Chapter 5
“Duchess? A territory?”
Luo En’s eyes widened of their own accord.
He had no idea how impressive the Normar Empire actually was, but it sounded legitimate.
And they were handing him a whole territory? The temptation was almost unbearable.
Sure, Lady rcury’s “maybe” sounded a little shaky, yet it still beat drifting aimlessly through this foreign world.
The real problem was: why would they pick him?
Before and after his transmigration, he had been nothing more than an ordinary guy.
He couldn’t fight, his tongue wasn’t silver, and he definitely didn’t ooze charisma.
Wait—he did have that System claiming it would mold him into the strongest on Earth.
So far, the only thing it had done was save his life once; otherwise it had been dead silent.
Whether it could actually make him that strong, or was just blowing smoke, remained to be seen.
Besides, he was the only one who knew about the System. No way Lady rcury did... right?
As if sensing his skepticism, the System flung a ssage right in front of his eyes—so close it almost slapped him in the face.
[System update.]
[Quest Na: From Today On, Be a Lord]
[How can the future strongest on Earth lack his own territory? The land Lady rcury offers is surely already yours for the taking.]
[Objective: Identify the Culprit of Frozen Village (x)]
[Reward: A weapon hand-picked by the System]
Seeing the quest pop up, Luo En almost laughed—this was exactly how he’d pictured “systems” working.
Sorry, my bad—I underestimated you. I apologize, System.
If this thing was real, fa and fortune were basically guaranteed.
And the quest even threw in a free weapon; Lady rcury’s deal had just beco impossible to refuse. ᕕ(◠ڼ◠)ᕗ
Plus, the task only asked him to find the culprit, not duel anyone to the death.
Monts ago he’d worried he lacked the skills to complete Lady rcury’s mission.
Now? Worry my foot—he was the man with a System at his back!
“You may return here anyti you wish through this door,” Lady rcury said. “Restocking supplies won’t be a problem.”
“Deal.” Luo En drained his cup and stood at once.
He had nothing to lose; even if he declined, he had nowhere else to go.
Moruna rose the instant Luo En did, like a newly hatched duckling imprinted on the first thing it sees—wherever Luo En went, she followed.
Without warning, the System blared in his head, splashing red text across his vision.
[Friendly reminder: once the quest begins, cancellation is impossible.]
Luo En froze. “No cancellation” sounded ominous.
[The future strongest on Earth never quits midway. While there is no penalty for failure, should a transmigrator refuse to begin the quest, the System will impose appropriate punishnt.]
“Punishnt?” he blurted aloud.
[Punishnts include, but are not limited to, loss of desire, forced actions, or inflicted pain. Duration varies by quest.]
Just as he was gearing up for glory, the System doused him with ice water.
Hold on—wait a second! Those punishnts sound seriously bad!
[As long as you complete the quest actively, none of the above will apply.]
“Mr. Luo En?”
The cold wind and Lady rcury’s voice snapped him back to reality.
“Mr. Luo En?” she repeated, frowning. “Are you all right?”
He waved a hand. “I’m fine.”
He wasn’t. A nasty premonition had taken root.
Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
Moruna was pulling at it, and—unless he was imagining it—her eyes held a flicker of worry.
“What was I about to do again?” Luo En rubbed his temples.
“You were leaving,” Lady rcury replied, her brow still creased.
Whatever had just happened worried her, but Luo En had already stepped through the doorway and pulled it shut behind him.
The mont he crossed the threshold, the door vanished, leaving Lady rcury alone facing a blank wall.
Her azure eyes narrowed, pupils shrinking to needle points.
Pale blue scales rippled across her cheeks, mirroring the tiny lizard in its birdcage.
“I truly hope you grow, transmigrator,” she whispered to the empty wall.
Though Luo En had revealed nothing about himself, Lady rcury already knew his secret.
He wasn’t the first to arrive in the Bicolor Realm, and he might not be the last.
Like the ninety-nine before him, he could very well die here.
A realm that no longer played by any rules was not a kind place.
So of the earlier transmigrators had co within inches of greatness; others had perished within a day or two.
As the woman who had guided every Otherworlder who ever arrived, Lady rcury had long since seen every possible ending.
The System that clung to the Otherworlders wasn’t sothing conjured from thin air; it was the crowning achievent of the Ten Sages of the Bicolor Realm.
Its purpose was simple: cultivate the Otherworlders and set them to the task of ridding the Bicolor Realm of the Tumors that parasitized it.
Tick— A clear, musical note rang out, and the empty cup on Lady rcury’s desk brimd with water in an instant.
A tiny whirlpool spun inside the cup, and a liquid dragon slowly rose from its center.
“Lady rcury, you seem rather impatient,” the liquid dragon said. “Even an outworlder is only human. Push him too hard and he still won’t grow any faster.”
“This is the hundredth Otherworlder,” Lady rcury murmured. “This ti we’ll force the seedling upward, whatever the cost.”
They had tried so many tis already; if this continued, their enemies would begin to notice.
“Only soone with no ties to the Bicolor Realm can even touch those Tumors,” she said, glancing at the palm-sized dragon. “But we can’t simply stand by and watch.”
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