Diablo Quest - Seven Doors of Destiny

As soon as I opened my eyes for the Diablo quest, seven doors appeared right before me.

"What the hell is this?"

"Ah! It's the class selection screen! What should I pick? Since I have to consider skill registration too, I need to choose carefully..."

"Hello everyone! It's been a while since I got a quest, so here I am in Diablo 2. Clearing Act 1 counts as success, and the reward is five items and five skills from the Diablo 2 universe."

"Correct. I can't use the status window, skill window, or inventory at all. Just think of it as the virtual reality version of Diablo 2."

"I want good skills, so I'm asking what class I should pick. I'm thinking Necromancer..."

"It says it's not selecting a character but choosing a class, so I don't think gender-bending is involved."

After looking at the recommendations, Amazon was clearly in first place. It had excellent synergy with my Archery skill, so I was drawn to it too. Of course, I was curious about the Valkyrie...

The moment I stepped through the door and completed the class selection, a powerful light burst out and transported me somewhere. When the bright light faded and I opened my eyes again, a campfire burned in front of me. A man walked over from the side and spoke.

"Greetings, stranger. I am not surprised to see you. Many adventurers have passed through here since the recent troubles began. I assume you've heard of the tragedy in Tristram. Some say the Lord of Terror, Diablo, walks the land once more. I don't know if I should believe such tales, but a few weeks ago a Dark Wanderer did pass this way."

Aah, Warriv, right? The NPC who takes you to Act 2 later.

"He headed toward the eastern pass guarded by the Rogue Monastery..."

"Yes, nice to meet you. I already know the way, so I'll see you next time!"

"For those who don't know the story, here's a quick summary. That Wanderer guy shoved Diablo's soulstone into his own forehead and lost his mind. Demons get summoned along the path he travels, and eventually the Wanderer becomes Diablo himself."

"I'll explain the details while we experience the story! First, I'll take the Den of Evil purification quest. If it doesn't take too long, I'll clear it all the way to Blood Raven! Gotta check out the female Rogue mercenaries."

I wandered around the small camp looking for Akara, who gave the first quest. Unlike the game, the camp was surprisingly large, I had no map, and there were normal NPCs who didn't appear in the original, so it took longer than expected to find her.

A short while later I found a woman wearing a wine-colored robe. I approached and greeted her. After returning the greeting, she told me about the Den of Evil.

"There is a place in the wilderness where a great evil lurks. According to reports from Kashya's Rogue scouts, there is a cave nearby teeming with dark creatures and monsters risen from the grave. We fear these creatures are gathering to attack our camp. If you truly wish to help us, find that dark labyrinth and clear out the monsters."

"Yes, I'll be right back."

The thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of smashing demons and monsters from the Diablo universe made my grip tighten around my spear.

I opened the status and skill windows to spend the bonus points I received for starting the quest.

"I received them in exchange for my normal stat limits. I also got five skill points and up to 5,000 gold."

I started allocating my stats while looking at the window.

"I can reset bow skills once later when I get the skill reset, so I'll raise spear and javelin for now! For stats, I'll put points into Strength until 60, Dexterity until 50, and dump everything else into Vitality from now on!"

"For skills, I'll raise Jab from the spear tree and save the rest of my skill points just in case."

After leaving the camp, I tried activating the map just in case. A semi-transparent map floated in the upper part of my vision.

"I thought it was broken because it didn't work in the village, but thank goodness."

Following the path on the map, three zombies appeared. Grrrrr!

I gripped my spear and charged, stabbing one of them in the head with all my strength.

Thud!

The zombie that got stabbed in the head collapsed as if instantly killed. But the other two zombies surrounded me and attacked from front and back.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was originally a skill that stabbed rapidly three times in one direction, but since I could move freely, I could change direction while stabbing. I pierced the head of the zombie in front first, then spun my body and stabbed the one behind me twice, killing it.

"My stats are lower so my body feels a bit slow and heavy, but it's still higher than the appropriate level for this area, so everything dies in one hit! I'll ignore the monsters and quickly clear the Den of Evil."

I ran quickly down the path, ignoring the monsters that approached, searching for the underground cave. My stamina dropped occasionally and I got out of breath.

"It's been a while since I felt this out of breath."

Stamina recovered quickly, so I repeated running and walking until I finally saw the entrance to a random underground cave in a wide plain.

"I'm here. Shall we go in?"

Inside the cave it was much darker than I expected. I couldn't see more than a certain distance ahead. Since I couldn't use detection either, I had no idea where I might get attacked. I held my spear out in front of me and advanced slowly.

"Wow... if I didn't have the map I would've gotten lost 100%."

After walking slowly for a bit, I suddenly heard a zombie's groan from ahead. As I approached the sound, a zombie entered my field of vision and I quickly thrust my spear into it.

Thud!

Right then—

Kyaaaak! Kyaaaak!

With a bizarre cry, the Fallen came rushing in.

Thud!

Kueeeek!

I stabbed the one at the very front of the charging pack with my spear. Suddenly the rest started to run away. I watched them with a dumbfounded look as they slowly crept back toward me.

I chased after the fleeing Fallen and stabbed them to death with my spear.

Whoosh! Boom!

"Whoa! What the—?!"

I got hit by a flame shot from what was labeled a Fallen Shaman. I turned my head to look at it and immediately charged, using my skill.

"Stop annoying me, you bastard!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

Kueeeek!

After stabbing it to death with my spear, it dropped a dagger. I picked it up to check. It was a normal item Dagger, so I casually tossed it away.

"I'm not picking up anything unless it's at least magic grade."

I left the item behind, picked up only the potions and gold, and continued fighting. After killing zombies and Fallen for a while, vitality surged through my body.

"Ah! Level up!"

I invested all five level-up points into Vitality and continued hunting. A large beast appeared midway and I got a little nervous at its size, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three uses of Jab killed it easily.

Now completely relaxed, I massacred the zombies and Fallen as I advanced. I killed the elite zombie at the end of the cave and picked up the dropped item. It was a magic item Round Shield. I discarded my basic shield and equipped it instead.

The quest I received required me to kill every monster in the area to complete it. I searched the cave for the hidden stragglers and finally found two hiding Fallen after twenty minutes.

Instead of stabbing them with the spear tip, I mercilessly beat them with the shaft. Once I had beaten them all to death, light poured into the cave and the quest completed. Instead of returning to camp, I headed straight for Blood Raven.

After running for quite a while I arrived at the burial grounds. I saw Blood Raven wearing a skull mask. She suddenly noticed me and shouted.

"Become part of my army of the dead!"

As she shouted, the nearby graves shook and skeletons rose. I quickly ran and attacked Raven, but she instantly fled while shooting arrows at me. I barely blocked them with my shield, smashed the nearby summoned skeletons with my spear, pushed them away with my shield, and chased her. She dodged quickly and kept firing her bow.

"Uwaaaaaagh! You're dead!"

Enraged, I gripped the spear with one hand and threw it with all my strength, hitting her in the stomach. While she staggered, I rushed in, kicked her in the head, pulled the spear from her belly, and kept using Jab until she died.

"Kyaaaaaaaagh!"

When she died, lightning-like light flowed from her body and swept away the surrounding skeletons. They crumbled and found rest once more.

After killing Blood Raven, a bow, a helm, and two mana potions dropped beside her corpse. The helm was normal grade so I discarded it. The bow was labeled [Unidentified Item]. I decided to buy an Identify Scroll back at camp. I took out a Town Portal Scroll and opened it.

Ziiing!

A blue portal opened before me. I stepped through and returned to camp. First I went to Akara, completed the quest, received one skill point as reward, then bought an Identify Scroll and checked the item I got from Blood Raven.

"Whoa! Jackpot!! An item like this from the very beginning?!"

I had no idea why this item dropped now, but since I'd obtained it, I happily stored it in my inventory. Since I'd already cleared the next quest in advance, I went to Kashya to receive the reward.

"Hello? I defeated Blood Raven in the burial grounds. Here's the proof."

I approached, greeted her, and showed her Raven's bow. She looked at me with surprised eyes and said,

"You defeated Blood Raven? I can hardly believe it! She was once my closest friend, but now I can only hope that tormented soul finds eternal peace. You have earned my respect and the loyalty of my sisters. I have selected my finest warriors so they may be called upon at any time."

Kashya led me to the Rogue training grounds. She told me I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could take a mercenary and that she would pay the hiring fee herself at first. She told me to take any warrior I liked.

I looked at the Rogues gathered in front of Kashya, picked the three with the best appearance, asked what skills they had, and hired the one with Cold Arrow as my mercenary. Her name was Blair. I decided she would stay with me until we defeated Diablo.

"Nice to meet you, Blair! I'll be counting on you from now on!"

"Yes! I'll be counting on you too!"

I greeted the cheerful girl and subtly scanned her figure. Her body was surprisingly amazing. I'd only planned to beat up demons in Diablo, but the unexpectedly attractive appearance of the Rogue mercenary made me look forward to my time here even more.

"Blair, do you know the way to the barracks?"

"I know the way to the Dark Wood. To get there you pass through the underground passage in the Dark Wood, and after reaching the Dark Wood you just follow the road, I heard."

With Blair, it seemed I could reach Andariel faster than expected.

"It looks like it'll take a while before I can receive the reward... I'll think about it after killing Andariel! I should be able to level enough just by killing monsters on the way."

I advanced toward the Dark Wood, killing demons with my mercenary. Unlike the game, night fell. We lit a campfire, ate a simple meal, and talked.

"By the way, why can you only take one mercenary?"

"What? What do you mean? As long as you pay the hiring fee, you can take as many as you want?"

"Ah... I thought only one was possible. Then let's go back to camp and hire more mercenaries to travel together."

"Yes! Then we can set night watches and rest comfortably."

I opened a portal, found Kashya, and hired two more mercenaries—the two candidates I'd seen earlier.

"Hannah, Lien, please take care of me."

"Yes, please take care of us."

"Yesss!"

I smiled at the disciplined Hannah who stood straight for a handshake and the lively Lien. After resting for the night, we took the portal I'd left open the previous day and advanced again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

All three besides me were archers, so enemies fell before they could even approach. I only stepped in when they missed or when there were too many enemies.

Thud!

When I stabbed a charging giant monster to death, vitality surged through my body. My level rose like that until I reached 13. My stats had grown to the level of a level 33 character. Along the way I farmed some useful magic items and swapped out my helm, armor, and boots. I left the rest of the slots empty. I also changed the mercenaries' bows, which increased our attack power, letting us hunt even more comfortably as we advanced.