This was actually something that caught Bai Ye by surprise.
A hidden quest!
A chain of hidden quests!
And all he got was a green-quality item?
How could they be so shameless!
Thinking of this, Bai Ye thumped his chest in regret, because he had failed the third quest, to find and defeat the mastermind, the demon Kurumit!
Hidden quest rewards were definitely good, so if the rewards for the first two quests were mediocre, Bai Ye figured the main event would be the final hidden quest, but...
He had failed!
"This is truly a sad story!"
Bai Ye looked helpless, but at least the sadness didn't last long. It was a failure, and there was nothing he could do. Besides...
Looking on the bright side, the Ruby Scepter was useless to Bai Ye. Although the multi-target boost effect was niche, the magic gathering effect that increased mental power and mental resistance made it quite valuable for trading, and he could definitely get a blue-quality item for it, so it wasn't a total loss.
As Bai Ye pondered, he glanced back and didn't see Li Jiayi.
"That guy sure ran decisively!"
Bai Ye wasn't particularly surprised by Li Jiayi's escape.
That fellow was also an experienced pragmatist. Since the demon Kurumit had left and the quest had failed, Li Jiayi would naturally flee. Battles without benefit 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, rather than immediately pursuing Li Jiayi.
However...
Bai Ye was also unwilling to engage in battles without benefits.
Admittedly, defeating Li Jiayi offered a chance to obtain a Shard of God's Stone, but that guy wasn't easy to deal with, and the cost versus reward was likely disproportionate.
As Bai Ye thought, he kicked Gavril beside him. "Lizardman chief?"
Gavril looked up blankly. "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 picked up Gavril and dragged him away.
Although one hidden quest had failed, Bai Ye felt there was still hope. The Orc Lord had not yet appeared, and the Orc Lord's invasion event in Jura Great Forest was not over, which meant there should be subsequent quests. Therefore, what needed to be done now was to first bring the lizardman back to the Monster Country.
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 guy 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, he was not on the same side as Bai Ye, and it was unknown how he would cause trouble later!
As Bai Ye mused, he met up with Shion and retreated to the Monster Country with Gavril.
This time, they didn't encounter any trouble. The orcs were still lingering in the marshlands and hadn't advanced further into the Jura Great Forest, so Bai Ye and Shion successfully returned to the Monster Country.
And then...
With the addition of the lizardmen, Rimuru began a war council. The battle between the Monster Country and the Orc Lord was inevitable, while Bai Ye...
Continued to be a wanderer.
Bai Ye didn't need to worry about the development of the Monster Country.
He had experience with this. His memories from his past life weren't for nothing. Whether he participated in so-called war councils or mingled with Rimuru and the other natives wouldn't affect the triggering of hidden quests, because Bai Ye had already met the conditions to trigger them.
Gaining Rimuru's recognition and becoming a temporary resident of the Monster Country was the condition for triggering hidden quests, so there was no need to rack his brain doing pointless things. All he had to do was wait.
As for how long the wait would be, Bai Ye had already made an inference.
Because, recently, more Chosen Ones had appeared in the Monster Country!
Therefore, based on Bai Ye's conjecture, this matter was very likely related to the number of Chosen Ones. The hidden quest for 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.
Regarding the lizardman matter, Bai Ye understood it as him arriving early, hence he had the fortune of tasting the appetizer. This also explained why the quest reward was only so-so, not befitting a hidden quest at all.
As for the quest concerning the demon Kurumit, Bai Ye thought that quest might directly end the Orc Lord's invasion event, or have a significant impact. In fact, defeating the demon Kurumit might mean there would be no subsequent hidden quests.
Therefore, the quest's difficulty was very high, but in return, the reward should have been quite substantial.
However...
If it failed, it 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 dango, and a burly man at the next table couldn't help but ask him.
The burly man, named Gemmas Todd, was also a Chosen One from a fantasy world, just like Bai Ye.
Holding a plate of dango, Gemmas sat in front of Bai Ye. "You're the only one who can enter and exit Rimuru's mansion. Don't you have any inside information?"
What is called "face"?
Having "face" means being able to do what others cannot. That's having "face"!
Bai Ye, as the first Chosen One to arrive in the Monster Country, was the only one who could enter and exit Rimuru's mansion. The other Chosen Ones were brought to the Monster Country by Rimuru's subordinates. They couldn't enter Rimuru's mansion, and couldn't even directly communicate with Rimuru.
Although...
Bai Ye felt this privilege was of little use, it was still "face."
Bai Ye looked around as everyone turned their attention to him and shrugged. "If I had inside information, would I be sitting here eating dango?"
Gemmas said, "Bai Ye, that's not right. Even if there are hidden quests, we are on the same side. We are all working for the Monster Country. There's no need to keep things to yourself."
Bai Ye replied, "The problem is, I really don't have any inside information."
Gemmas sighed, and the others also looked disappointed.
Currently, the Chosen Ones in the Monster Country had a relatively harmonious relationship with each other.
Firstly, the Monster Country was a neutral territory, and fighting each other would incur a severe price, especially since Rimuru's subordinates were not weak. Therefore, even though they were all "walking Shards of God's Stone," they didn't harbor ill intentions towards each other.
Secondly, as Gemmas had said, they were all on the Monster Country's side for hidden quests. The quests should not conflict, so there was no reason to be antagonistic. Instead, they should cooperate.
Therefore, no one suspected that Bai Ye was truly hiding something. They just lamented about how long they would have to wait.
...