Leo went to a secluded spot, took out a crystal ball, and directly sent an invitation to the command center.
A moment later, a voice came from inside the crystal ball.
"At the command center of the Black Skull Stigmata Wizard's starship, where the expeditionary force of the Black Tomb World rests, esteemed recipient of the Third-Class Wizard Medal, may I ask what questions you have?"
"I want to ask about the hidden information surrounding the mission that just took place to wipe out the million-strong army of Eyeless Spider, and what the living creature that could command that million-strong army of Eyeless Spider is."
Silence fell over the crystal ball; no sound came out. But a few seconds later, the sound from before resounded.
"Those who receive the Third-Class Wizard Medal are qualified to know information about hidden quests in the Black Tomb World."
Hidden Quest 1: Find living creatures.
"Hidden Mission Two: Explore the Abilities of Living Creatures."
Hidden Quest Three: Find the entrance to the second underground level.
Hidden Quest Four: Find the World God of the Vanished Black Tomb World.
"Hidden Quest Five: Find a way to manipulate souls in the Black Tomb World."
"By the joint order of the Black Skull Stigmata Wizard, the Bloody Battleaxe Stigmata Wizard, and the Big Ben Stigmata Wizard, in order to reduce the wizard mortality rate, hidden missions must not be disclosed to ordinary wizards. Only those who have obtained Third-Class Wizard Medal or higher and Level Three Great Wizard can know about them."
"Wizard Leo, please obey this order and do not inform any other wizards. Otherwise, you will be responsible for any consequences arising from your actions."
Leo was taken aback. He had only intended to ask about the living creature, but he hadn't expected there to be a hidden mission in the expedition world.
Why didn't anyone tell him that?
Actually, this isn't the fault of the people in the command center, because hidden missions are a common practice among high-level wizards. How could they not know that Leo had obtained Third-Class Wizard Medal?
He should have asked before the real battle even started, but instead, people thought he wasn't interested.
Strictly speaking, this is the fault of the Purple Flame Stigmata Wizard. When he awarded Leo the medal, he only mentioned that there were many privileges and functions that Leo would need to explore on his own.
Leo wanted to thank his whole family!
Should follow-up intelligence be relayed promptly?
"Yes, I need to know anything."
"Okay, here's the current intelligence: three living creatures have been discovered so far. Their species and appearance are unknown. They can command an army of Eyeless Spider numbering no more than ten million."
"According to the command center's analysis, these living beings possess some of the abilities of the Child of the Plane. Please be extremely careful if you encounter them."
"The passage to the second underground world has been found, but it is not recommended to travel through the passage to the second underground world now. It will only be opened after the danger level is assessed."
"This is all the intelligence we have at the moment. We wish Lord Leo the best of luck!"
Leo touched the wizard medal he wore on his chest. He had never imagined that the medal would grant so many privileges. While other wizards were still clearing things out little by little according to the mission requirements, they were already controlling the entire battlefield.
Every hidden quest here is about the essence of the Black Tomb World.
Now Leo faces another problem: whether he should also undertake these hidden quests. Completing just one during the expedition would yield far greater rewards than that of an ordinary wizard.
However, his strength is only at level one, which is too weak. There is a 99.99% chance that he will return empty-handed and waste this precious time for learning during the expedition.
"So? Did you get any answers?" Alice appeared beside Leo without him noticing.
Leo looked at Alice, the stunningly beautiful ice queen, whose face now showed a hint of fatigue. After years of non-stop fighting, Elemental Wizard, unlike conjoined wizards with superhuman stamina, were not immune to feeling tired.
Leo nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "According to the joint request issued by the three Stigmata Wizard, I cannot tell anyone. I'm sorry."
"Hehe"
Leo's apology didn't anger Alice; instead, it made Alice laugh.
"Have you forgotten who I am? I already knew about this."
"When did you find out? Wasn't it said that it could only be issued to medal recipients and Level Three Great Wizard?" Leo looked at Alice in surprise. Even if Alice was a student of Stigmata Wizard, she shouldn't have such great power.
"I certainly don't know the specific details of the mission, but I will say I know there's a hidden mission," Alice said.
"Are you looking to do a hidden quest?"
Alice immediately saw through Leo's thoughts; after all, who wouldn't be tempted by such a lucrative mission?
The command center doesn't disclose the missions because they fear that if all wizards take them, it will severely delay the expedition and cause numerous casualties. Therefore, such missions are only for high-level wizards with special abilities.
Didn't you hear that just the living creatures that appear possess the characteristics of Child of Destiny?
"Child of Destiny," or " Child of the Plane," are general terms used in the Wizard World to refer to a type of creature with exceptionally good luck.
When a world encounters danger, it will activate a counter-danger mechanism, which will give birth to the so-called " Child of Destiny ".
They carry the power of the world, as if they are the most beloved darlings of heaven and earth, exuding an aura of dominance, and gaining unimaginable benefits wherever they go.
The Child of Destiny is the creature a wizard hates to encounter the most!
Just like in Earth novels, the Child of Destiny always manages to turn misfortune into good fortune, and what doesn't defeat him makes him stronger.
In reality, the Child of Destiny" is merely a means for the world to deal with crises; those whose fates have already been arranged are the most pitiful!
"Let's go, we still have cleanup work to do."
Leo kept the information about the hidden mission to himself. He wanted to do it, but he wasn't strong enough, so he could only wait and see. There was no rush for the first expedition mission; there would be plenty of opportunities later.
"A rational choice," Alice said with a light laugh.
Having seen the hidden quest, she knew how difficult it would be for a normal wizard to control their evil thoughts upon seeing such a quest. It was like placing a mountain of gold in front of an ordinary person and telling them to take as much as they wanted—how many people could resist?
It's truly remarkable that Leo was able to remain calm.
As soon as the two returned, they noticed that the other people were looking at them strangely. The last time Leo saw that look was back on Earth, when a couple among his colleagues had their secret relationship exposed, and he had been looking at them with that same gaze.
Alice seemed used to it, her face expressionless.
Alice didn't explain, so naturally Leo won't either; let your imaginations run wild.
"Let's go, the mission has been assigned. Let's continue clearing out the Eyeless Spider in the underground cave," April said.
The expedition missions weren't as enjoyable as I'd imagined; they mostly involved repeatedly performing the same tasks, eliminating as many threats as possible to the wizards.
The wizard's expedition will conduct an assessment of the entire world, judging each plant and animal as either beneficial or harmful.
Preserve what is beneficial, vigorously cultivate what has economic value, and eliminate what is harmful—it's that simple.
Eyeless Spider, being undead creatures, are destined to be pests, and their numbers must be strictly controlled to not exceed 1%, leaving only a tiny fraction as the base population.
If needed in the future, this 1% can be reused as a seed.
The remaining 99% can only be eliminated; as for which 1% are left, that's up to luck.
Leo seemed to have forgotten about the hidden quest, so he followed the team and slowly cleared the area, one cave after another, killing the Eyeless Spider one by one.
A small team like theirs can clear an area of 100 kilometers in three years. Given the total number of wizards in the army, it would only take less than twenty years to completely clear the area and complete the mission.
"Let's go, there's one more."
Three years, three years, and then another three years, spending Heavenly Capital traversing the caves.
That day, they were cleaning as usual, but Allison suddenly called out to everyone in a panic.
"No, there's an energy reaction from a large number of Eyeless Spider three kilometers away."
Allison's face was very pale, tinged with fear. "The number is probably over a million."
"Back off, don't make a sound, back off."
April immediately retreated. The memory of the million-strong army of Eyeless Spider from ten years ago was still vivid in her mind; her entire team had almost been wiped out that time.
That was when 100,000 wizards and hundreds of thousands of slaves were besieging them. Now, their small team of ten was facing an army of Eyeless Spider of this caliber. Escaping and reporting the situation was their top priority.
"It's too late, they've spotted us, the Eyeless Spider are already charging in." Allison's words came too late, because everyone heard the dense, piercing sounds coming from deep within the cave.
This sound is the peculiar sound made by the sharp toes of Eyeless Spider piercing through rocks.
Previously, what they heard was very faint, but this time the intensity far exceeded any previous occurrence.
"Run!"
In the time it takes to utter a single sentence, the army of Eyeless Spider had already arrived. The narrow cave was crammed with Eyeless Spider, and they charged madly towards Leo and his companions.
The current environment is not like the surface where they can run around freely; they are now in a cave hundreds of meters underground. With their strength, they simply cannot break through the thick rock layers and can only run out along the cave entrance.
The winding cave may appear to be only a few hundred meters from the ground, but it is actually tens of kilometers away.
"Squeak squeak squeak"
But just as they had run a short distance, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached their ears.
"Yes..."
The expressions on everyone's faces changed instantly; it was that creature that could command an army of Eyeless Spider.
That's incredibly unlucky!
Leo's expression changed slightly, but unlike the others, he remembered the hidden quests. Two of the five hidden quests were related to this mysterious creature.
When no one else was paying attention, Alice looked at Leo, who was running at the back, and saw a flicker of hesitation on Leo's face.
"You all go first, I'll cover the rear."
Leo hesitated for only two seconds before turning around and running away.