The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo rubbed his head.

"...That was an experience."

Layla shook her fist in the air. She puffed up her cheeks.

"Why did you leave! How could you!"

Apollo's eyelid twitched.

"I never left. I just couldn't move because of the elixir..."

Layla tilted her head to the side. She immediately lost her anger, which was replaced by curiosity.

"Woah, I want an elixir too!"

Apollo sighed.

"If I get one I'll just give it to you. I can't use it anyway."

Layla held onto Apollo's free hand and raised it into the air.

"Yay!"

Apollo rolled his eyes.

Did this girl think he was going to go out of his way to get her an elixir?

Layla let go of Apollo but stayed close behind.

She giggled to herself while her tail swayed about gently.

Apollo ignored Layla. He was more focused on what appeared on the desk.

There was an iron coin along with a copper coin next to it.

The copper coin was his, glowing brightly with the pattern of the devil.

On the other hand, the iron coin was an ordinary one, shrouded in mist.

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

Was this a choice?

Apollo assumed that he had the choice to stay at his current rank or promote to a higher one.

He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

If there was a choice... that surely meant that there were pros and cons.

However, he had already made his decision.

He recalled Jaguar's words.

'You may have a chance for revenge if you raise your rank.'

Apollo's eyes narrowed.

He still had to get revenge.

And this was the only lead he had.

Apollo grasped the iron coin with his thumb and forefinger.

The mist converged and seeped into the iron coin.

The patterns on the copper coin disappeared while the coin itself cracked in two.

As for the iron coin, a devil face emerged. It smiled with disdain.

Apollo had a long look at the iron coin.

"I am coming for you..."

Suddenly, his finger clenched the coin.

His knuckle became white.

"...Mother."

The twelve lines of condensed mist converged into a ball.

The ball shrunk, seemingly becoming solid.

With a soft glow, it split apart.

There were now two lines of condensed mist in front of him. They appeared denser than previous lines but were still ethereal in nature.

Apollo clicked his tongue.

"So your chances decrease when you promote..."

Layla put her face right next to the iron coin.

"What is this?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"I got promoted, so this is my new glorified name tag."

Layla's furry ears perked up.

"Wow, you did it!"

A smirk appeared on Apollo's face.

"I guess so."

Suddenly, Apollo noticed something. His head snapped to the left.

A board appeared on the wall.

Its appearance was similar to the desk, grey and misty.

Layla followed Apollo's gaze.

Her eyes lit up as her fingers interlocked.

"Wah! What is that?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Only one way to find out."

Apollo walked over while Layla trotted along with him.

Once Apollo got close, he could make out some words on the board. They were intricately engraved with an overly pretentious cursive font.

Though it was hard to deny the beauty of the engravings.

Layla peeked at the board from over Apollo's shoulder.

'Leagues

League of Daggers -

Requirements: Iron Coin, Usage of Dagger.

Basic Benefit: Additional Twenty Silvers For Each Request Completed.'

The corner of Apollo's lip twitched.

There was only one league?

...It seemed the better ones required a higher rank.

When Apollo read over the requirements and benefits...

He lost the enthusiasm he didn't know he had.

The moment he saw the requirement of using a dagger, he immediately lost interest. Still, he couldn't help but cringe after seeing the rewards.

Apollo shook his head.

"Leagues will have to wait until I reach a higher rank..."

Layla's furry ears drooped down.

"Aw... why?"

Apollo sighed.

"The rewards are simply useless..."

Layla pouted.

"Useless? How do we get useful rewards?"

Apollo shrugged.

"My best bet is getting promoted again."

Layla's tail shot up. A cute smile emerged on her face.

"Then get promoted again!"

Apollo couldn't help but chuckle.

"I guess..."

He walked over to the grey desk.

"Might as well start now."

Layla hopped with a giggle.

"Start now!"

Apollo flipped his iron coin.

A single line of mist condensed while four pieces of parchment appeared.

Like always, Apollo's eyes snapped to the reward section.

'Reward: 50 Gold Coins

Reward: Forged Core Katana

Reward: Basic Elixir of Flexibility

Reward: Basic Shadow Step Technique'

Apollo glossed over the gold coins.

His curiosity was piqued when he saw the katana, but he had no intention of changing his weapon.

As for the basic elixir of flexibility, he wasn't interested. He told Layla that he would give her once if he had any extra, but that was only if it just so happened to land in his possession.

Once he looked at the last reward, he made his decision.

He was just a step away from mastering the 'Basic Shadow Step Technique'.

Even if there were other lucrative rewards, it would be hard to resist picking this one. After all, it constantly lingered at the back of his mind.

Apollo picked up the parchment.

'Rank: Copper Coin

Target: Two-horned Demon

Description: Two-horned demons are roughly three meters high and wield sabers. They have black skin and a humanoid figure. Two-horned demons hold a gemstone at the center of its chest. This gemstone is capable of naturally gathering mana.

Requirements: Collect Three Undamaged Two-horned Rank Gemstones'

There was an ink painting of a two-horned demon and the accompanying gemstone in the shape of an emerald.

Apollo smirked.

Killing a few Two-horned demons sounded easy enough.

Suddenly, Layla began whining.

"Wait! Don't pick that one, look at this!"

Layla pointed to the parchment with a reward of the 'Basic Elixir of Flexibility'.

The corner of Apollo's lip twitched.

....Could he convince Layla to let it go?