Chapter 407

[New Quest Available: Road Safety] 

In order to facilitate the safe development of improved road infrastructure, the city council has approved the extermination of the crazed within an 80-kilometer radius of the Gurp city walls. Duration extends until road work is completed. 

[Rewards: 1 Gold per 2 crazed killed. Additional Scaling Rewards every 24 hours] 

“Looks kind the system has put out a daily kill count bonus on top of the gold. Plus it is scaling.” The Quest Hall announced calls to the crowd who screens their approval. 

The money from the city wasn’t the big deal, since it just comes from their taxes anyhow. Everyone that assembled here in anticipation was hoping that the system would add something good on top to make it worth their risk, and it didn’t let them down. Scaling rewards are popular because they aren’t linear. The system realizes that fighting fifty targets a day is more than ten times as hard as fighting five, so it rewards you appropriately.

This is very much going to be in Cain’s favor, even if the bodyguard looks a little concerned about Cain going hunting. His class is best known as a life skills class specializing in disguises and plastic surgery after all.

“Will your group be alright? The crazed travel in packs, not small groups. I can recommend a few assistants if you need them.” Marcus suggests when he sees the Duke intends to leave right away. 

“We will be just fine. Despite appearances, I am rather fearsome in combat.” Cain assures him, making the demon laugh. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. But keeping your companions safe can be difficult without numbers on your side. This group here are all exceptional hunters.”

The group he is referring to looks over, and Cain can see that they have formed a twenty-person Raid Team, all Mythic awakened. They are very well equipped, and evidently skilled, but Cain doesn’t want an audience for what comes next. 

“How about we compete? The hunter team against my family? Just a small daily wager to keep things lively?” Cain suggests and the hunters’ eyes light up. 

“You’re right, a small wager creates no hard feelings, but increases motivation. How about a hundred gold? If the battle is close that will hardly be a day’s wages.” The succubus who leads the healing for the hunters suggests.

Do they think they can get two hundred for the day? That shouldn’t be a problem for Cain, once he sends out the summons. 

“Certainly. The gold was never the point of this adventure, the scaling Reward is.” Cain responds and the hunters smile. 

They are absolutely sure that they can win, doubling their cash reward, and as the foreign noble said, the real goal is the scaling Reward. The extra money has the group all fired up though, and once their healer shakes hands with Cain they head out to plan their day’s activities.

Nemu notices another group leader looks like he would like to get in on this bet and she is about to make the offer when his group’s tank thumps him on the head. 

“They have two area attack type Mythic demons and a Mythic dragon. They might not beat the hunters, but they just might if they can find the right pack.” The tank-type transfer whispers and the group leader comes to his senses. 

He wasn’t at the battle yesterday, being on the wrong side of the city when it started, but everyone in town who paid attention to adventurers had heard about it by now. The small group that Cain leads might be weak to ambush, but in an open field, Mythic Pestilence was just too dangerous, even by the standards of Mythic abilities.

“Let’s head out. We can go shopping tomorrow.” Cain tells the others and leads them back through the crowd, while Marcus returns to the mayor to fill him in on the crowd’s reaction to the Quest. 

A lot of groups are heading out to hunt today thanks to the Quest, so their departure doesn’t attract any attention. Cain wishes his Echoes weren’t needed to look after Misha, they would love it here. But then, they’re alternating dungeons, so only one is actually guarding her at a time. 

Plus she has the companions around her all day, well except Nila. 

In short, there’s no good reason he couldn’t call his Echoes here to cause mayhem. 

[Everyone guard Misha to the best of your ability. I am going to call the Echoes to me here in the awakened area. Except for Nila that is, you can enjoy your sailing trip.] Cain informs his companions, knowing they will understand despite the distance. 

[Got it, boss. Nothing will happen to her or the twins. I’ll pass on the message that you’re thinking of her.] The copy of Nemu that is in Skyview responds, and Cain calls the Echoes to where he is standing in a clearing just out of sight of the city walls. 

“Alright, here is the plan. We are hunting only the crazed. Though if a wild monster is dumb enough to attack and you think it might taste good, you can kill that too and bring back the meat. The Quest area is up to 80 kilometers from these city walls, but the Quest didn’t specify only one direction, so we will split up. 

Report back to me if the crazed seem to be more than simple dungeon mobs in the wild. If there is hope to rehabilitate them, we will try that as well. But don’t jet your hopes too high on that, they were pretty feral last time they attacked.”

It isn’t a difficult plan and the Echoes are about to take off when Cain stops them. “I get the feeling that more subtlety is going to be needed. Ten-meter-tall ancients are going to cause more problems than we solve.”

In response, they shrink themselves to five meters, and Cain sighs. They chuckle and take on the demon form Cain is currently using before flying off low through the woods, looking for a spot to start their day’s battle. 

The hunters’ raid team sees a shadowy clone of Cain fly overhead a few minutes later and frowns. “Looks like Doctor Cain used to be a Shadow Mage. Let’s get a move on, Mythic Shadows are going to be hard to keep up with.”

Cain entirely forgot to mention the others who would be out here today, other than that they weren’t targets, so the Echoes aren’t hiding as they travel, and they don’t even try to hide when they come across the first cluster of Crazed. 

Nearly two hundred have gathered together, and a full Raid team is getting ready to attack when the echo flies overhead and fills the area with demonic summons cloaked in shadow. 

The team thinks the Summon is an idiot, calling the lower quality summons against awakened targets until absolutely everything starts casting Mythic rank fireball as fast as they can. Once they are satisfied that the crazed are dead, the summons disappear and the echo flies away, leaving a smoldering clearing behind for the raid group to stare at in shock.

“What in the seven holy hells was that?” The raid team leader shouts as the shadow-cloaked demon flies away. Poaching kills is considered bad manners, but after seeing that, does he even have the standing to complain? 

The second echo is having far more fun. He found a farm village getting attacked and stopped in to rescue them. His entire summoned army is Catgirls in skimpy outfits, wielding [Crushing Tentacles] to mutilate and pulp the Crazed, pulling them out of buildings they have breached and throwing the corpses in the streets. 

“Is scaroused a word? Because I don’t know which one I am supposed to be.” One of the teenage farmers asks, watching a beastkin in a miniskirt grow Tentacles from her arm and decimate a group of Crazed in an instant.

Watching their expressions is the most fun the echo has had in weeks,  so it is in no hurry to finish things off, having his summons use the area spell as if it were extra limbs until the crazed begin to flee, at which point it ordered the summons to finish them with brutal efficiency.

Unlike its partner, this one has the summons run through the woods looking for targets and making noise to attract more of the crazed. 

Cain sees that they are working hard on his behalf, so he leads the main group at a jog, looking for a valid target. His luck isn’t as good though, too many other groups passed this way and every threat has been cleared out. 

He decides to take a path through a river valley lined with steep cliffs, a likely hiding spot for anything that might have been missed. 

There is only one person here though, an old woman fishing in the river next to an ancient wooden shack that looks like it belongs in a horror movie. 

“It took you long enough to get here. Stupid visions should come with a time stamp.” The old woman mutters to herself, turning a toothless smile at her visitors.