"Hahaha!"
A loud, obnoxious voice that sounded like it was both laughing and crying echoed through the area.
"I finally reached Level 30! From today onward, I can call myself a top-tier Adventurer! I'd like to see who still dares to call me Uselesszuma, brute-zuma, or Scumzuma now! Hahaha!"
Naturally, that awful half-laughing, half-crying voice came from Kazuma.
He was currently holding up his Adventurer Card as if he had just gained the entire world, laughing his heart out. In contrast to Kazuma's elation, three girls had collapsed onto the ground one after another.
"Wuu... wuuu..."
Aqua was covered head to toe in sticky goo from some unknown creature, crying and wiping away her tears miserably.
"I'm satisfied... I was in top condition today. That last Explosion spell was a perfect 10 if I do say so myself. Truly satisfying."
Megumin was lying face-down in her usual explosion aftermath pose, completely motionless and speaking with a tone full of contentment.
"Aah, I'm satisfied too. The monsters today were so powerful… It's a shame they were exterminated. Otherwise, I'd have considered coming here every day."
Darkness was also lying on the ground, but on her back. Her entire set of equipment was tattered beyond belief, and her body was clearly bruised and battered. Yet, she wore a dazed, blissful smile that made people instinctively want to keep their distance.
"Wahahahaha!"
Kazuma continued to laugh loudly with the three collapsed girls as his backdrop.
If someone stumbled upon this scene right now, they would absolutely think the man in the middle had just overpowered these three girls and was about to do something criminal. And thus, Kazuma would never be able to escape nicknames like "brute-zuma" or "Scumzuma."
"Sigh…"
Looking at these four incredibly quirky and hopeless teammates, Fang Li could only sigh, even though he had already grown used to it.
At this moment, the entire group was in a large graveyard.
Not long ago, this graveyard was teeming with all sorts of Undead, considered one of the forbidden zones in the world.
After all, low-tier Undead were as numerous as locusts, and high-tier Undead could easily form an army and had taken full control of this area, acting with impunity.
The one commanding all these Undead was said to be the highest-ranked Undead, a Vampire.
Because of that, this graveyard had always been regarded as a danger zone. No one dared to enter it. Even the Royal Knights turned a blind eye, unwilling to risk sending too many forces in case it gave the Demon King's Army an opening.
Once Fang Li learned about this place, he brought Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness to clear it.
The goal, of course, was to complete a side quest and help Kazuma and Aqua raise their ranks.
Ever since arriving at the Royal Capital, Kazuma and Aqua had been enjoying the highest-grade food served at the Royal Castle. Many of the dishes were packed with experience points, greatly boosting their ranks.
So, Fang Li thought this graveyard would make the perfect final push to help both of them reach Level 30.
With Fang Li around, and Aqua, the natural nemesis of Undead and Demons, there was no need to worry about safety or whether they'd succeed in leveling up.
In fact, everything went exactly as Fang Li had planned.
As soon as they entered the graveyard, Aqua began madly purifying Undead, and in no time at all, she became the first to hit Level 30.
However, once she leveled up, Aqua started yelling:
"I heard the one ruling this graveyard is a Vampire, right? How arrogant! Even we of the Axis Church don't have any territory!"
And so, Aqua insisted on storming the castle at the center of the graveyard to purify the Vampire inside.
Fang Li didn't object.
Even though Vampires were the highest-ranking Undead and possibly even stronger than Beldia, a general of the Demon King's Army, Fang Li had absolutely nothing to fear with his current strength.
Adding to that, even though Aqua is usually pretty useless, when it comes to dealing with Undead, her effectiveness is beyond exceptional. So Fang Li agreed without hesitation.
Up to that point, there wasn't really a problem.
The problem began when Aqua got too carried away and charged straight into the Vampire's castle without thinking.
As a result, the moment she barged in, she was swallowed whole by a massive Demon.
To the Undead, the holy aura Aqua emits when using purification magic is incredibly intense, it's impossible not to sense her presence.
Naturally, the Vampire residing in the castle had already prepared traps, intending to eliminate the greatest threat first.
Upon witnessing this, before Fang Li even had the chance to act, Megumin snapped.
"You dare devour my dearest friend?! You lowly Demon! Disappear from this world!"
With that declaration, Megumin chanted her Explosion Magic, blasting the Demon and the entire castle into ruins.
This defective Archwizard, who had just claimed Aqua as her best friend, had clearly forgotten that the Demon still had Aqua in its mouth.
If not for the fact that Aqua's Hagoromo (Celestial Scarf) was an artifact with astonishing defensive power, she likely would have been vaporized along with the Demon.
Even the Vampire who had been residing in the castle was severely wounded by Megumin's Explosion and, in a fit of rage, lunged at the now magic-depleted Megumin, who had collapsed on the ground.
However, Darkness dashed in with a look of utter joy.
"If you've got a problem, bring it to me! Vampires love sucking young girls' blood, right? Then suck mine! No, go ahead and suck all sorts of places while you're at it!"
With that outrageous declaration, the Vampire, supposedly the highest-ranking being among the Undead, was entangled by a full-blown masochistic crusader. Throughout the battle, the Vampire ended up blasting Darkness away multiple times.
In the end, Kazuma, who had been hiding the entire time using his Stealth skill, found an opportunity. He used his Snipe skill to launch a sneak attack.
Normally, a regular arrow would be useless against a Vampire.
But somehow, Kazuma had acquired a bottle of holy water, which he poured over the arrow. The holy arrow struck the already heavily injured Vampire, instantly killing it.
And thus, Kazuma defeated the highest-ranking Undead and smoothly leveled up to Level 30.
As for Fang Li, from beginning to end, he had only been dealing with the wave of Undead drawn in by Aqua's presence. During the battle with the Vampire, he didn't lift a finger.
It was at that moment that a system notification rang in Fang Li's mind.
"B-Rank Side Quest completed. Gained 20,000 Exchange Points."
But the system's voice in his head did nothing to improve Fang Li's mood.
"Wahahaha!"
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu…"
"Someone please carry me… the ground's so dirty…"
"While Aqua is still crying, I better savor this feeling. Once she heals me, the thrill will be gone."
Listening to the ridiculous remarks of Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness, Fang Li felt that even the best of moods would be ruined by this group.
In the end, Fang Li could only speak with exasperation.
"If you're all done playing around, then clean up already."
"Today, we still have to go meet Iris."
(End Of This Chapter)
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