It was already the second day since the Giant Frog hunt.
On the long tables of Axel’s Adventurers Guild, plates were stacked like small mountains.
“Another serving of roasted ribs!
No, two!
And three glasses of Bubbly Wine!
Large ones!” Aqua stood on a chair, one foot on the edge of the table, waving her arms at the server, her long blue hair swaying with her movements.
The server looked at the pile of empty plates, then at Aqua’s belly, their mouth twitching, but they still noted it down in their book.
“Alright, please wait a moment.” “And dessert!” Aqua added.
“Right, right…” Megumin sat beside her.
Although she didn’t stand up and shout, the fork in her hand never stopped.
The plate in front of her was piled with bones picked clean, every single one stripped of even the smallest scrap of meat.
“Hmm…
the timing of this steak…” Megumin forked a piece of meat, her red eyes narrowing, showing a connoisseur-like expression.
“Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with the juices perfectly locked in…
To be able to eat cuisine of this level in this world, my Explosion Magic hasn’t gone to waste…” “You didn’t cast any Explosion Magic yesterday.” Darkness, sitting opposite, reminded her in a low voice, then elegantly sliced the steak in front of her and put it in her mouth.
Unlike her two teammates who ate like savages, Darkness maintained noble dining etiquette even in this setting.
If not for the abnormal flush on her cheeks, she really would have looked like a proper young lady.
“That’s because Ash swallowed my magic!” Megumin slapped the table, her red eyes glaring at Ash, who sat at the head of the table.
“He swallowed my Explosion Magic!
That feeling was like…
like…” She bit her lip, trying to find a suitable metaphor.
“It was like saving up all day for *that*, only to have it forcibly blocked just as it was about to be released!” “That’s a disgusting metaphor.” Ash picked up his water glass expressionlessly.
“But accurate.” “So, can you let me truly release it once today?” Megumin put down her fork, clasped her hands together, and looked at Ash with her large red eyes blinking.
“Just once!
Once is enough!
I don’t need to hit any enemies, just fire a shot at the sky!
I want to see the explosion!” “Denied.” Ash didn’t even lift an eyelid.
“Why!” “Because I haven’t stored enough ammunition yet.” Ash put down his water glass and looked at Megumin.
“I feel like storing one shot a day is a bit too little.
It’s time for you to release your favorite Explosion Magic more times every day.” “Ugh!
Are you a devil?” “I’m just that selfish.
Besides, you’re living off me now, so what’s wrong with letting me store some of your magic?” Megumin opened her mouth to argue, but meeting Ash’s eyes full of amusement, she finally deflated, picked up her fork again, and stabbed it viciously into her ribs.
“I’ll remember this.” she muttered.
“One day, I will show this world the true power of Explosion Magic…” Ash ignored her and silently did the math.
Ten Giant Frogs hunted yesterday, reward: 200,000 eris.
It sounded like a lot, but…
Aqua had already ordered three rounds of food.
Although Megumin didn’t order directly, her appetite was even larger than Aqua’s, and every plate of meat was picked clean by her.
Darkness didn’t eat much, but the wine she drank cost 5,000 eris a bottle.
Ash glanced at the prices on the menu, then at the pile of plates, and a very clear number surfaced in his mind.
Eating at this rate, 200,000 wouldn’t last three days.
He had originally planned to use this money to buy a batch of ordinary weapons from the market—longswords, battle axes, javelins, bows—anything that could be thrown, and stuff them into the gate of babylon first.
During battle, he also wanted to be like Gilgamesh, with golden ripples opening behind him and countless weapons pouring out like a rainstorm.
Just thinking about that scene was satisfying.
But looking at it now…
“There’s still too little money!” Ash said in a low voice, then sank into his consciousness and pulled up the system panel.
[Chain Quest progress as follows] Quest 1: Kill 10 enemies with the “Beast” trait (10/10).
Completed.
Reward issued: Martial Art “Nine Lives”.
Quest 2: Kill 10 enemies with the “Demonic” trait (0/10).
Reward to be unlocked: Noble Phantasm “dōjigiri yasutsuna”.
Quest 3: Deal cumulative continuous damage to “Human” attribute targets (Completed).
Reward issued: Noble Phantasm “robe of nessus”.
[New Quests Added] Quest 4: Tame a creature with the “Dragon” attribute.
Reward: Noble Phantasm “Gram”.
Quest 5: Kill ten enemies with the “Undead” attribute.
Reward: Noble Phantasm “harpalyke”.
Ash’s gaze swept over the quest panel.
Tame a giant dragon?
Not considering it for now, despite the rich rewards.
If he remembered correctly, Gram was the divine sword that Sigmund, father of the hero Sigurd in Norse mythology, pulled from the tree where the incarnation of the chief god Odin, a nameless old man, had thrust it.
After being reforged, it was also the weapon Sigurd used to kill Fafnir.
A rare Noble Phantasm that possessed the Sun attribute while also functioning as a demonic sword.
But at this moment, Ash automatically ignored Quest 4 and focused his attention on Quest 2 and Quest 5.
Killing demonic enemies and killing undead enemies.
The goals of these two quests were clear, the difficulty moderate, and the rewards were very practical.
dōjigiri yasutsuna—a tachi with a Special Attack against demonic beings, and according to legend, it might even carry Indra’s thunder.
harpalyke—a weapon specifically designed to counter undead creatures; Medusa’s head was cut off by Perseus using this very weapon.
If he could complete both quests at the same time, he would become much stronger.
After all, Self-charge is king, and Special Attacks make one a god.
These three weapons—one with a Special Attack against demons, one against dragons, and one against the undead—were all excellent items.
But the problem was, where could he find these two types of enemies?
Axel was a starter town, and the monsters that occasionally appeared were mostly of the “Beast” attribute, which he had already blown to pieces with EA yesterday.
Ash rested his chin on his hand and began to recall the original story.
In Axel, there was indeed a place where he could find the enemies he wanted.
Or rather, a person.
Wiz.
One of the former Demon Kings Army executives, the Ice Witch, who now ran an item shop in Axel.
Her shop sold all sorts of things, from ordinary potions to cursed items.
More importantly, as a former Demon Kings Army executive, she must be very knowledgeable about the distribution of monsters in the surrounding areas.
And…
the corners of Ash’s mouth curled up slightly.
Wiz herself was a special existence.
Although she was “human,” she had already been lich-ified.
Strictly speaking, she possessed both “Demonic” and “Undead” attributes.
Of course, he couldn’t make a move on Wiz.
That didn’t fit his style, and Wiz wasn’t a bad person.
But through her, finding enemies that met the quest conditions shouldn’t be difficult.
“That’s the plan.” Ash stood up.
Before the sound of the chair sliding back could even land, Aqua had already bounced up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Where are you going!” She grabbed Ash’s arm, her hands locking tight, her blue eyes filled with suspicion.
“You want to keep all that money for yourself, don’t you!
I knew it!
You big liar!
You tied me up with chains all last night, and today you want to run off alone again!” “Let go.” Ash shook his arm, but couldn’t shake her off.
Aqua hung on him like a koala, her whole body almost suspended in the air, still shouting: “I won’t!
Not even if I die!
That’s my wine money!
My dessert money!
My…” “Yours?” Ash stopped moving and looked down at the blue-haired goddess hanging from his arm.
“When we were fighting the frogs yesterday, what did you do besides being chased around?” “I…” Aqua opened her mouth, her expression changing from righteous to guilty, then from guilty to aggrieved.
“I attracted the frogs’ attention!
If it weren’t for me, how would those frogs have stood there so obediently for you to slash!” “You were the one being chased, not the one attracting attention.” “Isn’t that the same thing!” “It’s not.” Ash said expressionlessly.
“Being chased and attracting attention—one is active, the other is passive.
You were passively being chased, and you screamed, which made the whole process very noisy.” Aqua’s mouth pouted, and her eyes began to well up.
But this time, she didn’t burst into tears directly as before.
Instead, she took a deep breath, and the expression on her face changed from aggrieved to…
virtuous?
Ash’s eyelid twitched.
Aqua let go of his arm, folded her hands in front of her, lowered her head slightly, and wore a gentle smile that was somewhat unnerving.
“Dear, Husband, Darling~ You’re right, I did perform poorly yesterday.
But…” She looked up, her blue eyes shining.
“As your wife, I have an obligation to manage our property together with you, right?
After all, a husband and wife are one; what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine…
ah no, what’s mine is also yours.” “You just let your true feelings slip.” “No!
You heard wrong!” Aqua waved her hands hurriedly, switching back to that virtuous wife expression.
“Anyway, I think we should set up a joint account.
All the money goes in there, and we discuss it together when we use it.
This way, we can ensure financial transparency and enhance our relationship as a couple.
It’s killing two birds with one stone, right?”