Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 281: Zeka and Elara

"However, I have a few conditions. If you can agree to them, I’ll immediately become your subordinate."

Noan didn’t answer, simply watching Alex in silence.

Alex took a deep breath and said, "First, if I find any opportunities, you have to share at least 30% of the rewards with me."

"Also, because my talent is a bit special—you probably know this already—I need you to provide me with energy crystals."

"Of course, if you give me any tasks, I’ll complete them flawlessly so you’ll never be disappointed."

Noan nodded lightly and replied, "Fine. However, I’ll need to adjust the terms about providing you energy crystals."

Alex was a bit displeased, but decided to listen to what Noan would say.

Noan continued, "Every week, I’ll give you 20 rank D energy crystals. After each task you complete, depending on your performance, I’ll reward you with extra crystals."

Alex was stunned for a moment, then delighted.

He’d thought Noan wouldn’t be willing to provide him with energy crystals, which would have severely limited his growth.

But things turned out completely different. Noan was extremely generous. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Twenty rank D energy crystals per week, with bonuses for good performance.

Damn! He’d risked his life out there searching for resources and still hadn’t found even five, but Noan could give him twenty per week.

The conditions were simply too good, so he immediately said, "Alright! I agree. But I want you to pay me the first week’s worth of crystals in advance."

Noan waved his hand, and a small spider silk pouch flew toward Alex.

Alex caught the pouch, opened it, and found it filled with rank C energy crystals. He took a deep breath, struggling to contain his excitement.

"You can pick any room in the dormitory area. From now on, you can stay here," Noan said.

Alex nodded and left, unable to suppress the hunger inside him.

At that moment, all he wanted was to find a quiet spot and start absorbing these energy crystals.

Once Alex was gone, Noan looked at Caleb and asked, "Is there something you want to say to me?"

Caleb gritted his teeth, walked up to Noan, knelt down, and sincerely said, "Master, I... I want to have power like Austin."

Noan frowned, his eyes showing a hint of indifference as he looked at Caleb.

Caleb trembled, not knowing why he suddenly felt afraid, but for the sake of revenge, he stood firm in his decision.

Noan sighed. "Caleb, ever since you became my subordinate, you’ve done very well, but it’s still not enough."

"I know you’re dissatisfied, thinking I’ve been unfair with you. But you need to understand how much Austin’s father has done for me."

"That’s why I need you to prove how valuable you are to me—only then can I grant you that power."

Caleb felt disappointed at Noan’s words, but it didn’t mean he’d lost all hope.

From what Noan said, he understood he still had a chance, so he immediately replied, "Master, please give me a task. I promise I won’t let you down."

Noan nodded, then waved his hand. Instantly, a group of Skeletons appeared in front of Caleb.

"These are twenty Skeletons, rank C+ | Level 3," Noan said quietly. "You’ll have command of them, as well as Urlgug and Urlgan."

"There’s only one thing I want from you. Use these monsters to take the ’Resource Production Center’ in the upcoming event."

"If you fail, or disappoint me, then you should give up on that thought—understood?"

Caleb pressed his lips together, gazed at the Skeletons now lined up in front of him, then nodded and said, "Understood. I promise I won’t disappoint you, Master."

"Good! I’ll look forward to your good news," Noan replied with a smile.

Caleb bowed deeply, then left.

Watching Caleb’s determined back, Noan actually felt a bit of anticipation.

Although Urlgug and Urlgan were only D-rank monsters—Peak and Perfect—their strength was already comparable to rank C monsters.

If they worked together, even against a group of C-rank Orc Kings, they’d have a good chance at victory.

On top of that, Noan had raised their levels to 5, boosting their power tremendously.

While Noan’s command was for Caleb to win, what he truly wanted was to see just how far Caleb could go.

If Caleb didn’t disappoint him, then Noan would be willing to grant him the power of the Void as well.

Noan let out a long breath, feeling as if—for now—he’d resolved the issues with his subordinates.

"Now, on to Elara’s problem. That girl really is troublesome," Noan thought to himself, deciding to use his teleportation talent.

Earlier, he’d set an ’Anchor Point’ on Elara, so he wasn’t worried about not being able to find her.

Besides, as long as she was alive, the Anchor would persist.

Right now, the Anchor was still there, which meant Zeka hadn’t harmed Elara.

Of course, he didn’t think Zeka would hurt her anyway.

Zeka was a total simp—any time he saw a beautiful woman, he’d turn into a puppy, constantly wagging his tail for her.

And this time, Noan was curious to see just how many buffs Zeka had managed to collect.

...

Deep within the forest, snow continued to fall relentlessly.

Zeka gazed at the corpses of a group of rank D lords and a horde of monsters sprawled across the snow, a nameless sense of accomplishment stirring in his chest.

But unlike his battle with Alex, this time Zeka was like a wolf among rabbits.

To him, this group of rank D lords and monsters posed little threat.

Zeka sighed as he looked at his wounds, but instead of fear or anxiety, what he felt was excitement.

"Hahaha... Hahaha..." Zeka suddenly burst out laughing, mumbling, "Five rank D lords, five high-grade buffs, hahaha..."

Ever since fighting Alex, Zeka had felt some doubts about his strength compared to Vinelord.

But now, after slaughtering these lords and monsters, he had no more doubts.

He could feel the power in his body increasing, and his eyes glowed an even deeper red.

🔔 [Ding! Congratulations, you killed a rank D, level 2 lord—received a permanent buff: +20% strength.]

🔔 [Ding! Congratulations, you killed a rank D, level 1 lord—received a permanent buff: +10% life recovery rate.]

🔔 [Ding! Congratulations, you killed a rank D, level 1 lord—received a permanent buff: +10% resistance to extreme weather.]

🔔 [Ding! Congratulations, you killed a rank D, level 2 lord—received a permanent buff: +20% physical strength.]

🔔 [Ding! Congratulations, you killed a rank D, level 1 lord—received a permanent buff: +10% speed.]

Clenching his fists, Zeka felt his strength and speed rise, and he also gained resistance to harsh weather and improved life recovery.

He knew... as long as he kept killing other lords, he would only become stronger.

Eventually, he’d truly become invincible and immortal—no one would be able to kill him.

Not stopping there, Zeka flung out his left hand. Vines resembling tentacles shot out toward the corpses, beginning to drain the blood from their bodies.

Elara, huddled beneath a tree, shivering from the cold, watched the scene before her with growing despair and wanted nothing more than to cry.

She didn’t understand why, when she awoke, she had been kidnapped by such a monstrous person.

Though Zeka hadn’t harmed her, everything he did was terrifying—revolting, even.

"He kills so many people, and now he’s sucking their blood... Is he a demon?" Elara whispered between shivers.

"Hahaha... hahaha..." Suddenly, Zeka’s laughter startled Elara.

His face twisted with such savagery that Elara could only think of the demons from Hell.

"Huhuhu... I don’t want to be here, I want to go home... I want good food, I want my warm bed... huhuhuhu..." Elara sobbed, her voice trembling.

Hearing her, Zeka assumed Elara was worried about him. He immediately grinned and said, "Don’t worry about me, I’m fine."

Elara: "..."