CHAPTER 29: NEW QUEST.

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[Ding!]

New Quest Received: "Claim What’s Yours"

A group of usurpers have targeted your territory, seeking to enslave you through soul-binding means and seize what is rightfully yours.

Objective: Eliminate the threat.

Bonus Objective: Secure your first batch of inhabitants.

—

Rewards:

+10 Attribute Points

+100 EXP

+5 Extraction Points

+1 Skill Book

---

Elias sat cross-legged at the edge of his bed, arms folded, eyes locked on the glowing screen floating before him. A small smile crept across his face.

"So... it’s just as I thought."

Moonlight poured in from the window, casting faint shadows across his features.

Ever since Vael had first shared his suspicions, Elias had been quietly connecting the dots. The unnatural fear in the survivors’ eyes, the way they flinched at just a glance from Kael or Veran—it was all too strange.

In this world, not just anyone could become a Lord. Only a rare few could connect with a Lord’s Seal and claim a territory. But wherever rare power exists... parasites are never far behind.

That’s what players back on Earth called them—parasites.

Parasites were predators who targeted young and undeveloped territories. And there were two types of them.

The first were the territorial bullies. They would use their strength to suppress young Lords—keeping them from growing while stealing the benefits of the territory for themselves. These types often kept the land weak on purpose.

But the second kind... they were far worse. These were the ones who used Slave Imprints.

Slave Imprints were spiritual brands. They didn’t need to break your body, just your soul. Once one was placed on you, your will no longer mattered. No matter how strong you were or what you wanted, you’d obey any command. Even if they told you to kill yourself, you’d either do it—or suffer pain so deep that your soul would eventually give out and force you to obey.

Kael and Veran... belonged to that second group. And that made them truly dangerous.

From the moment Vael told him what he suspected, Elias began observing them more closely. And soon, he started seeing the signs—the way Kael and Veran acted, the way everyone else looked at them with fear. It wasn’t the fear of a leader. It was the fear of prisoners looking at their captors.

It was unsettling.

Now, this quest confirmed everything.

What shocked Elias most was how early it had come. Back in the game, quests like this only triggered when a player’s territory reached E-rank or higher. His territory had only just been formed a few days ago.

So why was this happening now? What had changed?

He didn’t know the full answer yet. But one thing was clear—he had to deal with this carefully.

Luckily, he had already started preparing days ago.

By casually revealing Vael as an undead, he had planted two important ideas in Kael and Veran’s minds.

First, that he had incredible wealth—after all, who else could afford to equip even their undead guard with such high-end gear? Just that one move had already pushed their greed to a new level.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

Secondly, they were only afraid of Vael because of his strength. But once they found out he was just an undead slave, everything changed. Now that they believed Vael was simply an undead, they assumed they didn’t need to worry about him. As long as they dealt with Elias, they wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with Vael.

This only fed their greed and made them drop their guard. It made them more confident—and more careless. Just as Elias had hoped, they were beginning to make their move.

Their first step was to separate him from Vael before acting.

They had asked Elias to help check out the place where their caravan had been attacked by the beast horde. They said they wanted to see if anything could be salvaged. But the real reason was clear—they wanted to isolate him.

No matter how he responded, they had a way to make it work.

If Elias agreed to go with Kael, Vael would be left behind to guard the territory. But if Elias chose to send Vael instead, he would be left alone in the territory. Either way, they would succeed in separating the two of them.

They believed Elias wouldn’t want to leave the territory unguarded, and they were right about that. But what they didn’t know was that Elias wasn’t as weak or naive as they thought.

They were in for the surprise of their lives.

---

The next morning...

Elias woke to the usual noise of activity outside. The survivors were already busy with their morning tasks. After going through the daily report sent by Alia, he got out of bed and dressed. Vael, who had stood guard by his door all night, silently followed him downstairs.

As they reached the ground floor, Kael and Veran were already waiting for them.

"Good morning, Lord Elias," Kael greeted with a smooth smile.

"Good morning," Veran added, keeping his tone polite.

Elias returned a warm smile. "Did you both sleep well?"

"We did. Thank you," Kael replied. "And you?"

"Like a rock," Elias said with a light chuckle.

A short silence followed before Kael cleared his throat and spoke again.

"About the request we mentioned yesterday, Lord Elias... I was wondering if you’ve thought about it?"

Elias gave a slight nod. "I have. I’ve decided to go with you. We’ll leave after breakfast."

Kael and Veran exchanged a brief glance.

"We’re grateful, truly," Kael said, bowing his head.

But in their hearts, they were already calling him a naive fool.

---

After breakfast...

Everyone began preparing to leave. Elias wore a fitted leather tunic over a padded linen shirt, with dark bracers wrapped around his forearms. A black cloak rested on his shoulders. His trousers were tucked into sturdy boots, and fingerless gloves covered his hands.

Kael had put on his armor, a longsword hanging at his hip.

The undead dire wolf stood nearby, ready and waiting.

Vael stepped forward. "Master—"

Elias raised his hand and cut him off. "No need to come with me. I’ll be fine. Stay here and watch the territory."

Vael frowned slightly but nodded. "Be safe, Master."

"I will."