Right as he came to this decision, Navi appeared at his side, grinning at him.

[No joke, this would be a great challenge for you. Need some help~?]

Axel glared at the penguin before muttering to himself. "Help? Maybe you mean making it more difficult. I'm fine, so no need to interfere."

[Oh, is that so. So that's how you see me now.]

Navi harrumphed, like a girlfriend after an entire night of not getting a reply to her chats.

[I was thinking of giving you a quest, but with that attitude—]

"If you're preparing a proper quest, then give it to me." Axel interrupted. "But if it's bullshit, then I'll make sure to nail you into a coffin and leave you buried for a full week."

Of course, Axel wouldn't really refuse a quest.

An extra reward for his hard work would be more than welcome.

[Oooh, scarrry~!]

Navi chuckled before clapping its flippers together. The next moment, a new quest window appeared before him.

[

Quest: Clean Up the Evidence!

Requirements:

- Gather all 15,704 Substitute Dolls equipped by the Demon Army

- Kill 1,000 Demons (you must deliver the final blow)

Rewards:

- Avoid Getting Persecuted

- 1 billion Colts per kill (0/1000)

]

"Damn! So generous!" Axel couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Ignoring the taunt-like title, it was the first time he'd seen the system reward him this much. If he somehow managed to complete the task of killing a thousand demons, he'd earn a trillion for the first time—that was thirteen fucking digits!

But of course, he wasn't overly joyful either.

He knew that the system's rewards reflected a quest's difficulty almost directly. In short, with rewards this high, the difficulty of killing the demons would be just as extreme.

'Well, it's not like there's any penalty for failing the quest, so I'll just do my best!'

Without delay, he opened his inventory and changed his equipped accessories. Up until now, he'd focused on defense and survivability; however, this time, that wouldn't cut it.

"To survive, I need two main things. Speed and strength!"

With that in mind, he chose accessories that either boosted both stats heavily or favored one of them.

After looking for a minute, he found the best setup, increasing his speed by 25 points and his strength by 36.

"Hmm..."

Of course, he couldn't tell how much stronger he'd become without testing it.

So, he tried to dash forward.

"...!"

He immediately realized just how fast he was. In an instant, his face slammed into the wall he'd just repaired, causing it to crack. His nose started bleeding from the impact! If not for the extra vitality granted by his necklace, he might've died from that alone!

"Shit, this is too fast! I need to tone it down a bit..." he muttered, drinking a max-level health potion.

After some tuning, he found the best balance.

From all his accessories, his low-quality holy sword, and his magic armor, he gained Speed +15 and Strength +52—the two stats he needed most. Of course, other stats increased as well, but those were secondary.

Next, instead of accessories, he boosted his vitality by drinking three of the max-level Greater Recovery Potions, increasing it permanently by an extra +30.

It was an expensive investment—equivalent to 300 billion—but the prospect of earning that back and more later made it a "fair trade."

"Alright, I'm heading out!"

With a fierce dash, he leapt over the battlement on top of the wall and landed in the moat outside. It was such a flashy entrance that not only monsters, but even allies also turned to him in shock.

A short distance away, demons were rushing forward, eager to reach and break the walls—prime targets for him!

"Hup!"

With his enhanced speed, he charged forward, sword held at his side.

From an outsider's perspective, with his glowing blade, he looked like a streak of light tearing through the battlefield—one that brought death in its wake.

As soon as he reached a monster, he twisted his sword slightly, letting it slice across its body. With +52 strength, he couldn't even feel resistance as his blade cut cleanly through flesh and bone!

"...!"

After killing one and seeing the quest counter appear in the top-right corner of his vision, he noticed something else.

'The dropped Substitute Dolls' locations are being shown in my view!'

Just like when he'd gathered designated materials before, the items glowed with a faint golden outline, visible even when it should be out of view, hidden behind an army of demons.

With this, combined with his inventory's long-range function, he quickly collected dolls from nearby monsters. Of course, he made sure to kill them first—if he took the dolls beforehand, they'd simply die to the relentless rain of curses still falling.

[Go, go, go~! Kill them, kill those bastards~! Hahaha!]

Navi floated a few meters above Axel, watching his efforts while munching popcorn and wearing 3D glasses. It was as if he were watching a movie from the front row.

Naturally, Axel's "invulnerable" display didn't last long.

"Ugh...!"

His sword was deflected by a monster wielding a scimitar—a green, bipedal lizard-like creature.

And that wasn't all.

"...!"

Axel ducked reflexively as intense killing intent brushed past the back of his neck.

A sharp blade flashed through the space his throat had occupied moments earlier.

'Invisible monsters too?!' Axel panicked internally.

Knowing how dangerous unseen enemies were, he didn't hesitate. Before the blade vanished again, he swung his sword with brute force, slicing through the space where he guessed the assassin was hiding.

"Guha...!"

Part of his blade seemed to disappear, and blood began dripping from empty air. The assailant was dead.

The next moment, a troll-like monster smashed its club into his back, sending him flying and skidding across the ground.

"Shit!" he cursed, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

Now deep within the enemy formation, attacks came from all directions. There was nowhere safe to stand still.

Even with his speed, several blows landed. His armor crumpled, and wounds began decorating his limbs. Checking the quest, he saw he'd only killed 150 demons so far—still far from his goal.

Worse, he was starting to be pushed back.

"Kuh...!"

Just as he considered abandoning the quest and leaving the rest to the witches—

"Follow Sir Axel! Charge...!"

"Protect the Hero!"

Backup arrived.

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