Dane was without words for a while. These quests, without a doubt, were a godsend, but that did not deserve his attention for now. On the other hand, the quest log, was very much game-breaking. With a thought, he commanded the system to open the available quests. Sure enough, the situation was just as he thought it would be.
[Quest: Investigate the strange happenings in the Venir Jungle. Reward: 50 quest points.
Quest: Infiltrate the capital city of the Underelves. Reward: 25 quest points.
Quest: Search for the missing girl in the Bayweep Cliff. Reward: 50 quest points.
Quest: Report…]
All those quests were related to the catastrophe in one way or another. And the best part, they could be taken simultaneously. For the first time since he arrived in this world, felt that there was a chance to accomplish the mission that ass-god gave him. If he could have quest instructions, things would be a lot easier. And the more quests he completed, the bigger the quest points he obtained. Those were his greatest hope in becoming powerful enough to stop the meltdown.
But, the more he thought of it, the harder it became. Venir jungle was a level 90+ area. Bayweep Cliff was a level 70+ dungeon. The capital of the Underelves was even worse, where transcendent npcs were everywhere. It was a capital, after all.
He was just too weak to deal with this kind of quests. And the ones he could do right now gave rewards of 1 quest point, 5 at the very best. If he were still in the game, the only solution would be to have another player carry him through the whole thing…
"My lord? Are you okay?" Randwen asked out of concern, but his voice sounded heavenly to Dane, who had just gotten an amazing idea.
"Yes, sorry, I was thinking of something else. Randwen, besides the rank 4, is there anything special about the other pursuers?" Dane needed to know everything in order to proceed accordingly, which is why he asked.
"Yes, my lord. Among the wizard apprentices, one of them is highly regarded in the organization. He has only joined them for two weeks, but he learned 5 rank-0 spells and is on the verge of choosing his class."
"What is his name?" Dane asked wanting to be proved wrong but had a feeling that he would not be.
"He is called Lorent, my lord." Dane furrowed his brows.
"Can you tell his elemental affinities and potential?"
"He has a gift for dark magic and summoning, my lord. I believe he would be a fantastic necromancer. He is too dangerous to be left alive." Dane confirmed it. What was it with today and the reunion of old friends?
Lorent, a genius necromancer, compared to Arthur in almost everything. When they were youths, they were called the white gem and the dark gem of the new generation of magicians. When they became transcendents, they fought to the death. Lorent was defeated. They hated each other and what they represented, so it was not a farfetched happening. But now, Dane had the opportunity to change that.
"Randwen, I forgot. Have you mastered the Summon Independent Soul Parasite spell?"
"Yes, my lord, I have. However, I can only maintain ten of them."
"Great! Use it on Reis and Lorent for now. They are to resume their duties in the Dark Dawn. When it is time for Lorent to pick a class, make sure he goes for the Dark Summoner class. After that, let me choose his progression. You can choose how to deal with Reis, but he needs to get stronger in order to access the higher levels of the organization. Once you identify who sent him to this assignment, move the parasite to him and get rid of Reis."
"Yes, my lord. What about the rest of them?"
"Kill them. And also make sure that you wipe Arthur's mind about anything that has to do with the inheritance." Dane commanded, anticipation showing on his face. With a thought, a series of screams were heard in the forest nearby, but they extinguished briefly after.
[Beep! Rank 1 magician (3) killed. Rank 0 magician (2) killed. 4,000 exp points gained. Use the exp points?] This was a very, very sweet and timely message, but not the one Dane was looking forward to. He chose no and patiently waited for Randwen to finish altering Arthur's memories. A few minutes later, Randwen stood up and gave Dane a nod.
[Beep! Mission completed. Prevent the events of the Dark Dawn's members chase from being exposed to public until you secure the information. 50 quest points obtained.]
"It works… It fucking works…" Dane was in a daze. He could not believe what was happening. "This… This is too good to be true. There must be a catch, somewhere. If this is true, then, my progress…"
"Sir, are you sure you are feeling fine?" Randwen was genuinely concerned, but Dane dismissed him once again.
"Yes, I am fine. Send those two back to their lairs. Have them say that they were found out by a rank 7 magician that was backing Arthur. That should be enough for now. Tell me everything they find out."
"Yes, my lord."
"Bow, the reason I called you here is very simple. Behind those roots, there is a cave. And after the cave, there is an ancient settlement. Inside the settlement, there are a lot of things I need. However, three locations are the most important of them all. The library, the storage, and the tombs." Dane took out a scroll from his ring and handed it to Randwen. "Here. This is a map of the cave and the ruins. I marked the important places. Those three are a priority, but you should bring everything of value you find with you, including gold and materials. If it can be sold, bring it. Take my ring, store all of it in there. Be careful, though. There are a lot of strong monsters in there, at least rank 12. It is very likely that there will be some rank 17s in there too. Do not be overconfident."
Dane took off his ring and gave it to the summoner. After which, Randwen nodded, easily cut through the roots and entered the cave. Finally, Elliot's inheritance would soon be his, but it didn't matter that much to him right now.
After Randwen disappeared from sight, Dane fell backwards, not trying at all to break his fall. He stared at the bright and cloudy sky. He was wearing a huge smile and appeared a little absent minded.
"It worked… It fucking worked. Experience points, quest points, I receive them even if my subordinates are the ones who obtain them. This is awesome. I mean, theoretically, it is the same as the game, where recruited npcs share the same exp mechanic as summons, but there was no way to prove it as they were not allowed to engage in combat outside of defence…"
What Dane just discovered was marvellous. He could allow his subordinates to do quests for him and he would be the one to obtain all the benefits. It was too much of a cheat. For him, who wanted to desperately unseal the rest of the tower's npcs, this was a godsend. As he thought of this, his mind drifted to the labyrinth and ruins. To all the treasures he would be able to obtain. Perhaps he could finally get a decent wand. As he thought of this, he abruptly sat up, with eyes wide as plates.
"Fuck, exp can be shared…" As Dane thought of this, another sound appeared next to him.
[Beep! Rank 12 Labyrinth Guardian (16) killed. Rank 13 Labyrinth Guardian (7) killed. Rank 14 Labyrinth Guardian (1) killed. 284,400 exp points gained. Use the exp points?]
At that moment Dane knew that Randwen had finished exploring the cave Labyrinth and was accessing the ruins. Usually, that much exp would be a heaven's gift for every player, but not for Dane, who needed to remain as a level 1 for the time being.
"Well… that was completely unnecessary, and I'm not sure if they will respawn…"