“May I ask who is the victim?” Malfy asked, curious.“Kyle.”“Ah, Mr. Kyle? I understand the cake part better.” The bug let out a sound of interest. “You would be such a good influence on his ethics. Can I offer you my help?”“You will?” The bug nodded. “Great! Any idea on how to catch him?”“I believe the quickest solution would be assassinating your rivals for Mr. Kyle's affection.”“I can’t kill half the world’s population!” Chocolatine protested. “It is impractical, and against my religion.”The fiend summoned a pen and a paper, while the first clients exited the Nethermart with weapons, potions, and other items. “Let me ask you, what relationship status are you hoping for? Shotgun wedding? Deadly mantis coupling? Cat and mouse relationship? The more details the better tailored my solution.”“No wedding.” Chocolatine hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I just want him to break into my temple, tie me up with ropes to my god’s statue, then say ‘time to desecrate this holy place,’ and—”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”“Tell the other minions to prepare the snacks. Hurry!” The kobolds scampered off, Sen closing the door’s vault behind them. “Minion Kyle, remember what I told you. You shall second all of my boasts, not speak unless addressed by a dragon first, and you will repeat that I am good, smart, and wealthy every time I am mentioned.”“Your Majesty, I have been meaning to ask, could we please avoid mentioning classes and levels?”“Minion, I have rediscovered this ancient dragon system,” Sen reminded his Doer of the Thing. “Why wouldn’t I brag about it?”“Because other dragons will compete with you over treasure if they learn to access it.”Oh, he was worried about his master’s safety and long-term dominance. Adorable. “Good, that will keep me sharp,” Sen replied, embracing the challenge. “It would do no good for my reputation if I was the strongest of my kind because they are all weak; does anyone boasts about being the best manling? Or the best troll? No, because nobody w

Much to Sen’s satisfaction, when Vren looked upon his magnificent hoard, the frost dragon’s eyes widened as if he had suffered from a stroke.“So huge and deep!” Jolie walked on the hoard, amazed by its depth, its warmth, its texture... its shininess. As a kingly gesture, Sen let his family touch his treasure, so they could feel his wealth.“It’s so warm and golden!” Genialissime added. “It’s… it’s the biggest hoard I have ever seen!”“Indeed!” Sen boasted with a quiet, smug voice. “Can you feel the warmth? The richness? The perfect mesh of jewels, gold, and princesses?”“How did you accumulate that much gold?” Vren asked, ever resentful. “Your treasure could barely fill a cave one hundred years ago!”“It is because I discovered a great, ancient secret,” Sen kept boasting. “A system designed to make dragons even richer! By dragons, for dragons!”“Twelve gods, please forgive me…” Manling Kyle muttered to himself in a corner, while the dragons examined every inch of Sen’s hoard, looking

When Kyle reached Murmurin, he found the village under siege. The Ishfanian scouts had reached it first.Thankfully, all the training and drilling had borne fruit. Everyone in the K&K Adventurer Company was armed, and the citizens had set barricades south of the village, where the bulk of the army came from. Allison and Rolo had summoned a thick, dense barrier of thorns and blackberries around the village to delay the invaders, entangling soldiers with plants.Rushing on the back of the Black Beast from the north, Kyle rode to the town square, where the minions fought off dozens of invaders around Sen’s statue. Most of the enemies were armored elf soldiers with tridents or cursed bows while huge gargoyles served as their heavy hitters.Thanks to the weapons crafted by Barnabas or bought from Malfy—both of whom participated in the battle—the gnolls, kobolds, and undead held their own against their opponents, swarming them at the numbers of three against one. The werewolves, fully trans

Rolo went berserk at the sight of his sheep trampled down, his rusted body heating up; moving faster than Kyle's own mount, the golem broke past the fence like an unstoppable juggernaut. Following him, the Reaper cut a fairy hound’s flesh as it attempted to lunge at him, both the beast and the squire’s own ride circling one another. Savoureuse hid among the panicked sheep, waiting for her chance for a sneak attack.The fairy birds dived on them like birds of prey, one of them catching Savoureuse by surprise and trying to drag her up. Junior grabbed some of the sheep trying to flee the battle, then launched them at the crow as improvised projectiles, forcing the crow to release its captive. Then the mimic grabbed the sword working as its lure and used it to slice the neck of a fairy hound reaching for him. “Sword!” Junior snarled, showing surprising swordsmanship.Above them, Melodieuse began to sing a spell. Kyle, still struggling against butt pain, attempted to blast her by channelin