MMORPG: Crowd Control

The Tome of Demise was quickly stored in his inventory, lest some misfortune might arrive and cause him to lose it.

Though the chances of that happening were low since the Tome of Demise was a bound item, meaning it cannot be sold, traded, or dropped in any situation.

'Finally, all those damn document work and hours of planning paid off. I can finally have a good magic item.' Lei Zhen thought to himself.

"Lei Zhen, you are really excited," Kate said in an astonished tone.

This was the first time she saw him acting so joyful at an event. Not even when they had successfully caught the two princes did he show any joyful emotions.

'Of course, I'm excited. Do you know how much I have suffered to get this item?' That was what Lei Zhen wanted to reply to her, but kept it to his heart.

"I'm excited since it's a treasure kept precious by you and your father. How could I not be joyful?" He said calmly, acting almost as if this was only natural.

Alas, Lei Zhen's calmness couldn't fool the keen eyes of Francis Norton.

'So Lei Zhen loves treasures after all. That would make things much simpler.' Francis Norton thought to himself.

"Lei Zhen, I still haven't rewarded you for returning the Ferold's Ring back to us." Francis Norton suddenly said.

And he continued, "I doubt any of these treasures here might catch your eyes, so how about becoming an honorable chancellor of Yors Castle. I know you are just acting as one, but now you can be a real one and enjoy the benefits of a chancellor without working like one."

"That's a great reward, father." Kate was the first one to clap her hand in joy. This was exactly what she wanted from the beginning. Lei Zhen was simply too talented to not be placed in such a high position.

Meanwhile, Lei Zhen twitched his mouth in disbelief.

Like father, like daughter, the two of them are practically mafia, forcing him to accept a position he doesn't want.

Just when Lei Zhen wanted to shake his head to refuse such tedious work, Francis Norton grinned wickedly and said, "Although you'll be an honorable chancellor, it'll be rude for us to not give you anything in return. Hence, any two items you see here that are somewhat to your liking, feel free to take it."

Lei Zhen's body temporarily froze when he heard his words.

Any two items he wants?

Was this the reward for completing Robert Knightman's quest?

Suddenly, a random thought popped up in Lei Zhen's mind.

This was too good to be true and he felt like accepting this meant a continuation of Robert Knightman's quest.

He had read articles of some players receiving mission upon mission after completing the previous one.

And it just so happened that Yors Castle was still in conflict, just not an internal one anymore, but an external conflict.

"Could the black mage be hired by someone in Lux Forest instead?" Lei Zhen muttered.

Ding!

[You have figured out parts of Yors Castle's ongoing external conflict]

[You have pieced the puzzle together and realized a crucial part of the external conflict: the black mage]

Seeing the system prompt appearing, Lei Zhen cursed silently in his mind, 'Not Again!'.

After all, he realized what this meant and he quickly opened his supposedly clean mission tab, only to find out one mission was accepted.

[Mission Name: Capture the Black Mage (Continuation Quest)

Difficulty: Hard

Description: A black mage was hired by someone from the Lux Forest. Find the black mage and capture him alive to gather intel.

Mission Failure: Black Mage escaped or Black Mage died.

Reward: Mana Crystal x20, Mage Clothes Set(Epic Rank)]

As expected, he had automatically accepted the quest whether he wanted to or not.

'Why is it always me? How come no other players encounter this one?' Lei Zhen thought to himself.

The internal conflict was already solved yet now the external conflict must be dealt with by him as well.

"Anyway, I'll leave the two of you here and that's because I trust you." Francis Norton laughed heartily and hurriedly left the scene.

As for the treasures, he believed in Kate and knew she wouldn't let Lei Zhen take any more than he was promised. And even if she didn't, there was no loss since the real treasures were always kept hidden.

'Robert's tactic truly worked. Just force the mission on him and all is well.' Francis Norton smiled before turning solemn when he started making his way toward the prison cell.

The treasury room is now left with only Lei Zhen and Kate as the atmosphere became quite awkward.

"Are you alright, Lei Zhen?" Kate asked nervously.

She could sort of guess that he was feeling somewhat bitter to be forced to do something else again. Yet she didn't bother to help because she wanted this outcome as well.

"I'm fine…" Lei Zhen took a few seconds to reply.

"I'm just thinking about which two treasures here are suitable for me." He added.

Although the room was brimmed with treasures, there are a lot of items that require a high level to be equipped and some aren't even suitable for him to begin with.

His Crowd Control class might be unique but could also be considered a subsidiary class of the mage and sorcerer. Therefore, the treasures are very limited if he wanted a weapon or armor.

'Hmm, no point in getting a weapon or armor when I can't even use it yet. So far, I just got lucky with Arch of the Magi and Tome of Demise that don't have level restriction.' Lei Zhen thought to himself.

Seeing how Lei Zhen was pondering, Kate asked, "If you don't like these treasures, would you prefer something else such as an enchantment or other things that can improve one's stats?"

"Improve one's stats?" Lei Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"We can improve our stat values besides leveling up?" He asked in a dazed tone.