The First Step of Love

The First Step of Love is a Dark and Darker quest assigned by the Valentine Seasonal merchant, part of the Proof of Love quest line. The Black Rose has become a symbol of resistance against this plague. Once steeped in darkness, it has now been fully purified, bearing a new kind of beauty and fragrance. Bring me one, and I will reward you for your effort. The objective is to bring 1× black rose. All progress requires a successful extraction — items retrieved or kills made during a failed run do not count toward quest completion. Once every objective is fulfilled, return to Valentine Seasonal in the lobby to turn in the quest and receive the reward. Completing The First Step of Love rewards 1 Gold, Valentine Affinity +50. The quest is completed in Ice Cavern, Goblin Caves, Ruins or Ship Graveyard. Merchant quests in Dark and Darker are one of the most consistent gold and experience sources in the game, independent of loot luck on the Trading Post. Completing the full Valentine Seasonal quest chain unlocks higher reward tiers and increases merchant affinity, which can affect prices and open additional quest tiers in future seasons. The Proof of Love chain provides a structured progression path through the Valentine Seasonal quest tree, and finishing each quest in order is the fastest route to the higher value objectives later in the line. Use the MetaBot Dark and Darker quest tracker to check all open objectives across every active merchant before extracting, so you can turn in multiple quests from a single run and get the most value out of each session.