Chapter 32: Buzzing Plains, Silent Palace

Buzz buzz buzz!

This was the sound of a grasshopper’s wings flapping.

It was definitely not a sound made by the mouth.

Levan swallowed dryly as he looked at the gigantic grasshopper whose pupils had turned into heart shapes.

‘Wow, actually facing this thing is seriously disgusting.’

Before this place was known as the Sad Plain, it was farmland.

And on farmland, there are all kinds of pests that damage crops.

Therefore, the monsters that appear on the Sad Plain all follow the theme of pests.

Levan, having sprayed the Love It Bug insect pheromone on himself, steadied his resolve as he eyed the first grasshopper flying toward him.

[Gigantic Grasshopper / Lv. 42]

The Gigantic Grasshopper was level 42.

Judging by the level alone, it was roughly on par with a fully evolved Amtoslin.

But—

“Strike.”

[Strike activated.]

There was a huge gap between the boss monster Amtoslin and this field monster, the grasshopper.

“Come on, you grasshopper.”

The grasshopper’s attack pattern was simple.

After spotting its target, it opened its horrifying jaws wide to the sides, then jumped up as if springing, and plunged down toward the target.

The grasshopper sprang up.

Whoosh!

‘As expected.’

Levan had killed countless of these.

So no matter how disgusting an insect got when it grew to human size, Levan didn’t flinch and calmly locked eyes with the grasshopper.

‘Now!’

……Just barely dodging the falling grasshopper.

Crash!

[Critical hit!]

Levan dodged the descending grasshopper by just two steps and struck its head.

A clean, perfect hit.

Levan witnessed a miracle where 30% of the grasshopper’s health vanished along with the critical hit.

“Woohoo!”

With damage like this, most monsters of the same level would be one-shot.

Levan immediately raised his shield at the collapsing grasshopper.

“Rock Smash!”

Bang!

[Target is stunned.]

[Effect of Rock Smash is reduced due to level difference with the target.]

After landing the critical hit, Levan swung his shield to stun the grasshopper, preventing it from taking flight.

The stun was brief because of the level gap, but even a one-second stun in battle held immense significance.

“Thunder Strike.”

[Thunder Strike activated.]

Crack!!

Hitting again where he hit before.

Though multiple damage effects didn’t actually stack, headshots were always the right choice.

[Critical hit!]

[You have hunted the Gigantic Grasshopper.]

“Once I land Thunder Strike, it can’t move!”

Levan poked the fallen grasshopper’s corpse with his club, savoring the thrill of victory.

Just as he was about to loot the items—

Chiiiii?

……This time, an ant appeared.

“A full catch today.”

Levan hurriedly finished looting and grabbed his club again.

He charged at the ant, which was clacking its mandibles, aiming for its waist.

“I’ll tear you apart from head to thorax to abdomen.”

That was when Levan’s great insect gathering party began.

***

[Duration of Love It Bug has ended.]

Click clack, click clack—

“All used up.”

After several hours, Levan had finally exhausted all of the Love It Bug sprays.

He threw the empty spray bottle on the ground and checked the items piled high in his inventory.

-Antennae of Pests (102)

‘This should be enough.’

An essential item for Mangada.

They were the antennae dropped by the pests of the Sad Plain.

No rare drops this time.

In the first place, Warlords were notoriously stingy about item drop rates except in special cases.

So Levan never expected anything else.

He returned to the kingdom carrying a hundred or so pest antennae as his target.

His destination was the Security Guard Squad responsible for maintaining order within the kingdom.

At the Security Guard Squad headquarters, Levan knocked politely on the door.

“Who’s there?”

“Excuse me.”

With the royal palace barely functioning, a security guard squad was basically just a facade.

But even if it was only a facade, any inhabited place had to have a security guard squad.

Because even a mere symbol could sometimes fulfill its purpose.

When Levan opened the door and entered, only one security guard remained: Cham, an old man with a potbelly.

Levan greeted him politely.

“Hello, I’m just a passing adventurer, but I have something to show you.”

“Something to show?”

“Yes, this right here.”

The guard’s words were curt.

But Levan ignored that and poured all the pest antennae onto the desk.

A mountain of giant antennae spilled out.

Cham’s eyes grew as wide as plates upon seeing them.

“This… is?”

“These are antennae from pests that destroy farmland. I heard the farmers are having a hard time dealing with them.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why I caught them. I figured you wouldn’t believe me if I just said I caught them, so I brought plenty of antennae as proof.”

“Ah, no, I mean….”

“Yes, you’re wondering why I brought them here instead of giving them to the farmers?”

“Exactly that!”

To speed up the conversation, Levan effectively acted as both sides of the dialogue.

He said, “I was thinking about that.”

“Hmm? What were you thinking?”

“As far as I know, when you bring pest antennae to farmers, they usually give you some food in return, like potatoes or corn.”

“And?”

“But I don’t need food. I’m on a diet.”

“A diet?”

“Yeah. But I also heard that the Security Guard Squad’s reputation among the kingdom’s people isn’t great these days.”

“Who said that!”

“Don’t get mad. It’s just a rumor I heard. Anyway, whether true or not, it’s a fact that public opinion isn’t good.”

“Ugh… you hit the nail on the head, so I can’t deny it.”

“That’s why I brought the antennae here. So you can boast to the farmers with these.”

“…What?”

Cham couldn’t believe his ears at Levan’s last words.

Boast?

Of course, as Levan said, if the guard squad brought pest antennae to the farmers, they could finally boast about having done something useful.

But why would a stranger adventurer do this?

Naturally, it was suspicious.

“Sure, but is there a reason you want to help me?”

“No particular reason. But…”

“But?”

“My father also worked in the Security Guard Squad. Though the country is gone now, he too didn’t get along well with the residents, just like you. The reason was simple: the country was doomed, and a doomed country no longer cared about its security. So the guard squad always struggled with manpower shortages, and for whatever reason, it was always my father who had to take the residents’ complaints.”

A predictable emotional appeal.

But nothing is easier to fabricate than a sob story.

Levan used his imaginary father to give Cham a nonsensical reason.

Then a single tear trickled down Cham’s cheek.

[Cham is moved by your story.]

[Cham is very grateful to you for understanding his situation.]

[Cham likes you.]

Affection rising swiftly.

Levan watched in real time as Cham’s affection soared into the 70% range in an instant.

‘As expected.’

In Paesna, there are NPCs who grant kingdom merit points.

Cham was one of them.

But the amount of merit points you get depends on which NPC you approach and how.

The method Levan was using was one of the most efficient ways to farm merit points.

Among players, this was known as ‘boosting bureaucrat performance,’ a type of Mangada.

‘Well, there are drawbacks, but I don’t care about them right now.’

Of course, no method comes with only advantages.

This bureaucrat performance boosting also had its downside.

Namely, there was no reward except for merit points.

Earlier, farmers gave merit points but also food items like potatoes or corn.

Food items themselves weren’t particularly valuable, but they increased satiety, which was better than nothing for beginners.

But to Levan, potatoes and corn were just useless weight.

‘I’m a hungry warrior. As long as I don’t starve to death, food is enough.’

So he chose Cham.

Levan smiled and said, “So please accept them. I’m just glad to be of help to the kingdom.”

“You…”

With the affection rising, Cham’s tone softened.

He continued, “Huh, your story doesn’t feel like someone else’s, so it’s even more heartbreaking. Thank you. Though I can’t offer you anything, and the country won’t be grateful either, I will remember your efforts.”

[Paesna Kingdom merit points increased by 3,000.]

Done.

With this amount of merit points, entering the royal palace would be smooth.

Cham sincerely extended his hand for a handshake, and Levan clasped it warmly to end things on a good note.

“Just knowing you remember me is enough,” Levan said.

With the required merit points task completed, Levan left the guard squad without hesitation.

‘Now, should I head straight to the palace?’

He had met the minimum requirements to enter the palace.

Now all that remained was to enter the palace library and hunt the bookworm Mongus hidden somewhere inside the secret dungeon.

Levan checked his status window before entering.

“Checking status window.”

[Levan]

-Level: 34

-God Seat: Rubix

-Class: War Mage

-Affiliation: #Herum #Freedom

-Stats

Strength 109 (+5)

Perception 19 (+5)

Intelligence 17

Dexterity 14

-Special

Movement speed +10% in combat

Movement speed +5% out of combat

Skill cooldown -20%

*Paesna Merit Points: 3,000

-Remaining stats: 0

“Damn.”

Levan’s level had risen from 21 to 34 in just a few hours of hunting.

He had raised his level by 13.

Normally impossible leveling, but Levan made it happen.

He’d been hunting madly against foes nearly twice his level.

Thanks to that, he reached level 34 and filled the required strength stats long ago.

Before entering the palace, Levan decided to spend some cubes.

Click, click—

As he rotated the cube, it cracked like chocolate breaking.

Levan smiled quietly as he matched the cube.

[Successfully matched Rubix’s Growth Cube.]

[The god you serve proposes a small trial for your growth. Do you accept the trial?]

Finally, the response he wanted appeared.

Levan chuckled.

He’d be disappointed if the message didn’t come up immediately.

As usual, he accepted the trial.

[You have accepted the trial.]

[A quest has been generated.]

[Recognition by the King of Paesna]

-Rank: Special

-Condition: Be fully recognized by the exiled king of Paesna, NPC Evergran Finriver.

-Reward: Rubix’s Growth Cube, Rubix’s Skill Cube, Empty 44 Cube Frame.

The quest window appeared before his eyes.

Levan read through it casually at first.

But when he saw the quest’s content and reward, he could no longer read it casually.

A curse escaped his lips.

“Ah… damn it…”

Levan.

This time, the quest given to him was none other than to be fully recognized by the powerless exiled king.