Button comes back in under a minute with the quest scrolls for Cain to accept. She holds them out for Menno to take, then ducks under his outstretched arm with a laugh when he reaches back to give them to Cain.
"I take hugs in payment." She giggles, looking at where Cain has moved to place a hand on Misha's waist. He's got the [Warming Hug] ability active, and the jealousy of the badger girl is visible. It's clear she doesn't want Cain, but she's unwilling to accept that another woman is receiving affection while she is forced to work with her beloved right in front of her.
"You just had to hug her, didn't you? Badgers are intensely territorial; she won't be happy until she gets a better hug than your wife." Menno laughs, failing in his attempt to sound exasperated.
"You'd better work hard; he's got a skill for better hugs." Button announces, curling into his side while her coworkers watch their interaction with amusement, used to such behavior from the pair.
The two are evidently deeply in love, which is a bit of a culture shock. Cain had taken this country to be stratified by wealth, with the nobility and the commoners keeping to their own circles. The tower caters to mostly commoners, and customer service jobs aren't exactly glamorous, so the pairing startled him.
Not only that, but the people of Skyview are incredibly accepting of inter species romance; not a single person in the tower seems to object to these two lovebirds, which is refreshing to see.
After the debacle in Landis, Cain had started to assume that racial purists were the norm for this world, but it seems that they're regional at best. Here in Skyview, Beastkin and humans get along very well if Button's wandering hands are anything to go by.
Menno gives her a squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. "Proper introductions are in order. This is Belinda, my fiancee, daughter of Earl DontCare. Belinda, this is Duke Cain, accompanied by the Ladies Misha and Mythryll, plus their entourage."
Cain smiles happily at the pair, now realizing she is indeed nobility, despite holding what looks like the very commonplace job of Quest Clerk. She is so far from the stuck-up heiress stereotype that it's still hard to imagine she's an Earl's daughter at all.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for taking care of my Menno. He gets lost and scared easily. Has ever since we were children." Belinda smiles, ignoring the incredulous look her fiance is giving her.
"The pleasure is all ours. Seeing someone else as disgustingly affectionate as those two is refreshing." Mythryll laughs, causing Button to place a string of happy kisses across Menno's face.
Menno takes the opportunity to change the topic before it turns to gossip and teasing him about his love life. "Here are the quests. Defeat the attackers, save the farmers, and an undefined one from the acting administrator that should let you claim the manor and territory if you would like. They currently have no guards, but a Puppet Master should be able to take care of that."
Yes, assigning guards shouldn't be a problem. Cain has a Commander clone from appointing Cixelcid, and two Lieutenants left to choose from. Then at level 190, he will either have smarter puppets or a second Commander to help out where needed.
Cain accepts the quests, finding they're open-ended, with a reward for every fifty Gnolls or green-skinned Goblins killed. The money attached is a pittance, but the quest grants bonus experience. Exactly the sort of quest that Cain loves to exploit. It's also a level 215 quest, so young James is in for a big surprise once they find targets to kill.
The guards don't give them any trouble on the way out of the city, and Menno stops to say goodbye at the driveway to his acreage. "Duke Cain, Ladles, it has been a distinct pleasure to meet you all. Your highness James, be safe and remember to be home by the day after tomorrow. If the preparations for court start and you're not there, it will be chaos."
"You rascal! How did you know it was me?" James calls, startled. His accent has slipped and he sounds exactly like the noble youth he is, despite the change in body.
"A Paladin your exact level, with that face? You tried too hard to hide. Or Duke Cain didn't think he'd meet anyone who knew you. Plus, your commoner accent is atrocious. I've known you since before you could walk. Do you think I wouldn't know?"
Cain smirks as the Lord teases his King. "Plus, he can see through disguises with a skill. He knew my human form wasn't real."
"Dammit, we were so close. We order you not to tell anyone and we will be back for court." James insists in a dignified voice that doesn't match his body.
"I'll cover for you as long as I can now that I know where you'll be. Be safe, Your Majesty." With that, Menno turns and heads back into his house, a plantation-style manor with white wooden siding.
"Will you send me back now that you know?" James asks, and Cain shakes his head.
"It wasn't too hard to guess, and we had a deal. I'll keep you disguised until we return. I'll even get you some levels doing these quests. Young doesn't have to mean weak and easily manipulated."
The trip to Long Fang City isn't a long one, not on a typical day. But does the Darklight Host ever have typical days? Of course not. Not even an hour out of town, they come across a group of roughly sixty Gnolls with an average level of around 205 attacking a merchant wagon.
Forgetting that King James hasn't seen them fight before, Cain activates [Ancient Resistance] to multiply demons, which changes his form to that of a Demon Progenitor, as the Demons called the Proto Demon. Lamia, Wrath Bringers, and A handful of Oath Breakers plus three of the four Seraphim Inquisitors Cain was merged to flood the area, charging the Gnolls in total silence until blades meet blades the screaming starts.
Nemu grabs the shell shocked King and holds him upright while Vala and Evangeline charge, wagering candies on who can kill more Gnolls. Winning will be tough; there are fewer than fifty of them left and many more summons.
Cain is happily watching the two Companions attempt to win the wager when a growl comes that sounds much closer than the others.
"No, baby Progenitor will ruin my plans." The Gnoll Commander roars, charging for Cain.
Cain doesn't wait to be attacked, drawing his spear and Pestilent Scimitar while using his black feathered wings to counter charge. The speed assisted first strike of Cain's spear shatters the blade of the sword the Commander raises to block it as the Gnoll narrowly dodges.
The battle moves immediately to close combat, neither fighter is interested in ranged attacks at the moment, and the Gnoll Commander is forced back by Cain's following blade. The next thrust of the spear lands true, straight in the Gnoll Commanders' stomach, but fails to dig in and barely moves his health bar, even with the stacked damage of Might of Many applied.
Cain checks the monster's details as he keeps up the pressure, preventing the Gnoll from landing a solid blow against him.
Gnoll Commander, Epic Quality, level 281. That's 99 levels above him. Of course he's doing a lot of nothing. Their first battle on the continent, and they've come close to being so outmatched that they're entirely unable to damage the enemy. It's a good thing the main force of Gnolls is much weaker.
The Commander is quickly healing what little damage it takes, leaving the two at a stalemate as the rest of the Gnolls die. Cain sees the hyena-headed Commander notice he's now alone, but the bandit doesn't try to run; it gets an evil look on its face and rushes for Misha, trying to take something valuable from Cain even in defeat.
That proves to be a mistake, though, as it hits a vine trap set by Mythryll as it leaps, getting tangled and immobilized instantly. Cain uses this chance to strike with [Decapitate], trying to take the monster's head off and nearly succeeding before the Commander escapes the Vines and rolls away with a deep wound in its neck.
It is already starting to heal, but the sound of charging hooves is getting closer, and the Commander decides that discretion is the better part of Valor, fleeing into the woods at a rate Cain would have trouble matching even if he wanted to. And he most certainly does not want to.
The hooves turn out to be the sound of a guard patrol from the Capital who came to investigate the complaint about bandits. Cain dismisses the summons, calling the extra Seraphim into his Merger and ending Ancient Resistance to appear human again before they come into sight.
James has finally regained his senses, no longer absorbed in the sword fight between leaders that mainly was too fast for his eyes to track. This might be the first real battle he's seen, despite the wars for the succession. From the stories Cain heard, he was away at a training academy when the fighting broke out and was ushered into seclusion so he couldn't be assassinated, leaving him the last living Royal.
He received a dozen or more level-up notices as well, just from the fight, which he cleared as fast as possible, so he didn't miss the battle between leaders.
Internally, the King is overjoyed. At home, he's prevented from rapidly leveling to keep him under the thumb of the oligarchs. But then, Cain is one now too, isn't he? He was officially named a Duke of Skyview, after all.
"Perhaps I have finally obtained a reliable ally?" The Young King thinks to himself before an additional flood of notifications causes a wave of dizziness so strong he collapses.
[Quest Partially Complete]
[Bonus Experience Awarded]
Cain smiles as he sees he's gained two more levels just from those fifty Gnolls and the quest. Technically one and a little bit, but that last percent counts the most. That makes level 184, and he's looking forward to the rest of the journey. At this rate, he'll be halfway to his goal before even reaching Long Fang City.
The guard patrol comes upon them at full gallop seeing James passed out. "How long has he been down? We have a second advancement healer with us who can resurrect."
"Oh, he's not dead; he was level 47 when we attacked a group of Quest objective Gnolls over level 200," Evangeline informs him with a straight face, and the Captain does his best not to laugh at the unfortunate King.
"He'll be fine then. When the time comes, tell him to exit the advancement screen and choose when he's working with a clear mind." That might be the best advice they've gotten in a long time. After level 100, you can always go back to the screen and choose. Mythryll did precisely that when she wanted a better class option.
James is a King; his class might matter to someone other than himself in the future.
