“Kuuaaaagh!”

A bloodcurdling scream echoed from Sun Devourer Nox’s mouth as soon as the Seven Steps to Invincibility was triggered.

And that was the end of it.

Shwaaaaa!

Sun Devourer Nox’s body scattered into nothingness, and a notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have slain Sun Devourer Nox!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 568!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 569!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 570!]

[Alert: Your quest progress has increased!]

[Alert: The Ten Calamities progress has increased to 70%! (7/10)]

By slaying Sun Devourer Nox, Siegfried had defeated seven out of the ten calamities.

[The Ten Calamities]

[Hunt down and slay the ten most terrifying demonic entities that escaped from Purgatory.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Progress: 70% (7/10)]

[Reward: +20 Levels]

[Targets:]

- Swarming Locusts ✓

- Bloodstained River ✓

- Destructive Hailstorm ✓

- Plague of Flies

- Endless Darkness ✓

- Mass Extinction ✓

- Curse of Decay

- Bloodsucking Parasite ✓

- Wailing Beasts

- Song of Death ✓

[Note 1: Each slain Calamity drops an item infused with its powers.]

[Note 2: Collect all 10 to gain authority over world-scale disasters for six months.]

[Note 3: This quest is exclusive to the main protagonist of BNW.]

With only three calamities remaining, he was on the verge of clearing the quest and obtaining all the powers of the Ten Calamities.

‘Time to grab the loot!’ Siegfried thought excitedly.

He moved to collect the items Sun Devourer Nox had dropped, but—

Shwaaa...!

When Sun Devourer Nox vanished, a golden sphere appeared, radiating immense light.

“Ack! My eyes!” Siegfried shrieked in agony.

He merely glanced at the golden sphere, yet he nearly lost his sense of sight. Looking at the golden sphere was like staring straight at the sun in broad daylight.

The glare coming from it was so blinding that it felt like his eyes were being burned.

But that was not all...

“Argh!”

The golden sphere radiated immense heat that scorched Siegfried’s skin.

Even with his extremely high Defense and Elemental Resistance, he couldn’t withstand the overwhelming heat coming from the golden sphere.

‘This thing is dangerous!’

The energy emanating from the golden sphere was so powerful that he quickly jumped toward it.

The golden sphere had to contain the solar energy that Sun Devourer Nox had absorbed over the past few days. Now that Sun Devourer Nox had died, the solar energy stored inside of him dropped in the form of this golden sphere.

And what if the energy stored in it ended up exploding?

The imperial palace would instantly be reduced to mere rubble, and Verdandi standing beside him would be in danger.

“Get back!”

Siegfried used Flying Sword to send Verdandi flying far away. Then, he hugged the golden sphere. Without wasting another second, he activated World of Despair and sealed himself inside it.

Rumble!

The golden sphere began to shake violently, as if it would explode at any second now.

‘I’m dead if this thing explodes.’

Siegfried knew he would not be able to withstand the force unleashed by the golden sphere’s detonation.

In that case...

‘Let’s give it a try. It’s better than just dying without doing anything.

Siegfried clutched the golden sphere and used Gluttony as a last resort. Gluttony was the skill he used to absorb the energy unleashed by the Dragon Heart of Inkarthus, the First Black Dragon and a demigod.

Since he absorbed the power of Inkarthus that had been accumulating for over a millennium with Gluttony, then absorbing the energy of the sun hoarded by Sun Devourer Nox for just over a few days was worth a shot.

“Arghhhh! Grrrhaaa!”

Siegfried struggled with all his might, desperately absorbing the solar energy contained within the golden sphere.

The process was grueling. He felt like the energy unleashed by the golden sphere would rip his body apart at any moment now.

And exactly one minute later...

[Alert: You have successfully absorbed Solar Energy!]

[Alert: Solar Energy cannot be assimilated into Primordial Force!]

[Alert: The Solar Energy is leaking out again!]

[Alert: It is leaking at an extremely slow rate!]

A string of notifications popped up in front of his eyes, warning him that the Solar Energy he had just absorbed was leaking out.

Shhhh...!

The leaking Solar Energy radiated from him, making his body glow faintly.

He had become a walking sun. However, the problem was that no matter how little Solar Energy he radiated, it was still the energy of the sun. Once the World of Despair receded, he would reappear in the imperial palace and unleash overwhelming heat.

The surrounding structures would melt down at once, and his surroundings would be set ablaze. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

‘W-What do I do now?’ Siegfried panicked.

Ding!

A quest window suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have received the Quest — Bright Sun in the Sky Above!]

***

The quest details were as follows...

[Bright Sun in the Sky Above]

[Soar high into the sky and release the Solar Energy stored in your body.]

[The radiating Solar Energy will gift light to the land that has long been craving for warmth.]

[Type: Emergency Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/3)]

[Instructions]

- Hover in the sky and shine sunlight down for 12 hours

- You must log out for 12 hours when night falls

- Repeat this process three times!

[Reward: +10 Levels]

[Warning: This quest requires strict adherence to the 12-hour cycle.]

“...”

Siegfried was left speechless after reading the quest description.

It basically asked him to be a human sun floating in the sky for twelve whole hours.

Yes, not an artificial sun, but a human sun.

It was an absurd quest that Siegfried didn't even consider doing it... until he saw the reward.

The reward was too good to just pass up on.

Ten full levels?

Adventurers were beings who would grind day and night in dungeons just to gain a single level, and they would swallow poison or even eat rotten meat if it meant becoming stronger.

Compared to that, investing twelve hours a day just hovering in the sky was nothing.

For Siegfried, even hunting nonstop for twelve hours would not even result in a single level up, so this quest was practically a jackpot.

‘Let’s do this!’

After accepting the Bright Sun in the Sky Above quest, Siegfried picked up the item that Sun Devourer Nox had dropped.

[Alert: You have obtained Kite of Calamity: Endless Darkness!]

The item containing Sun Devourer Nox’s power was a kite.

[Kite of Calamity: Endless Darkness]

[A bell containing the powers of Sun Devourer Nox, one of the Ten Calamities.]

[When this kite is flown in the air, it will blanket the entire world in darkness, bringing forth an ice age.]

[Type: Kite]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Note: This is a single-use item. Once flown, the kite will break and cannot be used again.]

“I’ll be back!”

Shouting toward Verdandi, who was holding back the heat with a shield she conjured, Siegfried soared high into the sky.

To complete the quest, he had to ascend extremely high. Once he was high above, he began to shine down Solar Energy across the territory of the Proatine Empire.

[Alert: Warning! Warning!]

[Alert: Durability of Invincible Emperor’s Might Armor Set has decreased by 5 percent!]

[Alert: Durability of Invincible Emperor’s Might Armor Set has decreased by 5 percent!]

[Alert: Durability of Invincible Emperor’s Might Armor Set has decreased by 5 percent!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: Durability of Invincible Emperor’s Might Armor Set has decreased by 5 percent!]

The Solar Energy radiating from his body was so strong that the durability of his Invincible Emperor’s Might Armor Set was dropping fast.

The heat was melting and destroying it.

‘W-What should I do?!’

Siegfried was thrown into panic.

If he were to keep the armor on, it would be destroyed once its durability hit zero. If he abandoned the quest, then he would miss out on gaining ten whole levels for doing basically nothing.

In that case, he only had one option.

‘Meh. Nobody’s watching anyway.’

To stop his items from losing durability, Siegfried unequipped all of them and stored them in his Inventory.

Then, he took out normal clothes and put them on.

Shwaaaa!

However, they were instantly turned to ash by the immense Solar Energy radiating from him. The armor set's high stats allowed it to withstand the heat, but ordinary clothing stood no chance against the energy of the sun.

“W-What?!”

Caught off guard by suddenly being in his birthday suit, Siegfried flailed and covered his privates.

After a few seconds, he slowly calmed down.

“Well, it’s not like anyone’s watching,” he muttered with a shrug. He was so high in the sky that nobody could possibly see him right now. And just like that, without wearing a single piece of clothing, Siegfried floated leisurely in place as he carried out the quest.

For the sake of gaining ten levels, he was prepared to hover butt-naked in the air if he had to.

***

Cheon Woo-Jin was monitoring the continent using the satellite when he noticed an anomaly.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

Something bright was floating above the Proatine Empire, and he decided to zoom in on it.

As a result—

“H-Han Tae-Sung?!” Cheon Woo-Jin shrieked.

Reflected on the display was Siegfried, and he floated serenely with his wings and legs spread wide.

It would not be strange to find Siegfried hovering so high up in the air, as he was one of the few people capable of doing so, but the problem was that he was butt-naked.

To make things worse, he was leisurely lying down in mid-air and was dozing off, as if he was sunbathing.

“So that’s his kink...” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered. Then, he shook his head in disbelief at Siegfried’s exhibitionist kink in full display.

Heh. Cheon Woo-Jin grinned and pressed the save button. He couldn’t possibly miss such a perfect chance to have a weapon against Siegfried for years to come.

“Han Tae-Sung in broad daylight, sunbathing butt-naked up in the sky, perverted fetish, pro-gamer turned pro-exhibitionist...”

Cheon Woo-Jin couldn’t help but flash an evil grin while thinking of the news headlines that would be plastered all over the world once these pictures were leaked.

Siegfried had been pushing him around, but Cheon Woo-Jin had finally acquired a real weapon that he could use against the former.

***

Siegfried spent three days floating naked in the sky to carry out the Bright Sun in the Sky Above quest.

[Alert: You have reached Level 571!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 572!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 573!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 574!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 575!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 576!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 577!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 578!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 579!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 580!]

By clearing the Bright Sun in the Sky Above quest, Siegfried reached Level 580.

He couldn’t help but be overjoyed, as it had been a very simple quest, yet it granted him ten full levels.

Plague was enjoying a very comfortable life at a resort in the southern part of the continent.

“Nice... This is the life...”

Plague had set up a sunbed on a beach overlooking the emerald sea. He reclined on his sunbed and savored the view in front of him.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Hehehe!”

Watching pretty young women in swimsuits splashing and playing in the water, this was the very definition of paradise itself. Plague, wearing a floral shirt, sipped on iced coffee while thoroughly enjoying his vacation.

He was truly happy for the first time in his life.

Thanks to Siegfried teaching him the best ways to spread diseases, he had grown so powerful that he no longer needed to wander across the continent. All he had to do was still still and let the humans spread the plagues on his behalf, meaning that he could simply spend his time in this luxury resort and enjoy the finest things life had to offer.

“Fufufu... This is what I call a good life,” Plague muttered with a smile as he pulled a straw hat down over his face.

The parasol blocked the sunlight, so he intended to take a nap while basking in the cool breeze coming from the sea.

Unfortunately, that peace lasted only for a moment.

Thud, thud, thud...

Someone was walking toward Plague.

However, Plague was fast asleep; he had no idea someone was coming toward him. Life had become so easy and pleasant that he had long since dropped his guard.

Someone stood right behind Plague and drew their sword.

Shiiiing...!

Even then, Plague was still completely oblivious that someone had come so close to him.

Shwiiiik!

Once the sword was swung at him—

“...!”

Plague’s eyes shot open, finally sensing the killing intent. He had become careless, but he was not so dull as to not sense killing intent being directed straight at him from such close range.