34 Rewards and punishment

[OP: ]

"El… this skill is more than just a skill, right?" He was surprised while El, the person whom he asked that question, couldn't help but laugh at this unexpected situation.

"Lucy~. They have started complaining soooooo early~. Think about their faces when we do ▼▼▼ and ▼▼ and the ▼▼▼▼ too! Hehehe~"

She was laughing, almost ready to fall to the ground and roll away with excitement, but he just kept looking at her seriously. He didn't find this situation funny but rather concerning.

Those higher beings could do many things to make them suffer if things didn't go their way. There was a good chance they might die if they offered them too much.

And this was exactly the unexpected kind of situation that would make those damned bastards desperate and uneasy, Lucy knew it the best.

His eyes were calm, looking straight into her eyes, so she understood he was actually serious and stopped laughing.

"Haaa… yes. That's not just a skill. From the looks of it, it must be a gift from some very powerful being. A being so powerful that their mere gift can block the skills of those higher beings and bastard gods.

Still, they are pissed~! Hehehe."

He shook his head at her absurd laughter. She was El and El will always be El...

The two of them could faintly feel the presence of their eyes on their bodies right now, and most of them were angry at this scenario.

But he could do nothing in this situation, so he just shook his head and tried to deal with the many status windows that were continuously popping up before their eyes.

The spectators were pissed so their Oz value was decreasing rapidly. But some were happy on the other side too actually, so they gave them more Oz than they were losing.

It was an unexpected situation and the number of beings watching them were increasing each moment in real time.

The gods filed a complain to the Worldline and got fucked over bluntly. What more fun was there for the other entertainment seeing fuckers in those higher plains?

It was good for Lucy and El but, at the same time, bad too. The Oz value couldn't fall too much or they would be in a difficult situation. And earning each point was a long task so they certainly couldn't do things that would piss them too much off just yet.

Not until they gain VIP status and become someone even the gods can't just do 'things' to however they waned.

Anyway…

"El? Lu? What's happening…? At least tell me…" Eva, the one unknown to all the happenings here, had a worried expression.

She had hardly ever seen Lucy with that complicated expression so she couldn't just overlook El's familiar laugh that meant something unexpected and bad happened but she was pleased with it.

She was concerned but both of them shook their heads while looking straight at her with a smile.

"Everything's alright Eva. If anything, looks like we will get something good for doing nothing at all."

His words were clear and she knew she could believe them. So, she just sighed and nodded at them.

And at the same time…

[< Analysis complete. Sending data to the <Voice of the world>. >]

[ ... ]

[Ding!]

[As a basic reward of special achievement of being able to resist the skills of multiple higher beings at once, the second authority has been granted.]

[ … ]

[Congrats! You're the youngest beings in worldline #321CF to possess two authorities. Granting additional rewards!]

"See! Isn't this amazing~! Hahahahahah!"

She burst into laughter once again and this time, she actually fell to the ground, rolling on the floor, dirtying her clothes…

Her behavior was nothing like her usual self but still, she was rolling on the ground. Actually rolling. Not caring about the dirt. Not caring about the cleanness she cherished so much.

But it was understandable. At least for him.

"Well, it is good for us but bad from their perspective. I don't think they will just sit by and watch things play out so much in our favor."

There was a golden box materializing before them, the additional reward for being the youngest to possess two authorities at once.

Well, it should technically have gone to 'him' but as they were already planning to do 'stuff' here, they might as well just take as many achievements and rewards as they can for themselves.

But still, they just got a golden box for free. It was fine even if they couldn't clear this dungeon anytime soon now.

And all these was just the additional rewards. The main reward for this unique achievement…

[<Voice of the world> has received achievement data from the Worldline. Searching for an appropriate reward for the special achievement.]

[ … ]

[Congratulations! You are the youngest normal humans to fend off a mental attack from multiple higher beings.]

[As a reward for the splendid achievement, a <Random treasure map> has been granted.]

"...really? For sure? Have you got sick or hurt your mind mister voice of the world? We accept it greatfully but no take back, ok?" Lucy had an unexpectedly surprised expression as he saw the pure white map materializing before them.

"Lucy. I think we should go to Angealos sooner. This unique luck of ours might expire otherwise…"

El, the creator of this world, knew as well as him just what it meant to get your hands on a treasure map.

It was a special map of the old treasures buried throughout this great worldline. And this one was a random treasure map. Something that would generate a map when one opens it.

It wasn't a specific one but one can get something too amazing if they were lucky. And they were lucky. Plot armor backup lucky.

"But not now."

She took the map and stored it in her storage space. It wasn't the right time or place to use such a precious item.

"Ok then. Let's go."

He also agreed to that and Eva had no idea what was going on so she was alright with everything as long as it was favourable to them.

They had received their main rewards so now was the time to clear the top grade <F> ranked dungeon they were in.

They were going to move forward, start their exploration of this dungeon, and kill the unique slimes that would be far more different than they had fought until now.

But before they could do that, the thing they didn't want to happen did certainly happen anyway…

[Many members of the pure evil faction are unsatisfied with the decisions of the worldline.]

[Some members of absolute purity think the scenarios and rewards were unfair.]

[< Some gods have filed a request for space-time interference. >]

[All spectators observing the target place and IDs of the request are thinking and making decisions…]

[< From the majority of votes supporting the request, the request has been accepted. >]

[As per the request, the structure and strength of the dungeon are slightly changed.]

[The clear reward will increase if the targeted IDs of the request clear the dungeon successfully.]

"See. I told you…"

A red smoke suddenly started filling the cave area.

A strange red fog that seemed sinister just from the look was now polluting the natural dungeon. Meaning the strength of the monsters inside would increase greatly now.

"Fucking jealous bastards…" El cussed at this unwanted situation and took out her staff from her storage space.

The monsters in this place were slimes but unlike the normal ones they had fought for such a long time, these ones had special skills and some could even use magic.

Just the fact that they were monsters of level 50 to 70 was a problem but now they would be strengthened or go berserk because of this fog.

The berserk state would still be powerful but manageable but not the normal, sane, strengthened ones. They would be the biggest hurdle blocking their paths now.

They were going to have a bad fight now and as they had guessed, unlike the silent cave just a moment ago, there were many strange noises coming towards them from a distance.

They were their first dungeon monsters and more powerful ones than they had thought.

This wasn't going to be easy, even Eva knew this from their sudden change of behavior.

This was going to be a tough fight and the very first monsters that treated them, the slimes that weren't so much as slimes, confirmed their inner bad feelings…