Chapter 35: A Future Obscene Fortune!
The World Chat exploded. The messages that had been flowing quickly were now a torrential flood. Kaiden watched the screen.
[Lord of Future City]: A defensive wall that depends on the Lord's Crown tier?! A set of books that appears at Lord's Hall Level Six?! Has anyone actually reached Level Six?!
[Lord of the Cave King]: Look at who sent it. It's the Lord of the Fertile Lands — one of the powerful individuals who became famous in the previous days.
[Lord of the Isolated Valley]: That's true. He has been ahead of us from the very beginning. Someone as powerful as him has no reason to lie to us. My resolve has strengthened even more now.
[Lady of Blood City]: What he says is correct.
[Lord of Knowledge Territory]: His words are accurate. I have read something similar.
[Lord of Stone City]: As have I.
Names appeared that Kaiden hadn't seen much before — Lords who rarely spoke in the crowd. Lady of Blood City. Lord of Dragon Cave. Lord of Knowledge Territory. Their consecutive appearances to confirm the news made the chat boil even more intensely.
[Lord of the Dark Forest]: All the powerful ones have appeared to confirm it! Only three days remain… I will give everything I have!
[Lord of the Frozen Plains]: Thank you, Lord of the Fertile Lands. I had been despairing at the thought of the protective barrier disappearing — now I have new hope! I must ensure I obtain a strong defensive wall!
[Lord of Troy Island]: Same here. Now I have a goal. I will reach the Black Iron Crown before the end of the seven days!
[Lord of Sheaves City]: Thank you, Lord of the Fertile Lands!
Kaiden exhaled with relief. He had only one message opportunity — had it been drowned out among the countless others, the quest would have failed. But it seemed his previous reputation had lent him considerably more influence.
He also noticed something else. He was not the only powerful one. Many others possessed a Lord's Hall at Level Six or higher — their number surprised him, especially considering there would certainly be many other strong Lords who had chosen not to show themselves. He felt the strength of the human Lords more clearly now. He wasn't as far ahead as he had assumed. There were many powerful individuals out there, and that made him steel his resolve to put in even more effort.
The message continued to ferment for more than an hour. Kaiden waited patiently, browsing the comments, until finally — when anxiety had begun to creep into him — the interface appeared:
[Quest "Leader of Humanity!" Completed! Reward dispatched: Monster Taming Voucher ×1 (Rare).]
"Finally!" he whispered with a sigh of relief, and his worry dissolved.
Kaiden immediately closed the World Chat — he no longer cared what others were saying — and opened the voucher's information interface:
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Name: Monster Taming Voucher
Type: Vouchers
Rarity: Rare
Description: Place the voucher on the forehead of the target monster, then mark it with a drop of your blood to achieve a high chance of taming the monster and making it your companion.
Note 1: Weakening the target monster first will greatly increase the chance of successful taming.
Note 2: This voucher is primarily designed for taming "Common" tier monsters, with a slim chance of taming "Rare" tier monsters. It will not work on ranks above that.
---
Kaiden stopped. He read the description again. Then a second time. Then a third.
"Does this mean I'm going to become a pet summoner?"
Like many people, Kaiden had been a fan of Pokemon — to say nothing of the hundreds of novels he had read while feeling envious of summoners who possessed monsters that obeyed their commands. While he wouldn't technically be a summoner in the literal sense, the result was similar: a powerful monster standing beside him in battle, listening to his orders. It was incredible.
"But… what monster should I tame?"
The question circled in his mind. Round and round it went. He tossed and turned in his bed left and right, thoughts crowding each other. A lizard? A spider? What about a wolf? Would it be something impressive, or something he hadn't seen yet? The excitement was so overwhelming that he couldn't sleep. He lay there with his eyes closed, imagining, unable to wipe the foolish smile from his face the entire time — until exhaustion finally caught up with him and he fell asleep late into the night.
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"My lord. Breakfast is ready."
The echo of a measured and respectful voice pierced through his dreams. Kaiden opened his eyes slowly. Casper was standing beside his bed, bent slightly forward.
"Good morning, my lord. I hope I haven't disturbed you."
Kaiden looked out the window. The sun was already high. He blinked several times, then replied in a drowsy voice: "Good morning, Casper. No, you haven't disturbed me." He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. "It seems I've slept late. It's good that you woke me. Continue doing this in the future whenever I sleep in."
He changed out of his sleeping robe. He washed his face with cold water until he felt refreshed. Then he followed Casper down to the ground floor.
Breakfast had been set on the table, covered to keep it warm. He and Casper sat and ate quickly. It was Day Five — meaning only two days remained. He had a great deal to do, but there was one thing that needed to be done first, more important than everything else.
Kaiden opened the territory talent interface:
Generating daily quests…
7 territory quests generated:
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1 — Reclaiming the Spoils:
Details: Retrieve the spider carcasses killed in the forest back to your territory. They may be more useful than you imagine.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Iron × 1,000 units.
2 — Elite Promotion:
Details: Raise the rank of at least 4 militia soldiers to elite.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Random Elite Soldiers ×3.
3 — The First Harvest:
Details: Harvest all fully ripened vegetables.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Random Common Fruit Tree Sapling Bundle ×1.
4 — Optimal Use of Earth Magic 2:
Details: Use the "Subterranean Vision" skill to do something beneficial for the territory.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Earth Mage Equipment ×1 (Rare).
5 — The Territory's First Hero:
Details: Promote the rank of at least one elite soldier to Nascent Champion.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Random Nascent Champion ×1.
6 — Beast Master:
Details: Use the Monster Taming Voucher to tame at least one Common-tier monster and make it your companion.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Random Rare Pet Draw Voucher ×1.
7 — Acknowledged Power:
Details: Upgrade the Lord's Crown to the Silver rank.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Reward: Golden Treasure Chest ×1.
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Kaiden set his spoon aside and looked at the list. His eyes moved across the various quest rewards with practiced experience.
A thousand units of iron. Elite soldiers. Rare equipment. A second pet monster.
Then he reached the last line.
A Golden Treasure Chest.
He had already gained a considerable fortune from the Silver Treasure Chest before — he couldn't even begin to imagine what a Golden Treasure Chest would bring.
"What rewards…"
Kaiden whispered, his eyes lighting up with hunger. The rewards were more enticing than he could have imagined — to the point that he felt a faint dizziness wash over him.
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— End of Chapter Thirty-Five —
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