He extended his hand without much enthusiasm to select the Quest option from the menu.

And to his surprise, there was something.

[Main Quest]

Name: The Rise of the Emperor of Death

Objective: Eliminate or unify all semi-humans and demi-humans in the south of the continent.

Reward: +20 Levels

Penalty for failure: -20 Levels

Time to complete: ▓▓▓▒▒▓▓▓▒░░▓▓▒▒▓▓▓

"...Huh?"

Mark stared at the screen in silence.

’Eliminate or unify all semi-humans and demi-humans in the south of the continent.’

It wasn’t a suggestion or a recommendation. It was a quest with an objective, reward, and penalty.

And that changed everything.

Because until that moment, he had been living in this world doing more or less whatever he felt like. Yes, he had problems and threats, but every decision he made was his own.

Going to the Demon Lord’s dungeon was his decision. Traveling south was his decision. Whether to fight or not, to flee or to stay, everything had been his choice.

But what he now had in front of him was different.

Now apparently something or someone, probably the same asshole who sent him to this world practically defenseless, had decided that Mark had to do this. And he didn’t like that one bit.

’Eliminate or unify...’ Mark thought, rereading what the screen in front of him said. ’Are those really the only options I have?’

Because if that was really the case, both were equally fucked.

Option number one: Kill them

If Mark chose this option, that meant slaughtering every single race in the south of the continent. Every elf, beast-man, cat girl, lamia, troll, ant-man, goblin, etc.

And no matter how much he could accomplish it with the help of his subordinates, when he finished doing it or even before, the rest of the continent would inevitably turn to look at him as the number one threat to be eliminated, by the simple logic that if he could do that to semi and demi-humans, nothing would guarantee they wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

Option number two: Unify them

If he chose this option, the result would be practically the same. Because by creating a new dominant force in a territory that until that moment had been a disorganized collection of independent races in constant conflict with each other, he would make everyone else nervous.

So in both cases, the final result was exactly the same: A lot of unwanted attention.

And for Mark, who only wanted to be able to live in peace and go unnoticed, this situation was the worst that could happen to him.

’It’s like someone order you to shoot yourself in the foot but let you choose which one...’ Mark thought, gritting his teeth.

Then there was the matter of the penalty.

Minus twenty levels.

If Mark failed or refused, he would drop from level thirty-three to thirteen and probably lose access to most of the abilities he had just recovered, becoming a burden to his subordinates again.

And just now, when for the first time he had a way to fend for himself, the idea of losing it all was unbearable to him.

But there was also the reward.

Plus twenty levels.

Which coincidentally would take him from level thirty-three to fifty-three, with level fifty being the minimum to access the most basic items in his inventory.

The potions, the teleportation stones, the consumables, etc.

’So this is the famous stick and carrot metaphor...’ Mark thought with irritation. ’They put a reward I desperately need to motivate me and a penalty that would destroy me to scare me.’

Mark remained silent, staring at the screen for what could have been seconds or minutes.

The others were also quiet. Ely looked at the screen without saying anything. Alice had her brow furrowed. Rose had her eyes closed and a thoughtful expression. Aria alternated her gaze between the screen and Mark’s face. And Yuki simply observed him.

The silence lasted a few more moments until a trembling voice broke it.

"M-Master..."

Upon hearing the voice, Mark turned in her direction only to find Zilu sitting on the bed behind him, her legs drawn up against her chest and her back pressed against the wall.

Her black ears were completely flattened against her head and her eyes were fixed on the screen.

"What do you mean by that...?" she said in a voice that trembled with every word. "What do you mean eliminate all of us demi-humans...?"

He had completely forgotten that Zilu, a demi-human, had also read the same thing as him. So her reaction to it was completely understandable.

"Sarah’s village..." continued Zilu, her eyes becoming moist. "My village... will it...?"

"Zilu," said Mark, turning completely toward her. "Calm down, I can explain this."

"Explain what...?" she said, pressing herself harder against the wall and looking Mark in the eyes. "It clearly says there that you have to—"

"It’s not what you think," Mark interrupted, raising both hands. "That’s not something I’m going to do. In fact, I don’t even know what—"

Knock

Knock

Knock

The knocking on the door of the house cut off the conversation and everyone turned to look toward the entrance.

Knock

Knock

Knock

’Great... what a fucking terrible time to bother us,’ Mark thought as he quickly closed the screen. ’Who the hell could that be?’

"Yuki," said Mark through the mental link. "Open the door." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Right away."

Yuki moved quickly to the door and opened it halfway in a single motion, finding the old elf chief of the village on the other side.

The old man still had his left shoulder bandaged, but aside from that he looked considerably better than the last time, and in his hands he held a wooden tray with a steaming bowl, a piece of bread, some fruit, and a glass of water.

"Good morning," said the elf with a kind smile, making a small bow that made him wince slightly from his shoulder. "I heard that the leader of your group had woken up and thought perhaps he might be hungry."

The elf took a slight look inside the house over Yuki’s shoulder.

And what he saw was the following:

Mark sitting on the edge of the bed with his sleeping clothes half on. Zilu on the bed behind him with red cheeks and moist eyes. Ely, Aria, Alice, and Rose around the bed staring at them intently.

"Oh... Am I interrupting something?"