MMORPG: Divine Mech Hunter

"Let's go." The enchantress urged, seeing that Li Yao wasn't looking at the secret door but was staring blankly at the oil painting in his hand.

Li Yao frowned and said, "Wait a minute, this painting isn't simple."

"System: As you gaze intently at this ancient painting, your deep eyes seem to lift the veil of history, traversing tens of thousands of years to return to the ancient Amon World, comprehending the once-glorious past through this Amon World's masterpiece."

"System: Archaeological research of the sub-dimension has commenced, and a precious ancient painting has been obtained."

"System: Amon language preliminarily mastered."

"System: Amon language is derived from the Titan language and Void language, used for rituals in the Amon dimension."

Li Yao directly put away the ancient painting and said, "It's really unexpected, who would have thought the ancient painting hanging here is the most valuable."

"An antique?" the enchantress asked.

"Yes, your archaeology skills aren't enough, otherwise you might have gained something too. But it's not too important. Of course, if sold to those high elves researching dimensional studies, this painting would be invaluable." Li Yao said.

"Is it really that exaggerated?" the enchantress doubted.

"If you knew this was a work of Amon, you wouldn't say that. Never mind, it's hard to explain to you. Just know that this painting alone isn't inferior to the loot we just got." Li Yao said happily.

The two entered the secret door; the interior was small, with only a desk and a small bookshelf.

The enchantress gathered some valuable trinkets, while Li Yao focused on the bookshelf.

"What a pity, why can't we activate Frame Space, otherwise I'd move everything here. These are highly valuable research books, but there's simply no time."

Despite the regret, Li Yao still selected some fundamental books to take away, willing to waste backpack space, showing the value of these volumes.

There wasn't much here, and the enchantress had already gathered most of it: "There's also a Rune Safebox here. It's too big to take, and it won't open."

The enchantress spotted a gray box under the desk that was barely noticeable.

"An Ancient Treasure Chest, damn it, do you have to be so overpowered?" Seeing this treasure chest, Li Yao couldn't help but burst out.

In the sub-dimension, besides the standard chest levels, there are several other levels: ancient, middle-aged, ancient, and mythical treasure chests.

Mythical Treasure Chests are owned by ancient or main gods and typically only appear in the residence of a main god.

In his past life, Li Yao ventured through sub-dimensions countless times, only encountering Ancient Treasure Chests thrice, and two chests couldn't even be opened; they were later relocated by NPCs.

He witnessed one after players ascended to godhood, just before his rebirth. At that time, players already had the spiritual power and techniques to unlock such a chest, but a massive battle erupted over it, known as the first god-war of the player era.

Li Yao himself, in ten years, only opened one Middle-aged Treasure Chest, through which he contracted a Demigod-level War Bear as a pet.

And now, an Ancient Treasure Chest appeared before him, second only to a Mythical Treasure Chest. How could Li Yao not be excited?

This is basic knowledge, and the enchantress naturally knows. She's entered several times and has seen regular chests, but never an Ancient Treasure Chest.

"Is this the perk of having a high madman level?" The enchantress took a deep breath, knowing that once this chest is opened, the reward will be tremendous.

"No, a high madman level is merely a prerequisite to see such chests. The reason we can see this chest likely indicates we're in the residence of this city's highest authority, the Archbishop. Let me handle it."

Li Yao took out a Black Crystal and, as it shattered, a phantom handprint formed on the chest.

Boom!

Li Yao's mind roared, and he found himself in a phantom arena.

"To unravel the mystery, you must first defeat me."

A furious warcraft dragon appeared, a faction-level beast.

Just this level is equivalent to battling a world-class powerhouse, capable of making countless players retreat and unable to unlock this treasure chest.

But for Li Yao, though troublesome and time-consuming, it posed no real threat.

Five minutes later, the Mechanical Avatar stood on the dragon's head, driving a great sword into the creature's eye, slaying it. Around them were numerous signs of explosions and damage.

The scene shifted, and Li Yao found himself by a lakeside, with palm-sized wooden stakes bobbing up and down in the water, forming an irregular path to the other side of the lake.

Another voice emerged.

"The second step to open the chest, a dexterity test, from your current position to the other side of the lake; each drop increases the difficulty by one level, only three attempts are allowed. Each attempt lasts a quarter of an hour."

Li Yao didn't rush, fixating on the erratic wooden stakes in the lake, time ticking away as he remained motionless until the system started a countdown thirteen minutes in.

Li Yao suddenly moved, his toes tapping on the stakes, his figure deftly darting toward the opposite shore.

If someone saw, they'd be shocked. His seemingly awkward, erratic movements were incredibly fast.

Moreover, as he stepped forward, stakes rose just as his foot fell, as though they existed solely to accommodate him. Two and a half minutes later, Li Yao reached the opposite shore.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The water transformed into a mirrored screen, the entire lake standing upright, while countless stakes turned into patterned playing cards.

The lake surface probably contained tens of thousands of cards, each with different pictures and types.

"Third challenge: find one hundred identical cards among sixty thousand, with the same quarter-hour time limit and three attempts."

Suddenly, the cards crazily spun, intertwining without pattern.

Not only ordinary players but even today's top players, seeing these sixty thousand rapidly spinning cards, would be utterly overwhelmed.

Five minutes later, the cards flipped, revealing a model-like backside, then shuffled again without any pattern.

Another five minutes passed, and the sixty thousand cards faced Li Yao, seeking out one hundred identical ones.

The enchantress was already stunned beside him. From an observer's perspective, she wasn't surprised by the first challenge's combat; Li Yao clearing it was natural.

The second concern regarding dexterity focused mainly on spiritual power calculations, and Li Yao's success was understandable.

But the third lock was utterly monstrous. Seeing sixty thousand card faces alone was overwhelming, let alone spotting one hundred identical ones. With her spiritual power, she couldn't even discern the card types among the sixty thousand, let alone find matches.

Especially the final shuffle of the back sides—it was indescribably difficult…