[Your summon has used 900 exp.]
Kai's face had turned a deep shade of purple, his gaze fixed on the multiple notifications flashing relentlessly before his eyes.
It did not seem as though they were going to stop any time soon either, as there were layers of notifications he had ignored throughout the entire trip to the forest.
[A new Master Bedroom has been crafted on the first floor of your dungeon.]
[The Throne Room size has increased.]
[Several guest rooms have been added to the dungeon.]
[The Dungeon has been upgraded to a B-Rank.]
[A new feature has been obtained.]
[The City of Monsters has been formed.]
With every notification he read, his brow twitched further. Carlotta was not just spending his resources; she was completely renovating his home while he was away.
However, his frustration quickly changed when he checked his experience points and saw a total of 50,000, rather than the 20,000 he thought he had.
Actually, he expected less than that, considering the fact Carlotta had been spending a lot of it all day on these expensive upgrades.
'I see. More people have been trying to storm the dungeon. I am guessing because they invaded, and my subordinates killed them, I gained experience from it passively. If I gained this much despite her spending spree, I am afraid of how much the skeletons must have grown even stronger as well.'
He smiled a bit.
'Okay, this is good. At this rate, the dungeon will be self-sufficient.'
Kai was about to continue checking the rest of the information he got from the system, when Lyra's voice rang out, breaking his concentration.
"Master, is that the light you told me to look out for?" she asked, pointing a gloved finger at the far distance.
Kai, of course immediately raised his head to see what she was talking about.
There, he could see the multiple colored lights swirling at a far distance, right in front of the forest's entrance.
It swirled in a spiral form, looking less like natural magic and more like a digital anomaly, with multiple code numbers turning around it like debris in a tornado.
'Looks like the quest is here. Seeing as another group knew about this to begin with, I should make sure they are not here.'
He closed his eyes.
[The skill Tracker has been activated.]
Not even a second later, to his surprise, Kai was able to sense every little thing right around him. The world mapped itself out in his mind in a grid of mana signatures.
At first, he picked up on the monsters inside the forest. He sensed the herds of Goblins sharpening their weapons, to the giant monsters marking their territory and making sure no one else could come in.
Just as he predicted, the monsters had begun spawning from all sides because the quest had arrived.
Hell, Kai could see the main boss he was supposed to defeat in order to get the quest money. The Giant Troll, possessing large wings and the body of a massive orc, was currently spawning in the center.
Moving on from there, he scanned the area outside the forest.
He noticed there was a group of adventurers just camping right outside where the quest had spawned, hiding behind the dense treeline.
If he did not know better, he was certain he could also sense Sofia's mana signature coming from that group.
Sigh.
'Newbies are really predictable. Not that I am concerned in any way. Now that I know they are here, I can do what I can without overthinking it. Worst case scenario, they see what I am capable of and back off.'
With that said, Kai stood to his feet, dusting off his clothes.
"Come Lyra, let us go."
Slow, steady steps were all it took for him to later close the distance, standing right in front of the swirling light, his eyes solely focused on it.
He could also tell the adventurers were spying on him from the back, watching his every move, but he did not mind them.
After all, if he accepted the quest, the system would lock it. They would miss the opportunity to enter, meaning they would have to wait another week or so.
Which also meant their plan was to either ambush anyone who cleared the quest to steal the loot, or find a way to leech off the person doing the hard work.
Either way, it was hardly going to work on Kai.
[Adventurer Kai Grayhart has been registered for the quest.]
The runes glowed right in front of him the moment his palm touched the light.
'It is working.'
[Quest: The Hunting Troll.]
[Description: A deadly humongous troll has spawned at the center of the forest; be sure to end its reign before it exits the forest.]
[Reward: 800,000 Cens, Troll Body Parts, Chests.]
[Participants: 1/2.]
'Unh—'
His eyes immediately picked up on the last number displayed on the screen.
'Another party is in the dungeon already?'
In most cases, even without accepting the quest, players could still enter the forest. The only difference was, as someone who was never participating in the quest, if you were to run into any of the quest monsters, no matter how strong you were, you would be unable to kill them.
It was impossible. The system granted the monsters invulnerability frames against non-participants.
Which was why most people tended to avoid the limited quest area before it came online if they had no intention of participating. It was suicide.
And yet—
'Who is stupid enough to remain in the forest? I sensed a couple of people, but I assumed they were dead.'
His brows frowned a bit.
"My Lord, is something the matter?" asked Lyra as she tilted forward to have a look at his face.
Kai did not hesitate to look at her back, composing himself.
"It is nothing. Let us keep going."
He accepted the quest fully.
[Troll Quest has been accepted.]
[You have 1 hour before the quest ends.]
'One hour is plenty.'
Kai strided into the forest, Lyra immediately following right behind him.
She too could sense the number of adventurers hiding behind the bushes, but she also knew that Kai could sense them there as well.
The fact he did not bring it up or ask her to eliminate them meant it was nothing to worry about.
As such, she erased the thought of mentioning it from her mind and focused on the path ahead.
...
[A/N]
If you like the story so far, please do not hesitate to send me support with power stones or golden tickets.