Chapter 78

[You have defeated the low-level demon Kroal.]

[Level up! You have been given bonus points.]

[You have reached level 40. As a reward, you have been given a beginner skill.]

[You have reached level 40. You can receive a gift box from the NPC related to your profession.]

[You have met one of the conditions for room upgrade.]

[You can start the profession scenario quest from the NPC related to your profession.]

"......There are so many notifications."

As soon as he reached level 40, a flurry of notification windows appeared, momentarily blurring his vision.

After checking each notification, Carpe nodded.

"Finally level 40. It was much faster than I thought."

-That's right. I thought it would take another day... It seems this demon Kroal was a bundle of experience points.

"Ugh. This is the thrill of raising subordinates."

Frankly, Carpe had wondered how necromancers and tamers, who just watched from behind, could find it interesting, but experiencing it firsthand, he found it had its own charm.

While he enjoyed the show from behind, his subordinates would automatically contribute items and experience points.

Easy pickings.

Overwhelmingly easy pickings!

It was so sweet that his lips curled up involuntarily.

Moreover, every time he saw his subordinates growing, he felt a strange sense of achievement that made his heart swell with pride.

Indeed, popular professions had their reasons.

"My lord. I have defeated the enemy. Thank you for entrusting me with this task."

Triumphant return of the victorious general!

Perhaps due to the intensity of the battle, Tina's usually pale face was slightly flushed, adding a vibrant touch to her appearance.

-Hey, isn't that strange? She's a homunculus doll, right? A flushed face means blood is flowing, but a doll shouldn't have blood...

'Ah, this guy is at it again. Please, don't bring science into fantasy.'

Carpe ignored the ridiculous comment from the succubus and congratulated Tina on her victory.

"Of course, Tina. Well done."

"Tina... you're amazing. You didn't get hit once."

"Quack quack!"

Tina's cheeks seemed to turn a bit redder at the praise from Carpe and the other subordinates.

She cleared her throat once and then approached Carpe, kneeling on one knee.

"I am fortunate to have not disgraced my lord's honor. My lord, here is the loot I obtained after defeating the enemy."

Tina said this and extended a round medal-like object to Carpe.

Ding.

[Token of the Demon]

[Grade: Unique]

[Category: Special Item]

[This is a token you can obtain by defeating a demon. Demons pose a significant threat to humanity. Show this to a high-ranking official to receive recognition and rewards.]

"Huh? A special item?"

-Didn't I mention it earlier? There's an event in the future where you can get rewards based on how many of these tokens you collect.

"Ah, I see."

-Right now, you're the only one who has this item, so you should get a pretty good reward as described.

"I see. I should visit the village first, then."

Unfortunately, the demon Kroal left behind only that item.

It seemed to be a monster with a lot of experience points but no drop items.

"That was a strong opponent. If it had appeared in its full original strength, I wouldn't have been able to handle it."

"Oh, right. It was in a nerfed state."

Because the demon had crossed over before its mana core was fully established, it had suffered a significant penalty to its stats.

Carpe looked up at the sky.

The mana core, emitting a dark and ominous aura.

"Fire Arrow."

Bang!

The arrow of flame shot by Carpe shattered the mana core.

It wasn't clear whether the mana core's durability was weak or Carpe's attack power was absurd, but it broke very easily.

[The mana core has been destroyed.]

[The dungeon is cleared. You will be returned to your original location in 5 seconds.]

After 5 seconds, Carpe was able to return to the Wind Cave.

[Ah! You have returned safely!]

And Shiphirua was waiting for Carpe.

[The demonic aura flowing from the crack has disappeared. I am truly grateful. How can I repay this kindness...]

"It's nothing. It wasn't that difficult."

It wasn't just not difficult; Carpe had merely watched.

[By preventing further corruption, you have done a great deed. I am truly grateful.]

"Is that so..."

Carpe thought it was a somewhat disappointing conclusion, but in terms of the game, it was inevitable.

If a dungeon were to be purified and disappear just because a player cleared a quest, it would cause confusion for other players.

Of course, there were cases where this happened, but the Wind Cave dungeon was not one of them.

-Yeah, the corrupted spirits need to remain. If people can no longer get the Wind Set, they would be very sad.

'...Come to think of it, I didn't get it either.'

Considering Carpe's usual luck, it was quite surprising.

Since entering the dungeon, he hadn't obtained a single piece of the Wind Set!

He had defeated quite a few wind spirits and, crucially, several KD guild members who were wearing the Wind Set, but he hadn't obtained a single piece.

Of course, the KD members had dropped items of a higher grade than the Wind Set, but the Wind Set itself was nowhere to be found.

'At least I wanted to get three pieces... How can this be a game?'

-It's just a game with terrible luck. Some players can get everything with just one kill, while others can't get anything even after thousands of kills.

'And I didn't get much Wind Essence either... Sigh. What should I do? Should I try to kill more?'

While Carpe was pondering this, Shiphirua approached him again to express her gratitude.

[Thank you once more. Please accept this.]

At the same time, a quest completion notification appeared!

[You have completed the quest 'Shiphirua's Request'.]

[As a reward, you have obtained 100 Wind Essence.]

[Level up! You have been given bonus points.]

"......Huh?"

-...Crazy. You can make all five pieces and still have some left. Plus, another level up? You just leveled up less than 5 minutes ago!

Carpe, who had been hit by a wind essence jackpot and an experience point jackpot, opened his eyes wide.

[I'm sorry. I don't know if it will be to your liking, but this is all I can give...]

"No, no. It's more than enough."

[That's a relief. I hope we can meet again.]

* * *

After bidding farewell to Carpe, Shiphirua left.

Although she was a mid-level spirit and could withstand some exposure to the demonic aura, she was leaving the Wind Cave just in case.

"Hmm. So this dungeon will now be a boss-less dungeon?"

-Not likely. A mutant among the corrupted lower spirits might become the new boss. It will somehow keep going.

"I see."

Carpe nodded.

Since he had reached his goal of level 40, all that was left was to return, but Carpe decided to explore the cave a bit more before heading back to Luana.

The hostile system with KD was still in effect.

Systematically, Carpe and KD were still at war, and any KD member killed by Carpe would drop items.

"I need to take everything I can get."

Carpe set out to hunt KD members again. This time, he planned to use a method to incite internal conflict.

"Hehe. This time, we need to do it with much higher quality."

"......Master? Why are you looking at me?"

"Mirage. I trust you."

About 30 minutes later.

"Die!"

"Kraaaah! Carlson, why are you doing this to me!"

"I've never liked you!"

The man called Carlson defeated the last KD guild member in the dungeon, and the fallen man disappeared with wide eyes, unable to believe he had been betrayed by a fellow guild member.

"Phew. Is that all of them?"

"Yeah. Good job."

And of course, the man called Carlson was not Carlson but Mirage, who had transformed using the Doppleganger ability.

She immediately returned to her original form and clung to Carpe.

"I'm tired."

"Me too. Let's rest now. Do you want to go into my pocket?"

"Sure... I'll go in."

She changed into doll mode and buried herself in Carpe's robe pocket.

"Phew. Now it's really over. With this, they won't be able to reunite in their dreams."

-...You're ruthless. Did you really have to go this far?

"Executing justice! With this, the great evil has been eliminated. Peace has returned to the world!"

"My lord. This is a righteous path. I will follow you with all my heart."

-...Both of you are crazy. Sigh.

The succubus shook her head.

Regardless, Carpe walked out of the cave.

"Huh?"

-What?

He encountered two groups engaged in a fierce battle, having split into opposing sides at the cave entrance.

"Die! You cowardly bastards!"

"Who are you to say that! We won't be slaves! The Wind Cave belongs to all of Luana's players!"

"I'll show you the difference in power!"

Both groups were so engrossed in their intense battle that they didn't even notice Carpe coming out of the cave.

Carpe thought this must be a place where PKs often occurred and activated his return scroll.

[Returning to Luana.]

As soon as he activated the scroll, Carpe instantly arrived in the central area of Luana.

-Not a bad journey. So, what are you going to do now?

"There's a plan. It's just a matter of order."

Since he had obtained the Wind Essence, he needed to find the blacksmith Zik to complete the quest. He also needed to update his profession quest since he had reached level 40.

And he needed to show the Token of the Demon he obtained from the Wind Cave.

-So, what's the conclusion?

"Let's start with the Token of the Demon."

There wasn't a specific reason; it was just that the lord's castle in Luana was very close to where Carpe was.

The lord's castle, located in the central district of Luana, was a place with no other facilities.

As Carpe walked toward the castle, the gatekeeper stopped him.

"Stop. This is not a place you can enter freely. Stranger, what is your business here?"

"I have business with the lord of this place."

"Out of the question. The lord is a very busy person. You can't just meet him because you want to."

"Then, could you please take a look at this?"

Carpe took out the Token of the Demon and showed it to the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper, who had been eyeing Carpe suspiciously, suddenly changed his expression.

"S-Sorry! Please wait a moment. I will bring someone to see you immediately!"

The strengthened 10-star player