The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 80: Disturbance (1) (Part 1)

Hidden Quest.

As the name Hidden suggests, it referred to a special quest that was concealed.
And this was my first time receiving such a quest.
So I had no idea how it was supposed to be hidden—until now.

◆ Wondering what a Hidden Quest is? I’ll gladly explain it to you—it’s the natural thing to do!

That long-silent translucent system message burst to life again!
Lines of information began pouring in before my eyes.

Hidden Quests are quests that are not explicitly shown to the Player.

They may require being in a certain place at a certain time,
or forming a bond with a certain individual,
or possessing a specific item.

They begin only when particular conditions are met—
but the Player is given no information on how to approach those conditions.

Because of this, the Player’s insight and reasoning are crucial,
and a special reward, unobtainable through regular quests, will be given.

◆ Thus, a Hidden Quest brings the joy of discovering secrets through careful exploration and deduction!
◆ And the reward will match your effort and creativity, so let your adventurous spirit shine!!

The message flailed between calm and theatrical like always.
…No wonder it had been so quiet lately.
Still, thanks to it, I quickly understood what a Hidden Quest was.
And that meant the quest that just appeared must be one of them.

==[Perfect weather for causing a ruckus]==
[Details] – The Fall of Baoless
[Reward] – Ian’s Journal
[Failure] – No penalty

“Ian’s Journal?”

The reward was no joke.
Ian’s journal?
I didn’t even know that existed—and if it did:

‘How could something like that be a quest reward?’

But thinking about it more carefully…

‘Quests themselves are part of Ian’s abilities, after all.’

I didn’t know the mechanism behind it,
but quests were certainly one of Ian’s powers.
And Ian had definitely intended to pass everything down to me.
Even his regression ability.
It was entirely possible that he’d left a message for me embedded in that system.

‘So that’s what it meant by a reward different from normal quests.’

Now I fully understood both the mechanics and reward structure of a Hidden Quest.

KRR-KABOOM!

Just then, another explosion rocked the black market.

“Monster!!”
“R-Run!!”

Merchants scattered in every direction, panic-stricken, tripping over each other.
In the blink of an eye, Baoless had descended into chaos.

And then—

“An intruder!!”
“Unknown intruder spotted in the black market!!”

From the edge of my vision, a crowd surged forth, accompanied by loud shouting.
They were the Visters in gray masks—Acata of the Dark Merchant Group.

‘Faster response than I expected.’

Upon closer look, I spotted a few high-ranking people among them.

Evangelista, meaning one who confronts the Chief Priest.
Custos, meaning one who guards under the Vice Priest.

Even mid-level managers were mixed in.
Their reaction wasn’t just quick—it was frighteningly precise.

Even for someone like Isolde, facing all of them at once would be a tall order.

I dismissed the Hidden Quest window from my view and checked the ring on my finger—
The Oath of the Abyss, proof of Avarus, was still properly worn.
Then I tightened my mask one last time—

“Hey!”

I called out to the running Acata.
And when I raised the Oath of the Abyss—

“…Executor-nim?”

The Acata instantly recognized me and came to a full stop.

“Where are you headed?”
“We’re responding to an alert—heading to the black market.”

A completely reasonable answer.
Nothing to nitpick—yet…

‘Been a while since I’ve done diversion tactics.’

Disrupting enemy ranks from within to weaken their power:
Harassing Tactics.

Back in the Allied Forces, I’d done countless such ops:
Sabotaging Imperial facilities.
Destroying supply depots and armories.
Cutting off logistics. Weakening enemy forces.
Too many to count.

Those memories remained sharp in my mind.
Recalling those operations from my past life—

“You idiots!!”

I shouted harshly.

Meanwhile, Isolde was tearing through the black market.
She crushed the structures in her way while—

“Please, run quickly!”

—freeing the slaves who were bound and unable to move.

“Who the hell is that?!”
“Get her! Don’t let her escape!!”

Every time, members of the Dark Merchant Group stationed throughout the area pursued her relentlessly.
She dodged their pursuit with her body alone, but there were limits.

This place, strictly speaking, was a territory of mages.

ZZZZZZZRT—!

Magical hexagrams etched themselves in the air, glowing with ominous symbols,
then erupted with crimson lightning.

CRACKLE, SNAP—!

A barrage of lightning magic fired at blinding speed.
…Impossible to dodge.
Isolde clenched her gauntlets, summoning divine power.

Then she thrust her fist forward—

BOOOOOM—!!
Condensed divine energy exploded outward in a wave.
KRA-KRA-KABOOM!!
The shockwave blasted everything in its path.

Divine Martial Fist, Lumentius Style – Divine Wave Burst.

The divine explosion smashed through both the crimson lightning and the magical barrier.

CRASH—!

The barrier shattered in an instant.
But at that very moment—

RUMBLE—!

Fragments of the broken spell and barrier shards rained down.
Like blind arrows flying everywhere.

They were avoidable.

However—

“Kyaaah!!”
“P-Please save us!”

The black market slaves—
In other words, innocent people—were at risk.

Isolde didn’t hesitate.
She leapt forward, crossed her arms, and spread divine power—

WOOOOSH!

A shield of light radiated outward, wrapping around her and the surrounding area.

Divine Martial Fist, Celestia Style – Celestial Guardian.

CRACK-CRACKLE—!!

The flying debris struck the divine shield.

“Urgh…!”

Isolde’s body swayed from the shock.
Her insides churned, and blood surged.
The injury healed quickly, but the pain remained.
And that pain slowly chipped away at her stamina and willpower.

While it wasn’t a major blow—

‘There’s just too many.’

No matter how many barriers she broke, more kept coming.
The black market was practically buried in magical defenses.

Like clothing soaking in drizzle,
the accumulated pain from resisting those spells made her wonder how long her mental fortitude would last.

“That monster…!”
“Wait, wasn’t that divine power just now?”
“When’s the standby squad getting here?!”

And the Dark Merchant Group’s forces weren’t weak either.
While none were individually powerful, even a giant can fall to swarms.
Their numbers made them a threat.

But she couldn’t use large-scale techniques either.

All around the black market, there were still many slaves who hadn’t escaped—
people who couldn’t escape.

Translatin_Otaku