NOVEL NEXT Ch. 33
Chapter 33
The Living Burial Plain lay at the border between the Normar Empire and the Normar Empire.
As for why it had such an inauspicious name, it was because five major wars had once taken place here.
Countless warriors had perished on this plain, and no one could imagine how many corpses lay buried beneath the lush green grass.
If you were unlucky at night, you might even spot some monsters resembling the living dead wandering the Living Burial Plain.
As a result, no country claimed jurisdiction over the area, turning it into a neutral zone of sorts.
But this neutral zone was uninhabited—it was simply a rather dangerous trade route.
"So normally, no one wants to come to the Living Burial Plain. It's just too unlucky," the carriage driver said from up front. "The only reason I brought you here is because I'm a good guy."
"No extra charge," Luo En replied without hesitation from the back of the carriage.
He'd used up all the money he had left on the fare, so even if the driver demanded more now, he couldn't pay it—his pockets were completely empty.
It had been nearly a week since Lilian had led Luo En and Moruna in their escape from the city.
In the end, they'd finally found a carriage on the border of the Vandall Holy Kingdom willing to take them away.
The journey had been a bit rough, but at least they'd left Vandall Holy Kingdom territory behind.
That said, this carriage hadn't come cheap—which was why the driver was willing to head all the way to the Living Burial Plain.
The driver dared to bring passengers here because he knew a route that was absolutely safe.
"I mean, you're clearly some rich lord. Do you really have to be so stingy?" The driver was starting to look down on Luo En.
He could afford a maid, so what was a little tip? If the driver had looser professional ethics, he would've just dumped Luo En and the others right here in the Living Burial Plain.
Without a guide, it was all too easy to stumble into areas where the living dead roamed at night.
"Once we reach my territory, I'll reward you handsomely," Luo En said, fearing the driver might abandon them in this so-called Living Burial Plain. He cleared his throat and added the line.
"Your territory?" The driver's interest was piqued in an instant. "So you're some big lord with land of your own?"
"That's right." Luo En touched his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Well, well, now that he was in the Bicolor Realm, he could finally count himself as someone with a bit of status.
He was so eager—when would he finally arrive at his precious territory? He couldn't wait to start playing the role of a villainous lord.
"By the way, how far are we from Windbird Town now?" Luo En asked casually.
"If your map is accurate, not far at all," the driver replied. "We'll be there in the blink of an eye."
"You'd better not be exaggerating," Luo En said, gazing into the distance.
He couldn't spot anything resembling a town right now. Off in the not-too-far distance, though, there was a patch of forest.
With no other choice, Luo En turned his attention to his system.
Now that he was on the carriage with some downtime, he finally had a moment to claim his rewards.
"System, claim rewards," Luo En said to the system.
[Task System Updated.]
[Quest Name: From Today On, Be a Lord]
[As the future strongest being on earth, how could you go without territory of your own? This land from Lady Mercury must already be yours for the taking.]
[Quest Content: Find the culprit behind the Frozen Village incident (Completed ✓)]
[Completion Reward: A weapon carefully prepared by the System]
[You have completed the quest. Reward is being distributed...]
[Question: What type of weapon would you like?]
"What type of weapon?" Luo En pondered for a moment before saying, "Give me a greatsword."
When he'd resonated with the Death Herald earlier, he'd felt a strong urge to wield a greatsword.
[Weapon saved to the System. You may extract it at any time.]
As the system's voice faded, a model abruptly appeared in his mind.
It was a greatsword with blade patterns blooming like stars, its body a dark gray while the patterns gleamed in noble silver-white.
The craftsman who forged it had even used acid etching to carve a picture into the blade.
The image depicted a maimed demon, its wing patterns extending all the way to the hilt.
The intricate reliefs on the hilt seemed to proclaim to anyone who saw it that this was a work of art.
But it was more than just art—the aura of deadly intent it exuded made it clear it had cleaved through more than one foe.
[Item: Ashes of the Furnace]
[This weapon was forged from metals around the Myriad Phenomena Furnace, originally intended to create a shape-shifting weapon. However, the final product could not shift forms and took the shape of a greatsword.]
[Though it cannot change shape, the greatsword gains the effect of preventing enemy regeneration, and the wielder can resist flames to a certain degree.]
"Cool," Luo En had to admit—this greatsword was right up his alley. His chuunibyou soul was already stirring with excitement.
But he glanced around and figured it probably wasn't a good idea to extract it on someone else's carriage.
Whatever—he'd wait until he was settled in his territory. No need to freak anyone out.
"There's another quest too," Luo En reminded the system. "Don't try to weasel out of it."
He clearly remembered how, in his moment of crisis, the system had handed him a quest that was basically a suicide mission.
It probably never expected Luo En not only to survive but to overachieve on it.
[Dear Otherworlder, the System will not overlook your quest rewards. Please rest assured.]
[Quest Name: Brave Battle]
[Quest Content: Kill Evil God Spawn (23/12)]
[You have completed the quest. Reward is being distributed...]
[Body Enhancement Potion saved to the System. You may extract it at any time.]
The weapon wasn't convenient to extract right now, but the potion? That was no big deal.
While Luo En was lost in these thoughts, the potion suddenly materialized in his hand, startling him.
He glanced over at Moruna and Lilian, confirming that both were meditating with their eyes closed, before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
[Item: Body Enhancement Potion]
[This is a product of some advanced warrior mass-production program. Drinking it can easily boost your physical attributes.]
[As the core of the program, the potion's only side effect is that it's tough to swallow. The enhancement can't be stacked on the same individual multiple times.]
[However, because the materials were far too expensive and the results fell short of expectations, the mass-production program ultimately went bankrupt.]
[Afterward, a certain family monopolized the potion, turning it into an exclusive internal-use item.]
"Impressive pedigree," Luo En muttered to himself.
This world even had a plan for mass-producing warriors? The idea was way ahead of its time. At this point, he was starting to wonder if the Bicolor Realm might have cloning programs too.
"Yeah, it's nasty," Luo En said as he uncorked the bottle and took a sip, nearly gagging on the spot.
The taste was like soap mixed with cow dung, then topped off with a squirt of licorice juice.
No wonder that was considered the sole drawback.
After downing the whole thing, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could swear his muscles were starting to swell.
"Does it actually work?" Luo En wondered aloud, still unsure.
[The potion takes a week to fully digest. Your body will strengthen bit by bit—trust in the quality of the System's products.]
Luo En snorted. Forget the product quality; he didn't trust the System as a whole.
"At least I've claimed all the rewards now," Luo En said, stretching lazily.
It was a shame there weren't more of them—he didn't feel much sense of accomplishment.
He'd figured he'd skyrocket to the top in one go, but clearly, he'd been getting ahead of himself.
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