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Danielle obviously considered it foolish to challenge a level hundred enemy with their current strength, especially considering that they could complete the hidden quest so easily by just submitting.
No matter how realistic Arcadia was, it was still just a game, after all. The drill-haired girl didn't believe swearing allegiance to an NPC would have much of an impact on them long-term, and was just looking at the resources that could be obtained through that choice.
Of course, even knowing the possible consequences, Emilia didn't stop her teammates.
She'd already replaced the core logic of the puppet ghost, after all, though she didn't just position herself in Darryl's place.
Although it would have quickly allowed her to increase her 'control' over the rest of the team, Emilia just didn't like that way of doing things, so she opted to just 'disarm' that function of the ghost entirely, changing the target of 'loyalty' to the one being targeted.
As it was, submitting to the ghost only served to boost everyone's self-confidence slightly, though it might not be so beneficial to a narcissist, and might even make their 'problems' worse. Fortunately, Emilia didn't believe there was anyone like that on her team.
Unfortunately, since she couldn't afford to let the world will know of her origins, Emilia's rewards for defeating the 'Blood Monarch' could only be abandoned.
Once they were done 'swearing their allegiance' as required, they promptly received their rewards.
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[Blood Monarch's Remains]
—Primary Objective: Subdue or submit to the ghost of the Blood Monarch to appease his fury. [Completed]
—Secondary Objective: Resolve the Blood Monarch's obsession to obtain his gratitude. [Pending]
-Received 20 x [Corrupted Blood Essence],
Experience +250,000
+5 Gold Coins.
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Then, the ghost of the Blood Monarch quickly revealed the next part of their quest.
"In the depths of the forest, there is an area protected by elves with mastery over swords instead of bows. It's called the 'Valley of Dancing Swords'. I want you to destroy it, destroy! I don't care how it's done!"
The furious ghost went on to rage about he had been caught off guard by the defenders of the elven village while unknowingly trespassing into the area, and he'd bled to death in this cave after barely having made his escape.
As someone who called himself 'Blood Monarch', having bled to death was undoubtedly the greatest shame of his life, and the most disgraceful death he could have imagined.
Emilia couldn't help but chuckle. 'No wonder he's so furious… This world will is really bad for coming up with such a background for the fragment of its hero's soul.'
Cynthia hummed. "Actually, it probably wouldn't bother individually creating any of the missions, and just 'outsourced' this task to the imagination of someone random."
After all, with so many things to do, no matter how capable it was, it couldn't be too meticulous.
After having received the next part of the quest, Danielle quickly led her team out of the cave, then sighed. "Luckily, the quest didn't take long, and there's still plenty of time left to return to the capital."
With the 'Valley of Dancing Blades' already marked on their map, and the second part of the [Blood Monarch's Remains] in their quest menu, they could always return to do it later as needed.
As they were rushing back, the 'Crimson Witches' discussed their plans for the future.
Danielle sighed. "Although the Blood Monarch told us to destroy the elven village, I don't think we will be able to do it."
Emilia couldn't help but giggle. "Since they can destroy a level hundred opponent like that, it probably won't be a good idea."
Seeing how her crimson-haired girlfriend didn't seem to have much of an idea herself, Crystal didn't hesitate to offer her insights. "In fact, the quest only states that we must resolve the ghost's grievances."
Her words seemed to enlighten the others within moments, and they couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"Right! We can just explore first and see how his situation can be resolved. There's no need to jump to conclusions."
Of course, the 'Blood Monarch' still remained inside, and probably anyone who stumbled upon him in this deep and dark forest would be able to receive the hidden quest.
At this point of the game, being able to obtain so much experience and gold 'without any effort' was simply unimaginable, and Danielle knew for sure that if she sold this information to the right person, they could probably earn a decent amount of real-world money.
But she had no intentions to reveal such a 'juicy fruit' to the public, especially since most of their urgent needs had already been met by the revenue from their previously popular live streams.
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After getting back to the capital and logging out, the 'Crimson Witches' dispersed after a short round of discussion as usual.
Emilia also wanted to quickly get to her apartment to confirm if there were any 'unexpected surprises' after the soul fragment's 'attack', but she soon realized that, surprisingly enough, the usually aloof heroine of this world seemed to be following her.
Of course, considering that she wasn't sneaking around, the crimson-haired girl could only guess that Sylvia just wanted to talk, but wasn't sure how to approach her about whatever it was that bothered her.
Usually, she would be quite patient, and maybe even find it fun, but since Emilia had a lot on her mind, she decided to just be direct with the heroine this time.
Obviously, the dark-haired girl was a little embarrassed when Emilia suddenly turned around and questioned her like that, but she soon steeled her resolve and straightened up.
"That Crystal girl… can you tell me more about her?"
Emilia tilted her head in confusion. "Crystal? Why, did she say something to you?"
She was well aware that the two of them had some sort of rivalry, with both being 'rangers' and all, but Emilia didn't think that their feelings were particularly deep.
Knowing her blonde girlfriend, she could only guess that Crystal must have intentionally hit Sylvia with words that poked her in a spot that they shouldn't, though it was probably for her own good.
Cynthia couldn't help but chuckle. "So she's just being meddlesome as always."
Emilia hummed. 'Let's hear what Sylvia has to say first.'
Surprisingly enough, Emilia's guess turned out to be wrong.
Sylvia coughed, twisting one of her wild locks around her finger awkwardly. "Um, I'm not sure how to say this, but… whenever I look at her, it's like… I want to punch her in the face."
Realizing that her words might be taken the wrong way, she quickly waved her hands in denial. "O-Of course, I would never do such a thing. But… it's strange for me to feel like this for someone without reason. I-I don't want to waste much time or distract other teammates in the game, so… could you maybe give me her number?"
As much as she hated to admit it, based on how close the two of them appeared, Sylvia was sure that Emilia and Crystal must have at least exchanged contacts before their team got together.
Much to her surprise, however, Emilia just blinked back at her innocently. "Crystal's phone number? Sorry, I don't have it."
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