"Let me formally introduce you to one of our brightest generals. She's General Elexis, one of the best generals I've ever seen."
Tobias introduced the aqua-haired beauty standing in front of me. I mean, I didn't really need an introduction. There was practically nobody who knew Mayhem wouldn't know this mature beauty.
She was one of the most popular players in Mayhem.
'And also someone who doesn't brag.'
Most of the top rankers had a habit of appearing on TV and bragging about their abilities and resources unconsciously, it was preinstalled in them somehow. But Elexis was one of the rare breeds who, even though she occasionally took on interviews and such, never bragged about anything or accepted any sponsorships.
"General Elexis, this is Earl Shura. He is a man of great honour and virtue. Also, he's a legend's heir."
Tobias said, introducing us to each other.
"I am aware of…Earl Shura, your majesty."
Elexis said in a calm and slow voice. There were no signs of any obvious emotions on her face, making it extremely hard to read what she was thinking.
"Great! You both seem to know each other. Have you met before?"
"No, I've just heard about Earl Shura."
"Same, I've never met, just heard."
Both of us replied at the same time, making Tobias chuckle.
"Let's save the pleasantries for later, shall we? Come and sit with us, General Elexis. I've something to share."
"As you command, your majesty."
Elexis flatley replied and sat down on the sofa beside me.
"I'm sorry, but wasn't she at the northern fortress fighting off the devils?"
I asked curiously. It was basically common knowledge at this point that Elexis was currently leading the soldiers of the Sahhan Empire to fight off against the devils as the first player general of such a big empire.
What was she doing here when the soldiers of the empire were currently at such a risk?
"I died. It was unwise to stay there without getting back up, but the reinforcements weren't arriving, so I came to meet the emperor myself."
"Oh…"
This is the reason why the NPCs needed us to do most of their quests. We players were basically invincible to them with unlimited resurrections.
"Yes, and that is exactly why we need you, Earl Shura. You already know the situation of the Drisica Kingdom, so I want you to go and subjugate the castle first. I'll give you full authority over the troops that are stationed there, along with a lot more soldiers. Just make sure that you…win."
Tobias's tone suddenly changed as he talked about my mission.
[Quest 'Save the Drisica Kingdom' has been created.]
[Save the Drisica Kingdom
Difficulty: S-
Due to your brave and glorious efforts, the emperor of the Sahhan empire has learnt about the corruption of the king of the Drisica kingdom. The whole central continent is at risk of falling into the hands of the devils.
The emperor has tasked you with the restoration of the Drisica Kingdom. O' ye brave soul, cleanse this land from the corruption of the devils and free it for the glory of the Sahhan Empire.
Take the general of the emperor as your aid for this mission.
Quest Acceptance reward: Increase in affinity with Tobias.
Quest Declination Penalty: Decrease in affinity with Tobias, destruction of the Drisica kingdom.
Quest clearance condition:
1) Kill or subjugate the current king of the Drisica Kingdom.
2) Defeat the devil army and fend them out of the Northern Border.
3) The quest can only be done along with player 'Elexis'.
Quest Clearance Reward:
1000 mid-quality mana stones.
Max affinity with the residents of the Drisica Kingdom.
A promotion from an Earl to a Marquis.
A large city.
+5000 reputation.]
'Oh great, it seems like I've got choices today.'
I scoffed in my heart. These days, all the quests were being forced on me directly, and this son of a bitch system finally gave me a quest where I had a choice to reject it. Of course, the catch was that I'd make an enemy out of the emperor.
"Earl Shura, I really need you for this mission. I hope you won't reject it."
[Player 'Elexis' has accepted the group quest 'Save the Drisica Kingdom'.]
"....."
Did she even think this through? Well, I didn't know. But…
[You have received a new message in your inbox!]
"Wait, please give me a while."
I excused myself and checked the message I'd just received.
'Holy shit! My bluff worked!'
[Special Invitation to the first International Mayhem Tournament (IMT).
Dear player Shura,
It is our pleasure to announce the first-ever official Mayhem Tournament on an international level. An envoy has been sent to officially invite you to the tournament, but we have prepared a small gift here if you decide to accept the invitation, apart from the benefits spoken by the envoy.
Expecting an earnest reply,
Regards,
Jacob Eves
Kibea International.]
'Well, they aren't really sincere. Send me the same message again.'
I clicked my tongue as I checked the rewards.
[Eyes of Arcana
Type: Active and Passive skills.
Rating: Normal (Growth)
Item description unavailable at the moment.]
'Holy crap, the heck is this? A fucking growth-rated skill!'
I felt like my world was spinning. Why would they offer me something as priceless as that just for a small competition? Did they think I'd reject again or something?
'Only an idiot would refuse such an offer!'
But before accepting, I now had a situation. I had to save a falling kingdom, or I could participate in the IMT.
Well.
"Your Majesty, when can we proceed with this mission? By any chance, Can we postpone it?"
I asked while smiling weekly, my teeth clenching together.
"Uh? Is there something that Earl Shura has to take care of?"
"Actually, yes. I just realised I do."
I said embarrassedly. It was a weird situation where intense talk of saying a whole country was going on, and then suddenly I said that I needed more time.
"I would have given you time if it didn't endanger the fates of millions of lives on a thread. But I can make a suggestion if you'd like."
As expected, the king's answer was a no, but he wanted to give me some leeway, and I was no one to reject such a kind offer.
"Please tell me whatever it is."
"How about you subjugate the king and his castle while making sure of the soldier's safety first? After that, we can just defend the northern fortress with Elexis on the line."
"As long as you command, I'll fulfil all your wishes, your majesty."
Elexis replied to Tobias's words.
Mayhem wasn't some game where you could pick off where you left. There was only one shot at most quests unless they were repetitive ones.
"That… I think that should work. What do you say, Earl Rollins?"
Rollins, who was still standing in punishment, was totally forgotten between us three until suddenly I called out his name, making him shocked and surprised.
"I-I…"
Rollins stuttered without knowing how to respond to my words, and the emperor spoke on his stand instead.
"Yes. With Earl Rollins around, there won't be much problem even if we delay the war with the devils."
"Then it's decided."
I said as I accepted the quest and the invitation letter.
[You have accepted the quest 'Save the Drisica Kingdom'.]
[Affinity with Tobias has increased y +23]
[You have accepted the letter of invitation for the International Mayhem Tournament.]
[You have gained 'Eyes of Arcana'.]
I smiled as I looked at the notifications.
This was the first time I felt like praising the developers.
***
Kibea Head Office.
"He fucking accepted it!"
Jacob cursed out loud as soon as he found out.
"It seems like that."
Terry, on the other hand, flatly said.
"It didn't even take him more than 5 minutes before he accepted! Shouldn't he be considering this for way longer? Considering he had rejected after thinking a lot? Didn't Creation say there was very less chance of him accepting it? To me, it seems like he was prepared to accept it from the start!"
"We have all underestimated him. All his stupidity, lack of experience in the game and subtle smartness sometimes make him someone who's very hard to predict. I am not surprised that Creation made an error."
Shaquille said. Itching his stubble that had grown out.
"Wrong, it didn't make an error. It said the chances were low, but it wasn't impossible."
Terry justified Creation's judgement.
"Leave all that. What do we do now?"
Jacob asked, rubbing his temples. Ever since this Shura guy appeared, he seems to have started losing his precious hair due to all the stress.
"The eyes aren't an immediate threat, and it'll take time for it to fully bloom. Let's start getting serious about some other players, too, yeah? He isn't the only lucky fellow in Mayhem. He's just the most exposed one."
Terry Corbyn said as he thought about all the players that were far, far stronger than Shura in terms of both power and intelligence.
'He needs someone who can make him bite the dust. Good thing Able is participating in the tournament too.'
Terry thought as he smiled. Even though he adored all the players equally, he still enjoyed the healthy rivalry between them.
….
//DreamNote//
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