, that was from the players’ perspective.

To the natives of this world, the ridiculous sight of an elf riding an eight-legged monster would not just be imposing, but also rather terrifying as well.

However, it shocked the players when they finally noticed the strength value the system had provided in regards to the Spider Queen.

Level 100! Gold-rank!

Previously, when Uller’s totem guardian had descended and made a move, the system didn’t provide any level assessment for that particular Demigod.

So the players weren’t too afraid of him, knowing that Volker’s power was limited in the mortal realm. Furthermore, this envoy had a visible health bar, giving them an understanding of its remaining health during the fight.

In contrast, the Spider Queen, showed no health bar at all. Moreover according to the quest tip, she couldn’t be defeated by the players alone, and they needed to cooperate with the goddess in order to subdue this boss.

In this particular situation, the players were aware that this boss was undoubtedly formidable, perhaps even surpassing the Gatekeeper Spider. Alas, they didn’t have a direct sense of the level difference…

However… The players have an inkling that they would truly experience the terror of a high-level existence at this quest.

This gargantuan crypt spider was like Godzilla but with a swarm of minions, rampaging and crushing anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it…

Some brave players dared to attack it after accepting the quest, but alas, it had no effect whatsoever on the boss as if they were just tickling it.

Instead, their attacks further provoked the wrath of the Spider Queen.

The players who attacked her instantly attracted the Queen’s attention and were chased down ruthlessly before being skewered like a meat on a barbecue stick…

After the players died, the Spider Queen’s long legs were left with a row of human-shaped equipments dangling at it.

On the other hand, Boxlunch and his tank companion took this opportunity to escape completely…

Realizing she had lost her primary target, the Spider Queen let out a furious screech.

All the crypt spiders then instantly went berserk and began launching fierce attacks against the players scattered in Rivendell.

“It’s gone wild! This hidden boss is going berserk!”

“Isn’t this boss too fierce? Rivendell is going to be turned upside down at this rate.”

“We can’t defeat it! Quickly, follow the quest tip and summon the incarnation of the goddess!”

“But how the hell do you summon her? Does anyone knows how?”

“Find Aél! That young pretty boy is the goddess’ favored one! The quest prompt states that he can summon her incarnation!”

Soon, the players thought of the young NPC lad, Aél Moonlight, the champion of the Goddess.

Aél Moonlight had the ability to summon the incarnation of the goddess!

“Hurry up guys! Hurry! Does anyone know where Aél is?”

“I think Aél should currently in Florence. Alternatively we can also just contact Demacia since that dude has the highest favorability with that boy, over sixty points!”

“Heh, I remember Demacia used to have a perfect favorability of a hundred points with that pretty boy, right?”

“Well he lost it, didn’t he? Since that punk always gets himself into all sorts of trouble… By the way, where is Demacia anyway?”

“I think he’s also in Florence. I saw him earlier when I went to find the blacksmith Carlos. They say he’s been helping there, trying to build up favorability with the NPCs living there.”

“Haha…constantly building up favorability. That poor bastard…”

“Quick, contact Demacia!”

The players acted swiftly.

After accepting the system quest, they burst forth with an unprecedented enthusiasm and in no time at all, someone actually managed to contact Demacia through the friends chat list.

Actually, the details of the hidden quest was only visible to players within certain range where it was first triggered. Hence other players in different and far areas could only instead see a brief short notification like,

“Someone triggered a hidden boss quest.”

Of course, if they opened the message’s details, they would also see the specific information.

Unfortunately, Demacia was currently preoccupied with cleaning toilets for some NPCs in Florence and didn’t have the time to thoroughly check the quest notification at the moment since he had already found an easy way to swiftly accumulate favorability points.

He discovered that as long as he kept his mouth shut and continued to perform menial and laborious tasks for the natives, he could salvage some favorability with them.

Luckily some of his friends managed to call him and when he heard the details of the quest, Demacia instantly perked up and put his current task on hold.

“What in the world! A mount system!?”

He set down his tools and washed his hands, before dashing out with excitement.

“Aél! Aél! There’s some major crisis happening in Rivendell! We need your assistance to reclaim that territory!”

Half an hour had already passed by the time Demacia and Aél had arrived in Rivendell through the teleportation array.

During this half hour, the players had been constantly battling the Spider Queen and her swarm.

No one knew what Boxlunch had actually done, but it had thoroughly enraged the gargantuan boss spider, which had a relentless desire to annihilate every player in sight.

In fact, nearly all the players within the vicinity have already died at least once.

They feared that if everyone was killed and the boss left the area, then the quest would ultimately fail. Hence, as soon as the players died, they would then just as swiftly return back using the teleportation array…

Of course, their main objective was not to defeat the boss, but rather to aggro it and prevent it from leaving the map by continuously drawing its attention in circles.

When Aél and Demacia finally arrived, they witnessed a rather chaotic and humorous scenes.

One of the Spider Queen’s long, slender legs was adorned with various pieces of equipment, while another leg was strung with elven bodies like skewers on a barbecue stick.

Upon seeing Aél’s arrival, all the players became exhilarated.

“Ohh, it’s the young pretty boy! Guys he’s finally here!”

“This is incredible! We can finally summon the incarnation of the goddess!”

“Thank god they’ve finally arrived! Dude, I’ve been skewered twice already…”

“Lord Aél! That Spider Queen is too powerful! If this continues on, I’m afraid the entire ruins of Rivendell will be completely destroyed. Please summon the incarnation of the goddess quickly!”

“Yes! This is a level 100 boss! Please summon the incarnation of the goddess!”

The players exclaimed.

The Spider Queen? Level 100?

Why, that’s the peak of the golden rank, barely just one step away from the next tier which is the legendary rank!

The young native boy took a deep sharp breath with his face etched in seriousness.

Aél then glanced at the chosen ones who were fleeing in disarray from the spider’s attacks and then looked at the increasingly devastated Rivendell under the spider’s rampage.

He nodded earnestly.

“I understand… However, waiting for a response from the Matriarch may take some time, so please hold on.”

Having said that, he then knelt down and drew a tree-shaped symbol upon his chest before closing his eyes to devoutly recite a prayer.

“Praise be thy Mother of Nature, praise be thy Goddess of Life, praise be thy mighty Elven Sovereign—Evé Yggdrasill! Divine Matriarch, as your devoted child, I, Aél Moonlight, beseech your presence!”

After uttering the prayer, Aél’s body suddenly emanated a brilliant holy light, while a gentle and sacred power converged around him.

As if sensing something, the Spider Queen, who had been ruthlessly hunting the scattered players in the ruins of Rivendell, abruptly ceased her actions.

She then let out a low growl, revealing a hint of unease.

The endless swarm of crypt spiders also halted, gradually gathering around the Spider Queen, as if protecting their mother.

In that moment, a dazzling light radiated from Aél, as it spread all throughout Rivendell. The blinding light illuminated the deep canyon, as faint ethereal hymns echoed within the air. Suddenly, all the players felt an overwhelming urge to worship and lay down into their knees.

At this moment, they all became excited.

Because they realized that the Goddess had received Aél’s prayer and was paying attention to their situation!

“The Goddess is coming!”

“Hahaha! You damn spiders are finished!”

As the divine light radiated, a wave of tremors swept through the crypt spiders, with each one succumbing to involuntary quivers in the face of such ethereal brilliance. Subsequently, they then dispersed in a state of fearful disarray.

Meanwhile, the Spider Queen let out a fearful roar, with her body twisting and contorting as she attempted to also escape into her burrow with her eight long legs.

“Oh no, it’s trying to run!”

“We can’t let it escape!”

The players erupted in shouts upon seeing the Spider Queen’s escape attempt. Alas, they lacked the strength to stop her.

But they really didn’t need to stop the boss themselves because—

“Hmph!”

All the players heard a cold, crisp hum within their minds.

The voice resounded with clarity, emanating a majestic and sacred essence that enveloped the surroundings, exuding an aura of utmost authority and inviolability.

They recognized it instantly—it was the voice of the Goddess, Evé Yggdrasill!

Suddenly, two golden divine chains materialized out of thin air, tightly binding the Spider Queen just as she was about to escape into her burrow. Such radiant brilliance continued to converged, eventually forming into a figure draped in a holy ceremonial gown, crowned with flowers and foliage, and wielding a magnificent scepter.

The divine figure emanated an ethereal glow from head to toe.

It was the Goddess!

Her appearance was as breathtaking as ever, radiating an aura of divine majesty and inviolability within the blurred radiance.

All the players widened their eyes, excitedly beholding the presence of the Goddess:

“The incarnation of the Goddess has descended!”

“The effects surrounding her are as splendid as ever!”

“Hahaha! We’re going to win!”

“The Goddess is truly amazing. She instantly took control of the boss spider just with her incarnation!”

“Goddess Evé is the best!”

They all cheered with exhilaration.

Basking in the radiant light, the Spider Queen cowered while the gargantuan spider trembled, emitting fearful growls.

At this moment, the Goddess gently raised her slender arm, before placing her fair palm onto the Spider Queen’s massive head.

“Surrender…or perish.”

Evé stated as her voice exuded a calm, dignified, and sacred tone.

As if discussing an ordinary matter, she remained indifferent to the outcome and the commotion around her.