Task Rewards

Barn headed alone to the mission hall in Ice Prison Royal City.

The name of the Ice Blade 123 Squad's captain had been changed to his. The points for the missions they had completed earlier had all been settled, and what surprised him even more was that the mission points belonging to the Ice Blade 99 Squad had also been added to the Ice Blade 123 Squad's total.

He didn't know whether Annabelle or Timothy had spoken to someone behind the scenes, but the legion had accepted the merger of the two squads.

Barn didn't dwell on the reasons. With plenty of points to spend, he exchanged them for several items that suited his squad members' needs, then turned and headed back to their quarters.

In the courtyard, Declan was resting beside the stone table. The four Moonflower Deer stood gathered nearby, their expressions gentle but uneasy.

Looking at his new squad—a Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon and four Moonflower Deer—Barn spoke slowly. "Now we're all members of the Ice Blade 123 Squad. We'll be spending our days together and fighting side by side from now on, so we should look after and support one another."

After a pause, he remembered Adele's constant longing for her Godhead and brought it up himself. "Adele, your Godhead was taken by Miss Fukaloss because of an unforeseen incident. I'll find a chance to ask for it back."

At his words, Adele's Moonflower Deer face creased slightly. A hint of urgency and anxiety entered her voice as she asked cautiously, "Lord Barn, is my brother Wesker's Godhead still there?"

Barn fell silent for a moment before answering slowly. "If we get the chance, we should prioritize helping you recover your own Godhead. I don't plan to take the squad on missions for the next hundred years, so there's no need to rush. Let's wait a while and see. Perhaps Miss Fukaloss will remember one day and send someone to return it."

He wasn't just saying that to placate her. Having read the original novel thoroughly, Barn had developed exceptionally high standards when it came to Godlevel beings. He knew better than anyone that refining someone else's Godhead could restore one's strength quickly, but it would hinder future progress. He didn't want any of his squad members to ruin their chances of advancement in a moment of desperation.

Adele's expression darkened at once, the hope in her eyes replaced by disappointment.

But she also knew that she was only a Sanctuary-level being and had no standing to argue with a Godlevel being. She could only suppress her disappointment and reply respectfully, "All right. Thank you, Lord Barn. I have an innate talent for the Life Law. If I can break through to Godlevel through my own strength during this time, that would be a good thing, too."

Barn nodded slightly, then waved his hand. The mission rewards he had exchanged were laid out on the stone table. "We all risked our lives to complete the Ghost-faced Spider mission last time, so we'll split these resources evenly."

A variety of supplies had been neatly arranged on the table: thirty gleaming Soul Gold Beads, several Sanctuary-level beast cores suited to Declan and the Moonflower Deer, and six bottles of Soul Toxin that radiated a chill. They had been refined by a Midgod and were extremely potent.

"Take these beast cores for cultivation. They match your attributes. As for the Soul Gold Beads, you each get one. I'll keep the rest to use as mission rewards in the future." Barn pushed some of the supplies toward them, then picked up the six bottles of Soul Toxin and handed them out one by one. "You each get one bottle of this, too. Keep them safe. They might come in handy if you face a powerful enemy in the future, and they could even save your life in a pinch."

Declan lowered his paw and looked at the two Long Swords in the corner of the table, sounding surprised. "Are these Long Swords born from the Abyss Sword Ghost? They look like they're pretty high-grade."

"This mission earned us a lot of points, so I used what was left to exchange for these two Long Swords," Barn said calmly, glancing at the others. "Whichever of you breaks through to Godlevel through your own strength will receive one as a reward."

His standards had been spoiled by the top-tier Divine Artifacts in the original novel. Ordinary materials for crafting artifacts, not even as good as Black Jade, were beneath his notice. These two Long Swords born from Abyss Sword Ghosts were already the weapons best suited to the squad's current needs after his careful selection.

The magical beasts exchanged glances and silently accepted Barn's decision without objection.

Though Gobada was desperately short on resources, the beasts—Declan and Adele's family alike—had no use for precious materials for crafting artifacts at the moment. They would need them only if they broke through to Godlevel and had to nurture Divine Artifacts of their own. Only then would these weapons truly prove their worth.

Then Barn took a set of Light Element equipment and a small Space Ring from his own storage ring and placed them gently in front of Adele. "These are Wesker's belongings. Everything except his Godhead is in here. They're yours again."

Adele carefully accepted the belongings and ran her fingertips over the familiar Light Element armor. Her Moonflower Deer face turned sorrowful once more. The other three Moonflower Deer lowered their heads, their expressions grief-stricken.

After settling the squad members in and distributing the mission rewards, Barn returned to his room alone and closed the door.

He had never considered keeping the squad's shared mission rewards for himself. A squad could last only if its members trusted and supported one another. But he wouldn't give away the spoils that belonged to him—he had won them in a hard-fought battle, and every piece had come at a price.

Looking back, he had spent more than a hundred years with Fukaloss, but most of what he had gained early on consisted of spoils from Sanctuary-level beings. Sanctuary-level beings in Gobada were poor, and even those backed by gods had little of value on them.

Only after his final battle with Blackwood had he obtained any spoils truly worth noting.

First were the belongings left by Blackwood's Dark Element clone: a Dark Element Lowgod Godhead, a curved blade, and a close-fitting black leather armor. The latter two were Dark Element Lowgod Artifacts of decent quality.

Barn examined the curved blade. Its material was very similar to that of weapons born from Sword Demons. He guessed that it was a Divine Artifact forged from a Blood Blade born from an Abyss Blade Demon.

There were also Gideon's belongings: a greatsword and an Earth Element Lowgod Godhead. Gideon had taken a full-force blow from a Midgod, and his Defensive Divine Artifact had been destroyed.

Barn ran a hand over the greatsword Gideon had left behind. After being infused with Earth Element Divine Power for many years, the sword, once blood-red, had turned brown. But it was still far from becoming a Divine Artifact and had yet to develop a weapon spirit.

In addition, there was Wesker's Light Element Lowgod Godhead, which Barn had not given to Adele.

Then Barn took out another old-fashioned Space Ring—the one he had taken from Blackwood's Dark Element clone.

He probed it with his spiritual power and searched carefully. Satisfied, he nodded and murmured, "Now this is what you'd expect a Godlevel cultivator of the Death Law to have."

Inside the ring were ten Soul Gold Beads and many special items used in necromantic magic. Several transparent crystal balls were clearly meant to collect and store souls.

Most useful of all were five bottles of Soul Toxin, each radiating a chill. They had presumably been refined by Blackwood's Death Clone himself.

"What a shame there aren't more Divine Artifacts and Godheads." Barn frowned slightly, his voice tinged with regret. "Given his strength, it doesn't seem like he's never killed other Godlevel beings. The more valuable spoils must have been kept on his Death Clone."

As his thoughts drifted, he couldn't help thinking of Fukaloss.

He still felt some affection for his former captain. More than a hundred years of fighting side by side had become more than simple camaraderie between squadmates. If he had the chance to see her, he'd be glad to have a proper conversation with her. Besides, he still had to ask her for Adele's Godhead.

As for how he could meet Fukaloss, who had been taken back to the Royal City by Annabelle, he had made a point of asking Adele about it.

Adele's family had once lived in the Royal City for some time, so she knew a little about it. She told Barn that among Lowgods, anyone who completed the "Hundred-Battle Winning Streak" challenge could earn the right to meet the Ice Prison King. Fukaloss was currently in the Royal City, so if he could meet the king, he would naturally have a chance to see her.

Adele also explained the rules of the Hundred-Battle Winning Streak in detail. They were basically the same as what Barn had read in the original novel: the challenge required fighting opponents of the same rank and winning a hundred consecutive battles. He couldn't lose or back down along the way.

In Gobada, Highgods were extremely rare. The combined number of Highgods in the Five Royal Cities was fewer than two hundred, making a Hundred-Battle Winning Streak among Highgods almost impossible.

Even a single Royal City would struggle to gather a hundred Midgod opponents at once.

As a result, most people who completed a Hundred-Battle Winning Streak were Lowgods. Only a handful were Midgods.

"A Hundred-Battle Winning Streak?" Barn sat at the table, lightly tapping his fingers against it as a thoughtful look crossed his eyes. "If I can comprehend the Fate Law to the Lowgod level, I could give it a try."

He had already faintly sensed the presence of the Fate Law.

In the past, he had relied on the original Barn's understanding of the Fate Law to use its abilities directly. This time, after coming to this world and enduring countless battles and hardships, he had truly sensed the Fate Law for himself, through his own experiences.