The warehouse was already full, so for the next few days, Lucia focused on building a wooden cart.
In the beginning, Lucoco also held a small wooden hammer, following along with great enthusiasm for two days.
The scene was bustling and full of energy.
Unfortunately, her knife skills were too immature; the parts she carved were crooked and misshapen, wasting perfectly good specialty timber.
More importantly, she was simply a powerhouse!
Her strength was enormous.
Not only did she break several small wooden hammers, but she also accidentally destroyed a few components.
Realizing she was more of a hindrance than a help, Lucoco sensibly bowed out, leaving Lucia to work alone.
There were gains, of course.
Lucia taught Lucoco the skill she often used, **[Magic Blade]**.
She had intended to teach it eventually, so she simply took this opportunity to go with the flow.
**[Magic Blade]**: Compresses mana to condense it into a sharp blade.
Difficulty: E-rank.
“Hah!”
“Yah!”
“Evil… take this!”
“Holy light! Grant me… strength~”
The Demon King appeared, gripping a long sword of golden mana.
The overgrown weeds at the foot of the courtyard wall suffered for it, falling row after row.
Childish “battle cries” echoed in the garden, making Lucia not know whether to laugh or cry.
It was truly her first time seeing a Demon King shouting about defeating the Demon King’s army.
Perhaps the bedtime stories every night were having an effect?
—
After swinging her way around the garden and completing the great task of weeding, Lucoco didn’t seem satisfied.
She trotted and bounced over to Lucia, who was making a wheel, and pointed toward the courtyard gate.
“Coco… wants to go out… to play.”
Lucia’s eyes were as soft as spring water.
She raised a hand to rub that fluffy little head, but seeing her palm covered in wood dust and ash, she pulled it back with a smile.
She lightly tapped the necklace around Lucoco’s neck.
“Go on then. Come back early.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Lucoco quickly agreed, taking off on her short legs.
The wooden door creaked open and then slowly closed.
Lucia looked back and continued her work, not worried about Lucoco’s safety at all.
In Lucia’s eyes, through such a long period of hunting lessons, Lucoco had already learned all the survival knowledge she had to impart and had gained plenty of experience dealing with monsters.
Even without activating the authority of the Demon King’s Sigil, there were no monsters in this forest that could do anything to the child.
Furthermore, Lucoco had ventured out alone to hunt more than once or twice.
Even if there was real danger, Lucoco still wore the protective charm she had made.
As long as Lucoco felt fear or activated it with a thought in an emergency, it would trigger immediately, and Lucia would appear by her side.
Lucoco, however, was completely unaware of the charm.
Once outside the house, she used **[Float]** to assist her.
Moving like a martial artist from an old movie, she sped toward a certain direction.
Within a few minutes, Lucoco had reached the edge of a lake several miles away.
The lake water was clear enough to see the bottom, reflecting the light of the sky and the shadows of the clouds.
A gray exclamation mark floated up and down near the shore.
It was an unlocked quest that had popped up out of nowhere two months ago, yet there hadn’t been any movement since.
She circled it twice to inspect it closely.
It was the same as before; only a small section at the bottom shimmered slightly with gold.
She pursed her lips and muttered to herself, ‘It’s been so long, and there’s still zero progress… It must be one of those multiplayer activation quests.’
Regret flickered through her heart for all of two seconds.
Some special quests were like this; they were deployed in advance to give players enough time to prepare.
Normally, once the quest time arrived, the quest would start regardless of the quality of the players.
There were rare cases, like the quest before her, that might have not only a time limit but also other requirements—either a certain number of people, a certain quality of players, or both.
At least, Lucoco was certain of this.
She never dared to hope that the final possibility would fall into her lap.
‘In a backwater corner like this, could a legendary quest even appear?’
She turned her gaze to the clear lake water.
It was deep.
By the sunlight struggling to reach the bottom, she could vaguely see some light blue crystals.
This was the real purpose of Lucoco’s trip: a type of Mythril ore that a C-rank **[Appraisal]** skill could not identify.
The respawn cooldown was exactly one month, and today happened to be the day it expired.
Getting mud and sand on her clothes would make them hard to wash, so Lucoco nimbly stripped off her clothes and put them into her Player Inventory.
With a *splash*, she dove into the lake.
Thanks to her racial traits, Lucoco swam very quickly and didn’t need to worry about breathing underwater at all.
She soon sank to the bottom of the lake, stopping in front of the Mythril ore with the shortest countdown, and stared blankly…
**[?? Mythril Ore (Collectable in 20 minutes)]**
What should one do at a time like this?
Contemplate the meaning of life?
Neither!
The sound of water being sliced apart appeared.
Several sharp mouthparts pointed directly at the back of the dazed Lucoco’s head, arriving in an instant.
Several dull thuds echoed through the water as those hideous mouthparts slammed into a layer of golden light, unable to advance even an inch.
In the next moment, a powerful electrical current crackled and exploded.
The white light almost illuminated the dark bottom of the lake before being completely obscured by surging bubbles and murky silt.
Ten minutes later, the lake water returned to its clear state.
Lucoco still looked dazed, staring at the Mythril in front of her as if she hadn’t moved at all.
Several **[Deep Lake Rock-eating Fish]** were added to her Player Inventory—a delicacy that was delicious whether cooked or eaten raw.
Every time she came here, she would take a few back because Lucia liked them very much.
The countdown for the Mythril ore finally hit zero, and Lucoco began her work.
She had gathering tools, of course.
Down here at the bottom of the lake, she could safely use various player privileges without worrying about exposing anything.
During the process, several more waves of blind lake monsters attacked, only to be turned into materials in her inventory.
The sun was beginning to slant, casting a lazy glow over the treetops.
A successful Lucoco climbed ashore, dressed herself, took out a **[Deep Lake Rock-eating Fish]**, and slung it over her back, preparing to head home.
But just then!
A dull roar like heavy thunder suddenly shattered the silence of the forest!
A massive shadow abruptly descended from above!
She looked up blankly, only to see the clear sky suddenly crack.
A giant steel beast crashed through an invisible shackle, wedging itself violently into the forest!
The hull was dark and heavy, its thick chimneys spewing scorching steam, and its gears shrieked with an ear-splitting grind from overwork.
The magical barrier responsible for concealment and protection was torn open with a shocking gap!
From the breach, several figures plummeted!
At the very front, a young girl in ornate clothing fell like a butterfly with broken wings, plunging into the center of the lake and kicking up a massive spray of water.
Following closely behind were two men with shattered armor.
Their weapons were nearly slipping from their hands as they roared, blocking the black shadows pursuing her.
They tumbled into the dense forest on the other side, their fates unknown.
Through the tear in the magical barrier, Lucoco could clearly see the flash of spells and the cold glint of swords.
The sharp ring of clashing metal, roars, and holy chants mixed together.
Church clerics and knights were locked in a desperate struggle against a group of strange figures!
And the gray quest icon by the lakeshore turned into a dazzling gold.
**[Triggered Legendary Quest: Act One “Saving Princess Lino.” Do you accept?]**
Lucoco clicked confirm without hesitation.
‘Is there even a need to think? Of course I accept!’
She immediately dove back into the depths of the lake!
At the same time, several black shadows bypassed the defensive line and charged out of the gap, diving straight toward the lake’s surface.
The clerics and knights watched with bloodshot eyes, roaring in an attempt to pursue, but they were pinned down by even more black-robed strangers.
“Descend! Descend quickly!” a man in ornate robes screamed on the deck, the staff in his hand bursting with blinding holy light.
“Bishop! The control console is destroyed!” a knight shouted back through a face covered in blood and grime.
“Then smash the engine! Hurry!” the old man roared.
“Yes!”
Deep within the lake.
Princess Lino struggled to surface, but her injuries were too severe.
Her ornate dress, soaked through by the lake water, became heavy, dragging her slender body down.
Wisps of crimson bloomed and drifted.
The aquatic monsters, smelling blood, began to stir.
Cold lake water mixed with silt and debris poured into her nose and mouth.
The despair of suffocation coiled around her heart like a venomous snake.
Her hands clawed wildly, her fingertips uselessly slicing through the current as her consciousness gradually blurred.
‘It’s over… to die like this… so unwilling…’
A powerless cry echoed in the depths of her heart.
‘Father, Mother… I’m sorry…’
Her tears melted into the lake.
Only the low murmur of the water remained in her ears, ringing softly like a dirge.
She didn’t realize that a small figure was slicing through the water, approaching at high speed.