This was actually quite unexpected for Bai Ye.
A hidden quest!
A chain of hidden quests!
And all he got was a green-quality item?
How dare they!
Thinking about it, Bai Ye beat his chest in frustration because he failed the third quest: to find and kill the mastermind demon, Krumeite!
The rewards for hidden quests were definitely good, so if the rewards for the first two quests were mediocre, Bai Ye felt the main event would surely be the final hidden quest. But...
He failed!
"This is truly a sad story!"
Bai Ye wore a look of helplessness. Fortunately, the sadness was short-lived. He couldn't help it if he failed, and besides...
Looking on the bright side, the Ruby Scepter was useless to Bai Ye. Although the multi-target buff was niche, the demon gathering effect could increase spiritual power and mental resistance, making it highly valuable for trade. He could definitely sell it for a premium and get a blue-quality item, which was better than nothing.
As Bai Ye mused, he glanced back and didn't see Li Jiayi.
"That guy sure ran off decisively!"
Bai Ye wasn't particularly surprised that Li Jiayi had fled.
That fellow was also an experienced and pragmatic individual. Since Demon Krumeite had left and the quest had failed, Li Jiayi was bound to run. Battles without benefits were meaningless.
Why did Bai Ye understand Li Jiayi's thoughts so clearly?
Because Bai Ye was also a pragmatist. Otherwise, he would have checked the information on the Ruby Scepter and the hidden quest instead of immediately pursuing Li Jiayi.
However...
Bai Ye wasn't keen on battles without benefits either.
Admittedly, defeating Li Jiayi offered a chance to obtain fragments of the God Stone, but that guy was not easy to deal with. The cost and reward were likely disproportionate.
As Bai Ye pondered, he kicked Gavil beside him and asked, "Lizardman Chieftain?"
Gavil looked up blankly and replied, "Yes, who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am," Bai Ye said. "Let's go, I'll take you to see your father."
Bai Ye directly grabbed Gavil and dragged him away.
Although one hidden quest had failed, Bai Ye felt there was still hope. The Orc Lord hadn't appeared yet, and the Orc Lord invasion event in the Jura Great Forest hadn't ended, which meant there should be subsequent quests. Therefore, the immediate task was to escort the lizardman back to the Monster Nation.
However, Li Jiayi had appeared...
Bai Ye felt a bit of a headache.
Just as Li Jiayi was wary of Bai Ye, Bai Ye felt that the former was not easy to deal with. The fact that he had participated in the Twelve Great Battles indicated that Li Jiayi's strength was definitely among the top tier experts in the current world battlefield. This time, they were not on the same side, and Bai Ye didn't know how he would cause trouble later!
As Bai Ye thought, he met up with Shion, brought Gavil along, and then retreated to the Monster Nation.
This time, they didn't encounter any trouble. The Orcs were still lingering in the swamp, not advancing further into the Jura Great Forest, so Bai Ye and Shion successfully returned to the Monster Nation.
And then...
With the addition of the lizardmen, Rimuru began a war council. The battle between the Monster Nation and the Orc Lord was inevitable, while Bai Ye...
Continued to be a drifter.
Bai Ye didn't need to worry about the development of the Monster Nation.
He had experience with this matter; his memories from his previous life weren't for nothing. Whether he participated in the so-called war council or mingled with Rimuru and the other natives wouldn't affect the triggering of hidden quests, because Bai Ye had already met the conditions for triggering them.
Gaining Rimuru's approval and becoming a temporary resident of the Monster Nation was the condition for triggering hidden quests, so there was no need to rack his brain doing meaningless things. He just had to wait.
As for how long the waiting time would be, Bai Ye had already made an inference.
This was because more and more Chosen Ones had appeared in the Monster Nation recently!
Therefore, according to Bai Ye's speculation, this matter was most likely related to the number of Chosen Ones. The hidden quest facing the Orc Lord army was not aimed at a single Chosen One, but would be triggered when the number of Chosen Ones reached a certain threshold.
As for the lizardman matter, Bai Ye understood it as him arriving early, thus having the good fortune to taste the appetizer. This also explained why the quest rewards were only mediocre and completely lacked the prestige of a hidden quest.
Regarding the quest involving Demon Krumeite, Bai Ye believed that mission likely directly concluded the Orc Lord invasion event, or had a significant impact. It was even possible that if Demon Krumeite was defeated, there would be no subsequent hidden quests.
Therefore, the difficulty of the mission was very high, but in return, the rewards should have been very substantial.
But...
If he failed, he failed. Bai Ye didn't want to dwell on it.
People should look forward.
...
"Hey, Bai Ye, when exactly will the Orc Lord attack?"
Bai Ye sat down at a dessert shop selling mochi balls. A burly man at the next table couldn't help but ask Bai Ye.
The burly man, named Gemmas Todd, was also a Chosen One from a fantasy world, just like Bai Ye.
Holding a stack of mochi balls, Gemmas sat in front of Bai Ye and said, "You're the only one who can enter and exit Rimuru's mansion. Don't you have any inside information?"
What is prestige?
Prestige is being able to do what others cannot. That's prestige!
Bai Ye, as the first Chosen One to arrive in the Monster Nation, was the only one who could enter and exit Rimuru's mansion. The other Chosen Ones were brought to the Monster Nation by Rimuru's subordinates. They couldn't enter Rimuru's mansion, and couldn't even speak directly with Rimuru.
Although...
Bai Ye felt this privilege was of no use, but this was prestige.
Bai Ye saw everyone around looking in his direction, shrugged, and said, "If I had inside information, would I still be here eating mochi balls?"
Gemmas said, "Bai Ye, that's not right. Even if there are hidden quests, we are on the same side, all working for the Monster Nation. There's no need for you to be secretive."
Bai Ye replied, "The problem is, I really don't have any inside information."
Gemmas sighed, and the others also showed disappointment.
Currently, the Chosen Ones in the Monster Nation had relatively harmonious relationships with each other.
Firstly, the Monster Nation was a neutral territory, and fighting each other would come at a terrible cost, especially since Rimuru's subordinates were not weak. Therefore, even though they were all "walking fragments of the God Stone," they didn't harbor any ill intentions towards each other.
Secondly, as Gemmas said, they were all on the Monster Nation's side for hidden quests. The quests should not conflict, and there was no reason to be antagonistic; instead, they should cooperate.
So, no one suspected that Bai Ye was truly hiding anything. They just lamented how much longer they would have to wait.
...