My Crazy Upgrade System-Chapter 43 - 42: Random Mission

"Ding! Successfully accepted random quest," the system’s mechanical voice announced.

There was no shortage of random quests; they would pop up to be accepted as certain situations were triggered. The rewards were rather mediocre and the difficulty was moderate, so whether one accepted them was a personal choice.

Yi Tianyun wasn’t in a rush at the moment. Plus, since there was Morality Value to be gained, he was definitely going to accept it.

He couldn’t gain Morality Value from killing monsters here; it could only be obtained by completing quests.

He quickly recalled his Snow Wolf to avoid being seen. However, even if it were seen, people would be surprised but not find it strange. Beast Taming was also a profession here, though it was extremely rare.

To avoid any potential conflict, he decided it was better to recall it first.

Sure enough, a rustling sound soon came from up ahead. A few people burst out from the edge of the forest, and upon seeing Yi Tianyun, they all grew vigilant, drawing the blades at their waists and staring at him coldly.

"Who’s there!"

The burly man in the lead watched him with extreme caution. His cultivation wasn’t high, only at the second level of the Spirit Refining Stage, but that was considered a relatively high level among this group of guards.

There were four guards in total. The remaining person was a delicate-featured young woman, who he figured must be Yan Lingxue.

The others’ cultivation was below the Spirit Refining Stage, around the seventh or eighth layer of the Body Refining Stage, which was a passable level for a guard.

Yi Tianyun glanced over them, and his Eye of Investigation listed out their detailed stats. As a result, he had a crystal-clear understanding of their cultivation levels and general condition.

What surprised him was the old man by Yan Lingxue’s side. His cultivation wasn’t the highest, but he was at the first level of the Spirit Refining Stage. He stayed closest to Yan Lingxue and seemed to be a butler of sorts, or more accurately, a trusted confidant.

It seemed they had only hired three of the guards. Still, with this lineup, coming here to gather Spirit Medicine shouldn’t be an issue.

"No need to be nervous. I’m just out here getting some training," Yi Tianyun said with a smile.

The old man, in particular, who had been slightly stooped, immediately straightened his back, clearly ready to attack. In a deserted forest like this, one had to be wary of anyone they encountered.

"ROAR!"

Just then, a low roar came from behind them as a group of giant bears came charging in their direction, interrupting the conversation. This was bear territory; the slightest misstep could provoke an attack from a pack of them.

In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by giant bears, their escape route completely cut off. There was nowhere to run.

"Everyone on alert! Prepare to break through the encirclement!"

The burly man in the lead let out a great roar and drew his sword. It was a decent Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact—not everyone could casually craft a pile of Spiritual Artifacts like Yi Tianyun.

"My apologies, Sir. It seems we’ve dragged you into our troubles."

Yan Lingxue offered an apology, but the others didn’t say a word, treating him as if he were invisible.

Yi Tianyun narrowed his eyes, sizing her up. ’Looks like this Yan Lingxue has some manners. At least she’s not like these guards, who can’t even be bothered to apologize.’

"Don’t worry about it. I’m just Lending a Helping Hand where I can. I’ll help you break out!"

Yi Tianyun let out a laugh and quickly moved closer, though he didn’t get too close to them.

"Kid, stay back!" the burly man glared at him, afraid that Yi Tianyun would try to take advantage of their predicament.

"Tan, don’t be so tense. I think this gentleman truly wants to help us."

Yan Lingxue said, "Besides, things have already reached this point. What is there to argue about?"

Tan Yongsheng’s face was grim, but he finally nodded. Just then, a bear pounced at them. Tan Yongsheng charged forward and slashed down viciously, cleaving the giant bear in two with a single stroke. An easy kill.

Tan Yongsheng’s cultivation was higher than the giant bears’ to begin with, so a one-hit kill was not surprising.

The other guards moved to fend off the giant bears at their flanks. Only the old man remained motionless, guarding Yan Lingxue’s side. He wouldn’t make a move unless there was a direct threat to her. Otherwise, there would have been no point in hiring the other guards.

"ROAR!"

Just then, a giant bear lunged from the forest, snapping its jaws as it charged toward Yan Lingxue. The stench of blood from its gaping maw was so overpowering it was nauseating.

Just as the old bodyguard was about to strike and kill the giant bear, Yi Tianyun rushed forward. He threw a heavy punch at the bear and—BAM!—it was sent flying into the forest and out of sight, its fate unknown.

The others caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of their eyes and were stunned by his power. ’To send a giant bear flying so easily with his bare hands... that’s some incredible brute strength!’ they thought.

"Ding! Successfully killed Giant Bear. Obtained 700 Experience, 70 Madness Value!"

The notification proved he had successfully killed the giant bear, even if it didn’t drop anything. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Yan Lingxue’s eyes lit up. ’His strength is impressive, that was quite a display,’ she thought. ’But there’s nothing else that stands out. He doesn’t seem as formidable as the others; it looks like he only knocked the bear away.’

Tan Yongsheng shot him a glance but said nothing, continuing to lead the charge forward. Soon, they broke through the encirclement. Along the way, they killed every giant bear that swarmed them, fulfilling their duty as guards.

Yi Tianyun did his part, knocking away giant bears from the side. His movements looked casual, as if all he was doing was sending the bears flying, unlike the guards who were clearly killing them.

Failing to kill the giant bears would only enrage them further, meaning they would just keep coming back. The trouble would never end.

In reality, only he knew that while it looked like they hadn’t died, one punch from him had shattered their insides. They were as dead as dead could be.

Since Yi Tianyun was "Lending a Helping Hand," they didn’t say anything about it. After all, his help was free.

Soon, under Tan Yongsheng’s lead, they successfully broke through and escaped the bears’ encirclement. Seeing that the giant bears weren’t pursuing them, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Shaking off those creatures was no easy task.

"We finally killed enough of them that they don’t dare to chase us anymore. Let’s rest for a bit," Tan Yongsheng said, catching his breath as he signaled for the others to rest as well.

Yi Tianyun was perfectly fine, but just as they stopped, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Ding! Protection Quest complete. Reward: 5,000 Experience, 100 Favorability with Yan Lingxue, 10 Morality Value."

’That was an easy quest. Ten Morality Value just like that.’ Yi Tianyun smiled. ’These small quests are pretty worthwhile.’

If time permitted, he wouldn’t mind a few more quests like this one, since they increased his Morality Value. Morality Value was a great help to his Luck Level, and he wondered what other benefits he would get if he continued to raise it.

After all, it had already given him a success rate bonus for Artifact Refining. How could he not be motivated to increase it?