Chapter 59: Messed Up
Nox sat with his back against a tree, the fire crackling in front of him. On the other side of the small blaze, Serian was asleep, wrapped in a blanket. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the dark energy settled in his chest, pushing it around his body to get a better feel for it. ’This corrupted mana is weird stuff. It feels heavy.’
A bright blue screen suddenly popped into his vision, appearing right in front of his closed eyelids. ’What now?’
[New Main Mission Issued!]
[Objective: Cleanse the Forest of its corruption.]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP, +100 Stat Points, 1x Legendary Class-Specific Armor Chest, Title: Heart of the Forest.]
[Accept: Y/N]
He stared at the words on the screen, his eyes flying open. ’One hundred thousand EXP? And a hundred stat points?’ The reward for saving the princess was big, but this was on a completely different level. A legendary armor chest and another title made the offer too good to refuse.
’Cleanse the forest? What does that even mean? Kill whatever hostile thing is in here?’ The mission was vague, but the reward was very clear. He felt that familiar pull inside him, the strong desire to get more powerful.
He looked over at Serian, who was still asleep. ’I could just ditch her,’ the thought was a cold, practical idea. ’I could take on this mission myself and come out of it way stronger.’
He remembered his fight with Lola, and how he’d almost died. ’No, I’m not strong enough to do this alone yet. And if I ditch her, those gods will probably throw a fit.’
He focused on the blue screen again. ’This is too good to pass up.’ He made up his mind right then.