CHAPTER 57: FIRST QUEST

``Crowns of Existence.

They’re special marks given to individuals chosen by the World Runes.

Most people received their Crowns alongside an extraordinary class, but some special cases were able to earn their Crowns later despite having normal classes.

All Crowns of Existence shared a few traits, such as easier mana control, smoother interaction with runes, and stat multiplication whenever they advance in rank.

Still, even these shared traits varied between the Crowned Existences. For example, there was a crowned existence who had been confirmed to have the highest stat multiplication, which was x2.1.

However, the most important part about these Crowns is their abilities, which are made specifically for their owners.

Those abilities can either be passive or active. The king of the Holy Kingdom, Zaragoza, has a resurrection ability that activates passively upon his death.

There is no known method for a Crowned Existence to discover the ability of their crown. Some discovered them after a trigger such as dying, others knew about them Instinctively since the start. All Crowned Existences are unique and special in their own ways.``

That was what Dante read about the Crowns of Existence.

However...

’They didn’t mention that they can be given!’

This small information changed everything about Dante’s situation.

His biggest concern about revealing his Crown was drawing attention and exposing his identity as a demonic dragon, but it turned out that his Crown itself was an even bigger problem.

Dante glanced at Elizabeth unconsciously.

’Yeah, I can’t tell her about any of that now. She’s kind and all, but her entire kingdom is facing a war because of something that I have.’

What if she knew that she could save her kingdom by handing over Dante to the giants?

Dante couldn’t trust her on this matter.

’Looks like I’ll have to leave her soon... I might even tell her soon about the war with any random reason other than the Crown to make her leave. Before she knows that a Crown was the reason behind the war, I’d be already out of this town.’

The next second, Dante and Elizabeth arrived at the quests wall as Dante started reading:

[HELP!]

``Our village needs an expert in plant magic. A mysterious disease is killing our plants, and if we don’t solve it quickly, we’ll starve.``

{Requirements: Iron Rank 1, Plant magic}

{Recommended Rank: Bronze Rank 1}

{Rewards: 2 Small-sized Mana Crystals}

__

[I NEED GUARDS!]

``I’m but a humble merchant who wants to safely reach Silverwood Town. I need mercenaries to accompany me in my short journey. I’ll take care of the food and water.``

{Requirements: A Team With More Than Three Members}

{Recommended Rank: Iron Rank 1}

{Rewards: 3 Small-sized Mana Crystals}

"Hmmm." Dante read the quests thoughtfully, trying to choose the most suitable one.

’It’s a bit hard.’

He needed a quest that included killing, not so hard, wouldn’t waste much time, and had good rewards.

As he scanned the quests, his eyes fell on an interesting one.

[WITCH!]

``We’re suspecting a woman in the village to be a witch. She was seen performing strange rituals in the forest, suggesting the usage of black magic. We need someone strong enough to kill or arrest her far away from the village to prevent any kind of damage.``

{Requirements: Bronze Rank 1}

{Recommended Rank: Bronze Rank 1}

{Rewards: 3 Small-sized Mana Crystals}

"I think I’ll choose this. It isn’t perfect but it’s the best in our rank." Dante said after he read the quest for Elizabeth.

The quest was simple and the village location was near. There were many better quests, but they had higher requirements.

’Plus, I won’t arrest that bitch. I’ll kill her and decrease my misfortune.’

Elizabeth didn’t argue and accepted his choice.

He grabbed the paper off the wall and walked to the woman in a black suit.

"Show me your licenses." The woman asked.

After Dante and Elizabeth showed their necklaces, the woman closed her eyes as though trying to remember something.

After a moment, she opened her eyes: "You can accept this quest. But first, I want you to channel your mana into your licenses."

"Sure."

As Dante and Elizabeth channeled their mana into the necklaces, the necklaces glowed faintly in green light.

’Is this why it required our blood?’

The woman nodded, drew something on the quest paper, and gave it to them: "You’re free to go. Show it to the villager who wants help to let him know you accepted it. Just remember—there will be a penalty if you decide to give up midway, and an even bigger penalty if you fail without a proper reason."

"I understand."

By taking a quest, Dante was preventing other mercenaries from taking it. So it was only natural that giving up midway had a penalty.

With everything done, Dante and Elizabeth left Onyxsilk Town.

Of course, Dante didn’t forget to check the misfortune of that quest.

¢¢¢

"Are we close?"

"I think..." Dante narrowed his eyes as he examined the map: "It should be in a few hours if we continue moving forward... hopefully."

He was now back to the forest, walking with Elizabeth toward the village that needed help.

It was close to the town, so they didn’t need any carriage to reach there.

It had been a few hours since they left the town, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, Dante’s demonic eye was adapted to night, and Elizabeth was blind anyway.

"Something is there." Elizabeth suddenly whispered, stopping Dante and pointing at a specific tree.

She had used her detection spell and noticed a living being there, but she couldn’t detect whether it was human or not.

Instantly, Dante retrieved a sword from his storage and used Shadow Sense. As expected, he sensed the shadow of something above the tree.

The leaves and sticks of the tree interrupted his vision, thus he couldn’t see whether that thing was a human or a beast.

’Let’s send a threatening attack first.’

Dante pointed his index finger toward the tree.

Shadow Spell — Shadow Ray!

A dark ray of shadow shot toward the leaves, making a small hole behind the creature’s position.

"KRAAH!"

THUD!

Just then, Dante heard a semi-human scream before something fell off the tree.

As Dante looked at it, his eyes suddenly widened: "Shit, what the hell is this?!"

Elizabeth whispered: "What? Is it human?"

Dante didn’t respond. Instead, he sent Fafnir to take a better look at that creature that fell off the tree.

It was a human-like creature with a female form. It or she had a tentacle instead of a human right arm, a chicken leg instead of a human left leg, and the skin on her face was molten, revealing her half-burnt flesh.

She was hugging her trembling body into a ball, whispering strange words Dante couldn’t understand.

Dante hesitated about his next move, uncertain of whether he had to ignore that thing or not.

’Wait, what the hell?!’

But when he checked her luck, his jaw dropped immediately.

’She... has two Wheels of luck?’