With no more loyal subject to guard her, the captured Queen Bug began to communicate with Darius telepathically. It offered to submit to him as long as he guaranteed her life, but he merely shook his head.
As such, Gunner unhesitatingly crushed it into pulp, using a cloth from his inventory to wipe his hands.
Upon seeing that the queen was also dealt with, Darius recollected his own bugs that numbered almost a hundred thousand into different Bags of Holding. It seemed that pitting insects against each other was still the best strategy yet.
Darius then checked their battle report to see how much experience they had gained.
[You have gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]
[Gunner has gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]
[Xela has gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]
[You have leveled up x10! You are now level 40. You have gained 50 Ability Points and 30 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]
[Gunner has leveled up x10! He is now level 40. He has gained 30 Ability Points and 10 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]
[Xela has leveled up x8! She is now level 40. She has gained 24 Ability Points and 8 Skill Points to spend as she wishes!]
They had only killed all the remaining 30 Master bugs while the Insects on his side had assisted them only eating the corpses after Darius got the last hit. As such, they had earned a gross total of 153,600 experience points, which split into three, was what had created the above scenario.
Of course, what was of more importance was the fact that this battle had allowed the trio to reach the level cap.
As Darius and Gunner had been through this before, they were calm, but Xela felt a bit nervous.
After all, Darius and Gunner's horrible reaction to the mention of the previous Quest was enough to make her assume that they were all brutal and impossible.
As if on cue, the expected guest announced himself.
{Greetings, Darius Stone! It is I, your 'beloved' Central Assistant Entity for SLAVES Acting in Roles, Ceasar!}
{However, you haven't been acting much like a slave nowadays, now have you Darius Stone? Hahaha!}
{I 'sincerely' hope you have been looking forward to our reunion as much as I have! Since you have once again reached the level cap, it is time for you to undergo the Adept Quest now!}
{Looking at your past performance and previous strength, as well as the current situation, I have prepared the perfect Quest for you!}
{Listen well, Darius Stone! Your objective to become an Adept is to wipe out the entire Insect Race, from Amateur to Grandmaster!}
Hearing the task they had to fulfill, Xela was shocked. However, Darius and Gunner shared an uncertain look.
Wasn't this… erm, a bit too easy compared to before?
Previously, the situation with Marasmus had been extremely delicate so Darius had been forced to use a slew of roundabout means to achieve his goal.
If even one thing had gone wrong back then, his journey would have ended then and there. Even after persevering and coming out on top, that final escape from the Plains of Death chilled the hearts of the duo to this day.
In hindsight, Darius had understood that he had spent far too little time in the Amateur stage before reaching the cap, unaware that such a devious trap had been waiting for him.
After going through that hell, he had not allowed himself to level up and had rather spent 5 years stockpiling resources, gathering knowledge, alliances, building a city, and completing Events that increased his capabilities.
To cut it short, the exam's objective difficulty had not changed!
Rather, due to the past trauma and preconceived notions, Darius managed to thoroughly prepare for it this time, so it felt easier to him.
{As you are currently at the limit of the Journeyman stage, your experience bar is now set at 4,000 points. Just like last time, you shall receive 0.1 AP and SP for each revolution, yet the limit has been increased to 40 each.}
{Well, Darius Stone, you might want to start as this Quest has a time limit of 6 months! By then we expect you to have exterminated all Insects on Faust, else you will have all your power stripped!}
Darius raised an eyebrow and cut Caesar for the first time in a long time. "No death penalty?"
{Not unless you wish me to add it as a consequence!}
Caesar waited for a brief moment, but of course, nothing came of it. As such, the AI explained the reason behind this change.
{As you grow in power, the Goddess deems it fit that your treatment should be elevated from the trash you truly are, to her True Agent! To put it in terms you will be able to understand, the higher you go, the weaker your punishments in case you fail your stage-climbing Quests!}
{I hate saying it, but it might even be possible that you may get a second chance in the future!}
Darius rubbed his chin. This was quite unexpected, as he had assumed Vena to be so powerful that there was no need to take him seriously.
However, now he began to question whether 'entertainment' truly was the goal for which he had been summoned here.
From the very onset, Vena had actually been very nice to him. Whenever she had made a decision, it had been to his benefit, leaving an impression of her being a lofty and uncaring Goddess, but now it seemed quite possible that she might rather be kind.
Most likely, she had a specific purpose for grooming Darius and felt it would be easier to be friends than enemies when the time came to state her desire.
Either way, Darius hypothesized that the main reason he had to go through so much nonsense must be due to Caesar's own malicious nature, which made him smile lightly.
Once he discovered the truth of his speculation, it would be time to decide who would enjoy his wrath between the two.
{'Congratulations', Darius Stone! It seems the Goddess is in a very good mood today, so she instructed me to offer you three hints just like the previous time! Listen carefully, for I shall endeavor to never repeat them again and hope you forget them halfway!}
{The first is to make sure those adventurers and heroes from afar never step foot in the underground world! Their presence may cause a change in circumstances that is bound to ruin your chances!}
{The second is to take care of your own brood! Their existence will be crucial in completing this Quest!}
{The third and final clue is to take pride in your Draconic abilities! They might be very effective in certain circumstances.}
{Now, this is goodbye, Darius Stone! I wish you the worst of luck!}
