[ Objective 1's threat 'Corrupted#15'... ]

[ Level-Up bar progress +20%! ]

"Meow…"

Slashing away the head of another Corrupted fishhead that seemed to come out of nowhere, I noticed Light's head peeking out of my bag as he let out a low meow, it looked like he wanted to fight alongside me.

"I know you want to help, and I also want you to gain a few levels, but you should hide till we get a grasp of the current situation."

Looking at the bag which I used Long's 'Illusion' on to keep it invisible as it didn't suit my current 'attire', I could only pat Light's head lightly after muttering these few words...

"Meow!"

Looking at me with a cute pouting expression that usually couldn't be seen on a cat's face, Light put his face away as he dived back into the bag, it seemed like he was throwing a tantrum.

'I'm sorry…'

As an infant whose age would be still counted in months, Light was definitely unlike other children, the mental inheritance that he received from his father as well as his mental connection with me made it so that he wasn't only interested in playing or to speak more accurately, unusual acts such as fighting was one of his ways of playing.

Naturally, he found the most joy in 'playing' alongside me who was like a big brother figure for him, one who was connected to him all the time, but at this point, I had to deny his wishes due to the situations' special circumstances.

Not to mention the fact that I had to maximize the benefits received from these 'threats' to raise my level, both the strength and the tactics that these Corrupted fishheads used were enough to threaten Light unless he used his 'Full-growth' form, and even then, he would struggle to deliver a quick killing blow before they disappeared into the water.

Considering the little information that I got from the two half-dragon guides which confirmed my suspicion about the Demons' invasion progress being quite advanced, it was obviously better to reach the 'stronghold' of the Dragon clan quickly so I could gain a complete understanding of the Fire Domain's situation.

As such, even I had to use the Longsword form of 'Lightning Cloud' to swiftly cut their heads with full strength to lower the degree of danger, so no matter how much Light sulked, I could only ignore it for now.

'Sharing a few bowls of noodles with him later should be enough to soothe his anger!'

[ Objective 1's threat 'Corrupted#16'... ]

[ Level-Up bar progress +20%! ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have reached level 115! ]

"Amazing, as expected of sir Azure, you treat the monsters of the Shadow Army as if they are nothing!"

Looking at the junior half-dragon who kept staring at me with sparkling eyes, I ignored his praise as I smiled at the blue screen that notified me of my third level up today.

"Oi, while I do agree that sir Azure is amazing, you shouldn't look to the side while we are running at this speed, we would be nothing but failures if we even screw up a simple mission of showing the way…"

"I told you to just call me Azure, didn't I? Also, for how long do we have to continue moving in this swamp area?"

While it was indeed refreshing to level up this fast like the old days, it didn't seem like these levels were as easy to come by as the quest described them to be...

Starting from the point that we departed the forest which was apparently called the 'Withering Forest', several types of Corrupted appeared to obstruct our path, they all seemed to be beastmen which fell to the demons corruption somehow, their numbers confirmed that the situation was indeed dreadful, but at the same time, it meant that I would at least level up tens of times, so I was secretly happy at this grand opportunity.

or so was the case at the beginning...

After striking down the first attacker that approached us, I was greeted by the ugly truth that not all Corrupted counted as 'threats'!

Of course, it quickly made sense as the average strength of these attackers were slightly below those of the two 'guides' and most importantly, they didn't seem to be targeting them specifically either, according to the two half-dragons themselves they simply attacked any normal living beings that they came upon.

Luckily, within the packs of a twenty or so Corrupted, one or two especially strong ones seemed to satisfy the condition of being actual 'threats', allowing me to at least gain one more level.

However, as soon as we entered this swamp-like area that was full of lakes, Corrupted 'fishheads' kept jumping out of nowhere, and the number of those within them that qualified as 'threats' were larger in number that I gained another level within 10 minutes of entering this area.

Such a thing was obviously bad news, even though it seemed like an optimal level farming spot, that would only pass if the two 'guides' were still alive, and that was hard to guarantee in the situation where lakes kept spitting Corrupted 'fishheads' at them. After all, while I was quite experienced in self-defense, my only experience when it came to nannying people was that one time I helped Starry city's party.

"Sorry to trouble you so much sir Azure, It shouldn't take more than another half an hour to pass through the merfolk's land. Although it's quite dangerous now that the Shadow Army's influence has reached this place, it's truly the fastest way for us to reach our destination, so I hope you can understand my intentions…"

"No problem."

Since the whole path to the Dragon clan's stronghold wasn't completely inside this land, ensuring their safety for less than an hour should be more or less possible.

'I can also take this chance to get a few more levels…'

[ Objective 1's... ]

[ Level-Up bar progress +20%! ]