The Unexpectedly Completed Main Quest

"Lister Merick, in recognition of your extermination of a tribe of fourth-tier Cyclopes and your great contribution to the stability of the Kingdom of Lucian, I hereby grant you the title of count in the name of the king of Lucian."

As King Kerry finished speaking, he handed the document of enfeoffment to Lister.

Lister accepted it with both hands. After putting it away, he placed one hand against his chest in a gesture of allegiance.

King Kerry then picked up a short purplish-red scepter.

After lightly tapping Lister on the chest with it, he handed it to him.

Lister was a little surprised. He had expected the Kingdom of Lucian to grant him a noble title.

Even setting aside the enormous benefits of the turquoise mine, the promised position of envoy alone should have earned him a noble title in the Kingdom of Lucian.

But granting him the title of count right from the start was far more generous than he had expected.

Although the title was not hereditary and applied only to him, given the current state of affairs in the Kingdom of Lucian,

Lister could use it to enter the kingdom's highest noble circles.

The Kingdom of Lucian was now using the merits the Duchy of Will had deliberately overlooked as grounds to grant Lister a title.

At the same time, King Kerry opened another document of appointment.

"Effective immediately, Lister Merick is appointed a diplomat of the Kingdom of Lucian."

"He shall have full responsibility for diplomatic affairs between the Kingdom of Lucian and the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty."

"The kingdom's Sixth Guard shall be placed under Lister Merick's command to assist in diplomatic work."

"The Great Chu Imperial Dynasty? Where is that country?"

"Do we have a country or territory by that name around here?"

The nobles around them began discussing it and asking one another about the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty.

But in the end, none of them had any idea. None had ever heard of it.

"No idea. Probably some small country that popped up somewhere?"

"Count Merrick is only taking charge of the Sixth Guard for diplomatic activities. It's nothing major."

"But Count Merrick sure is lucky! The royal family actually took a liking to him and arranged a count's title for him."

One of the nobles could not help but interject.

"You can't put it like that. Count Merrick is quite strong."

"I heard he was only a third-tier professional when he wiped out a fourth-tier monster tribe. He has a promising future!"

Lister accepted the document, a dazed look on his face.

Everyone around him assumed he was simply overjoyed at being made a count.

Even King Kerry in front of him and the eldest prince behind him thought the same and paid it no further attention.

In truth, however, Lister was excited by the system notifications before him.

"Congratulations, you have completed the main quest, Reforge Merick's Glory-Glory Throughout Lucian (stage two)."

"Congratulations, you have received 10 free attribute points, 5 million experience points, 100,000 gold coins, and one resurrection chance!"

[Current available resurrections: 0 → 1]

Looking at the series of main quest rewards before him, Lister was already ecstatic.

He had only meant to take a gamble, thinking that with a noble title from the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty,

he might be able to complete the quest after returning from there.

Who would have thought that, at the very start, the main quest would automatically be completed because of his status as a count and diplomat?

This enormous haul of experience and free attribute points would allow Lister to truly reach the fourth tier.

In the Kingdom of Lucian, he had met quite a few fourth-tier powerhouses, most of whom had already maxed out their skill levels.

With what he had gained today, Lister finally had a chance to catch up!

More importantly, the resurrection chance would let him be bolder in his future endeavors.

It had to be said that the Kingdom of Lucian was very meticulous in its affairs.

Once the ceremony was over and Lister emerged from the palace, a kingdom administrator immediately approached him.

He was assigned a residence befitting a count. It was not a castle, but it was a detached house in the central district near the royal palace.

When Lister stepped inside, an enormous fireplace came into view, along with luxurious purple leather sofas and a magnificent crystal chandelier.

The entire house was decorated so lavishly that it was even considerably finer than what Lister had seen in the royal palace on his last visit.

"Count Merrick, are you satisfied with this property?"

"If you aren't, you can contact me at any time to exchange it. My name is Lili, a third-grade clerk in the sixth division of the Central General Office."

"Do all new nobles get accommodations of the same standard as mine?"

Lister was naturally satisfied with the residence. Although it was much smaller than his castle, its interior was far more comfortable than Merrick Castle.

Sure enough, the Kingdom of Lucian was different. It was much better than the Duchy of Will in this regard.

"Well... my lord, all nobles other than hereditary nobles with fiefs are assigned a residence in the royal capital."

"The construction of the houses was funded centrally by the Central Finance Bureau, but the interior decorations were all paid for by the eldest prince twenty years ago."

After a brief hesitation, the clerk gave a simple explanation of the residence.

Sure enough, this was how Hughes won over the life peers who lived in the royal capital and could not pass on their titles.

The new nobles in the City of Bode would all ultimately benefit from the eldest prince and naturally feel more favorably toward him.

He must have used these methods back when his position as heir was not yet fully secured.

By now, there was no need. Hughes's claim to the throne had long since become unshakable.

"My lord, there are a few more items you need to sign for."

Lili had several cabinets carried in and handed Lister a parchment scroll.

The parchment recorded the gift of a small purple-gold mine, as well as ten percent of the annual proceeds from the turquoise mine.

Purple gold was worth dozens of times more than red copper and could be used to make third- to fourth-tier equipment.

Of course, valuable as it was, it did not have the same absolute strategic significance as the turquoise mine.

As for the ten-percent share of the turquoise mine, Lister was rather surprised. He had not expected the Lucian Royal Family to actually leave him a share of the profits.

He knew the size of the turquoise vein. Ten percent of the annual output from the surveyed portion alone was already equivalent to a small or medium-sized turquoise vein.

Although Lister had felt indifferent toward the eldest prince after their encounter that night, or even disliked him,

when it came to handing out actual benefits, the prince was not stingy at all.

Lister also opened the chests on the spot and inspected their contents one by one.

They contained several sets of fourth-tier, B-grade excellent equipment, which he could share with Count Conner's Family later.

There was also an entire chest of potions, over a hundred bottles in all. If he was not mistaken, they were all Lucian's Turquoise Solution (C-grade).

They were not very useful to Lister himself, but they would help him develop his own forces. This batch of potions was probably what Quint wanted most.

"My lord, there is also this potion. Prince Kavin chose it for you."

Lili opened the last wooden chest. Inside the large chest was a smaller one, and only after opening that did she reveal a bottle of green potion shimmering with color.

Even its surface sparkled, lush and green, as though it held boundless vitality.

"Congratulations, you have obtained Lucian's Special Turquoise Stock Solution (B-grade)."

[Lucian's Special Turquoise Stock Solution (B-grade): Grants +2 to all four attributes when consumed. Note: This potion can be consumed repeatedly. It has no effect after the second class advancement.]

It really was a special stock solution. The +2 to all four attributes alone, eight free attribute points in total, was astonishing enough.

Not to mention that the potion could be consumed repeatedly. No wonder the royal family members had maxed-out attributes.

A country that had controlled a turquoise vein for hundreds of years had indeed explored turquoise's potential to the fullest.