Chapter 23: Meanwhile In the Forest!
Chapter 23: Meanwhile In the Forest!
Leonhardt left the inn after making the deal, and his guild card now has an additional agreement, which allows him to relax.
'Who would have thought contracts could be made through your guild identification.'
Thanks to making the deal through an officially licensed inn in good standing, Leon would receive his cut off the profit as long as the ingredients were delivered on time.
He shook the card while heading towards the southern exit after hearing about monsters that roamed the plains. Leon planned to kill some to improve his swordsmanship and get some cash to use for the next few days.
It was at that moment that a strange feeling washed over his body, a sense of his existence feeling a boost of adrenaline, and the dirty village streets no longer felt so bad.
[Zafira Anuket has purchased five squares]
[Arlet Village is now under your control]
[Embervale Forest is now under your control]
[You have attacked another dungeon: Raptor Vale (F-Rank)]
——
[Village of Embers]
• Lord: Empty
• Population: 1000
• Daily DP: 1000
• DP Storage: 4,000/15,000
• Defences: None
• Garrison: None
• Tax: None
[Select New Lord?]
[Yes] [No]
——
"What... attacked a dungeon? Ngh!"
Suddenly, Leonhardt grasped his chest, struggling to breathe as he stumbled into the wall, panting and cold sweat oozing down his face.
The sudden increase in the land caused a massive rush of experience, levels and attributes into his body as if someone were murdering monsters like rats.
"Argh, stop!"
A powerful burst of energy, information, and knowledge flowed into Leon's mind before his body shuddered. Blood spewed from his mouth, exceeding his EP, DP, and Experience limits.
"Hrk?!"
The moment his body slipped down the wall, an adventurer with shimmering gold hair and a white robe passed by; turning her head, she noticed Leon's condition and called out.
"Mister... Sir, stay with me."
Meanwhile, in the northeast parts of the Great Forest of Embers, a massive gathering of goblins faced off against a giant reptile.
"Lady Zafira, the enemy seems stronger than we anticipated!" Gobbolas grasped his bow and shot a flurry of arrows at the smaller monsters, which resembled small dinosaurs with sharp teeth and scaled bodies.
"Master told me to do my best." Zafira gazed at the goblins with a displeased snarl before shaking her head and sighing.
"No, forget it. Pull your men back for now."
She knew that although the goblins could be revived inside the dungeon, if they died outside, they would be lost forever. Though her feelings towards Leonhardt were still quite neutral, she understood he cherished the goblins and rabbits.
"I will handle this problem... you and the goblins kill the rest."
[Warning—Sub Leader Zafira!]
[Your current action could cause damage to the Dungeon!]
"Shut it, Ifrit."
Zafira scoffed, her body swirling with darkness, the whites of her eyes turning black as she entered her combat form. "If something happens, immediately use my DP to summon as many goblins and traps as possible."
[I told him not to trust you!]
'Even though I have treated him like a thorn in my side, he still trusts me?'
These thoughts in the demon realm would be foolish enough to get you killed. However, Zafira couldn't help but feel a dull warmth in her chest.
"Strange."
Zafira shook her head again to remove her lingering thoughts—the horned rabbits and goblins suffered a significant amount of damage. All because the scouts didn't discover a dungeon lingering in the eastern part of the forest.
So the moment she tried to claim it.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
A dungeon battle started, causing the dungeon master of the enemy to rush to the front line and start slaughtering the goblins.
"Well, to make it up to him, let's crush them."
The monster leading the lizards looked like a stegosaurus. Swinging a long tail with thick spikes at the tip, it impaled goblins like soft cheese with a knife.
Crackle!
Shadow magic started swirling around Zafira's feet.
She lifted her right palm and narrowed her gaze, pointing towards the gathering of beasts and goblins, before opening her soft eyes.
"Oblivion."
The next moment, the entire region of lizards dropped into a dark portal that materialised underneath their feet. In a mere fraction of a second, a dome enveloped their entire force, and turbulent shadow magic crackled from Zafira's fingertip.
Trees became crushed, corrupted and rotten, the ground turned black, and dirt became a slimy, poisonous swamp of mud; anything organic slowly died from decay and poison.
"Hmm, how fun, too bad, they aren't strong enough to enjoy more!"
With a long sigh, Zafira began to crack her bones.
She could use her true power within the dungeon's bounds.
Thankfully, during a dungeon clash, all abilities, and seals are released.
Her body started to twist as muscles formed all over it. She grew a foot taller, now standing close to seven feet. Although a beautiful maiden in her normal form, once transformed, she was a complete monster.
She turned her pale purple face and gazed towards the south, the place where the demon continent and her home existed.
"I hope Father doesn't sense the pulse from my transformation."
[Warning—Because of the immense number of incoming Mana and evolution points, the dungeon master has been forced into an emergency evolution! All dungeon activities apart from cleaning and summoning units will be unavailable for 3 days.]
"At last, some good news."
Zafira believed that the sooner he became stronger, the sooner she could attend the meetings where all dungeon masters gathered monthly.
"A chance to help him for once. I would never have been able to leave that prison otherwise."
Her eyes closed, and she hurriedly used the points she had been given, buying all the land she could and ensuring the lost forces were restored.
"Gobbolas, Gobbomir, send most of the goblins back to the Embervale Keep, and then follow me. All for our Master's benefit."
Though she felt amused that Leonhardt probably suffered because of her, she wanted to improve the dungeon, a strange feeling that never happened before. 'I wonder if something is wrong with me.'
"Lady Zafira, what of the master?" Gobbomir narrowed his eyes.
The blue hobgoblin always clashed with this female, though he knew of her might. He always asked and watched the actions she took.
"He will become stronger. I will not betray him."
Zafira's tail slapped the floor, and her lips twisted as she pouted. She always felt that goblins who followed Gobbomir wouldn't follow her sometimes because they were devoted to Leonhardt and even trained with him in the mornings before he left.
"I will follow."
The doubtful goblin narrowed his gaze before letting out a sigh—because goblins lacked intelligence and wisdom, they struggled to understand when other races mocked them or used sarcasm.
But Leonhardt always treated them with respect and spoke to them like normal creatures rather than idiots or fools.
"Then let's get to work, master's desire is the priority." Gobbolas gazed back at Gobomir in the distance, sorting the troops and organising the Horn Rabbits, who had contributed to their win against the raptors.
"Tsk, why is this woman the Master's second in command, is it her excess fat?" Gobbomir muttered to himself after walking away with the group of goblins.
Zafira heard everything, of course, but only clicked her tongue, then walked towards the northeast.
"Goblins, so uncultured."
Two hours after his sudden accident, Leonhardt remained suffering while unconscious. The female who saved him from sleeping outside was none other than Erina, who booked a private room different from Asuka and Sylvie.
"What should I do. I've never treated a person before, let alone a man!" Her eyes darted around, the half-naked male on the bed covered in sweat and sometimes convulsing. "My magic didn't work, something strange happened."
Erina used magic when she reached the room, ignoring the strange glances from the other customers and the mistress. She could feel the man's body sucking her Mana like a hungry chick wanting more food.
"Why isn't he waking up?"
Her hands squeezed a wet cloth while trembling.
The noble lady who became a potential saint felt embarrassed. Her desire to help those in need clashed with the strange action of taking a young man into her room. 'I should go get Asuka and Sylvie,' she finally determined before standing up.
"Wait here, Sir." she said to the unconscious man before rushing off, only to be yanked back, the sleeping male grasping her hand while pulling her onto the bed.
A scream escaped from Erina's soft mouth, which almost forced her to shout, but strangely, she could not move at all.
The aura emitted from the male behind her caused her body to freeze in absolute terror, like a mouse trapped in a serpent's gaze—she closed her eyes tight and tried to gather her divine power, but, the more she gathered, the more was devoured by the hungry serpent behind her.
The young woman didn't know about monsters or how they became stronger. In fact, most humans didn't understand evolution because it was hidden and secretive, especially for dungeon masters and powerful monsters.
Currently, thanks to her divine power, an issue inside Leonhardt was being fixed, namely his short lifespan and the imbalance between his three races and mind. 'Please wake up.'
However, none of that would comfort the terrified saintess held on a bed with a young male breathing down her neck and the hard sensation poking her body.