The Laughing Swordsman

A massacre occurred.

The shadow monkeys simply had nowhere to run.

Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

It seemed somebody else was doing his job for him.

Once all the shadow monkeys were consumed, the numerous creatures began to wiggle.

Apollo strained his eyes further on the flickering creatures.

Their skin split apart from their center. It was almost like they were cut through.

Flesh grew from this gap, causing their bodies to expand.

Suddenly, they split in two. Amniotic fluid splashed across the ground while skin rapidly covered their exposed body.

The creatures duplicated.

The ecosystem of this forest had always been in a precarious balance.

The shadow monkeys would eat the fruit of light, while the creatures would eat the shadow monkeys.

Once the creatures had eaten enough, they would duplicate.

Normally, they would have a difficult time catching up to the shadow monkeys. As such, the rate of their duplication was small.

However, Apollo had gone around killing these shadow monkeys.

This allowed the creatures to feast on their corpses, letting them duplicate further.

Now, they could overwhelm the shadow monkeys with pure numbers.

Apollo smirked.

He no longer had to lift a finger to complete his request.

Apollo turned to Layla.

"Hey, let's go find some more penumbra trees."

Layla nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok!"

With that, the two of them traversed the forest. Whenever they encountered a penumbra tree, they would strip it clean of any fruit.

At some point, Apollo was resting on a tree branch. He raised an eyebrow. Something in his pocket heated up.

He reached inside to see his copper coin.

Although normally it would look like any other copper coin, right now, both his symbol and the association's symbol were glowing brightly.

Layla curiously peeked over.

"What is that?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"A glorified name tag."

Layla gasped in awe.

"Wow! How did you get it?"

Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Uh... there was this old lady that gave it to me."

Layla nodded with a cute, but serious expression.

"Got it! Old lady..."

Apollo furrowed his brows.

He guessed that his mission was complete. He believed that there wouldn't be a place to claim his request considering how remote this place was.

However, he may as well try.

Apollo turned to Layla.

"Hey, I'm going to leave for a little while."

Layla tilted her head to the side. A pout formed on her face

"What? Nooo!"

Apollo ignored her cries and stepped into his shadow.

With a flash, he found himself in the shadow world. He covered his eyes because of the glaring light in front of him.

Once his eyes adjusted, he saw what was emitting all that light.

...It was a slightly parted eye.

The association had a base right here?

Apollo decided to stop questioning it.

His hand touched the symbol, sending him to the request room.

Apollo took a deep breath.

Then was slammed onto the wall.

"No leavingggg!"

Layla was somehow also in the room. She threw herself at Apollo, causing him to crash into the wall. Her arms wrapped around him tightly.

Apollo was in a daze. The air was knocked out of him.

He blinked a few times, breaking out of his stupor.

Apollo was shocked to see Layla in the room with him. He didn't even realize that his rib cage was slowly breaking under the force of her hug.

"What... How did you get here?"

Layla suddenly perked up.

"I followed you!"

Apollo clutched his head using his free hand.

Who was this girl?

Layla let go of Apollo, then proceeded to jump up and down.

"You aren't leaving anymore?"

Apollo smiled bitterly.

"I guess not."

Layla raised both hands in the air.

"Yay!~"

Apollo shook his head. He walked up to the grey desk and flipped his coin.

He didn't seem to be concerned by Layla watching closely.

The coin disappeared above the grey desk. Plumes of mist spread throughout the room.

To Apollo's surprise, seven lines of white mist condensed in front of him.

The mission gave him three chances?

Apollo looked down at the desk.

There were three items

The parchment for the extermination of the shadow monkeys was torn in two.

Next to that was a small black leather pouch.

Apollo picked it up. The pouch easily fitted in his hand, making it exceptionally convenient to carry.

He tucked it away and looked at the last item.

It was a small slip of parchment with a few words neatly printed on top.

He picked it up and read its contents.

'You have completed a mission with sufficient difficulty. As such, you are eligible to be promoted. To finish this process, please acquire at least ten chances to use your coin.

Note: Failed missions will deduct chances according to the difficulty level.'

The small slip disintegrated into mist after Apollo read it.

Layla was looking from over his shoulder.

"What is that?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"It says I can get promoted if I complete enough requests."

Layla gasped in awe.

"Woah!"

She clapped enthusiastically.

"Then let's do requests!"

Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger for a moment. Then, he chuckled.

"Alright, why not?"

His coin had tumbled onto the desk.

Apollo picked it up and flipped it once more.

The coin once again disappeared into a plume of mist.

Six lines of white mist condensed in front of him.

The corner of Apollo's lip twitched.

There was only one parchment.

...It wouldn't be gold coins, right?

His eyes darted to the reward section.

'Reward: Basic Elixir of Flexibility'

Apollo's heart leaped.

Not only was it not a few gold coins, but it sounded like a power increase.

That was enough to get him excited.

Layla pushed against Apollo's shoulder to get a closer look. Her tail swayed gently.

'Rank: Copper Coin - Iron Lined

Target: Eagle Berry

Description: Light grey fruit in the shape of a strawberry. Only found within the third layer of the Forest of Misery. Fruits are found on Eagle Berry Bushes. Consumption will lead to sharper vision. Effectiveness lowers each time it is consumed.

Requirements: Collect Ten Eagle Berries in Good Condition.'