Can not level up?

"One day?!" Noan was startled and turned to look at Vylyss.

Vylyss didn't feel embarrassed; on the contrary, she sighed, tilted her head, rested her hand on her face, and muttered, "Ah! Only one day? I should've extended it to two or three days instead."

Although she was muttering, her voice wasn't low—just enough for him to hear every word she said.

Noan didn't know what to say, only feeling fortunate he had woken up early. If not, he didn't know how long Vylyss would have kept him locked in that dark room.

Taking a deep breath, Noan looked at the sun gradually setting in the distance. If Urlgug hadn't told him how much time had passed, he would have thought he had only been in that dark room for a few hours.

"Alright, let's head back now," Noan sighed.

"Master…" Urlgug suddenly spoke up. "You need to see this."

Seeing the cheerful expression on Urlgug's face, Noan felt strange. However, he didn't rush and waited for Urlgug to reveal the next surprise.

At that moment, a creature resembling a human walked toward them.

It was the Zombie Tanker they had fought earlier. Although its body bore numerous injuries, overall, it was still intact.

Recalling that moment, Noan felt relieved he had noticed something strange about the Zombie Tanker. Otherwise, he and the others would likely have been killed.

Noan understood clearly… no matter how strong Zombies became, their intelligence remained limited. Otherwise, Zombies would have long since dominated the entire world.

Despite being ranked D, the Zombie Tanker displayed intelligence that exceeded Noan's understanding.

Is a Zombie capable of using its strength to conceal its weaknesses—was there such a Zombie in this world?

Definitely not.

So… what had happened to that Zombie?

There was only one possible answer: it was being controlled by an existence far stronger or far more intelligent than itself.

Because of this, Noan decided against attacking directly and instead used energy crystals as a makeshift bomb.

Energy crystals contained an immense amount of power. When detonated, their destructive force far surpassed that of ordinary explosives.

Unusually, the energy would transform into a shockwave, penetrating even the thick skin of the Zombie Tanker and targeting its internal organs.

Noan wasn't sure if this method would work. After all, the opponent was a Zombie. Even if its internal organs were destroyed, it wouldn't necessarily be affected.

Still, Noan wanted to try because he was aiming for the Zombie Tanker's brain.

Exactly. The shockwave could disrupt the Zombie's neural functions.

Noan theorized that if the Zombie Tanker was being controlled by another entity, its brain would undoubtedly serve as the connection point.

As long as the Zombie Tanker's brain functions were destroyed, even if it didn't die, it wouldn't remain as intelligent as before.

But… Noan was incredibly lucky—he had to admit that.

He never thought the entity controlling the Zombie Tanker would be hiding inside its head.

After being affected by the shockwave from the explosion of two rank E energy crystals, that creature seemed significantly weakened.

"That's also why Urlgug could imprison and kill it easily.

And even luckier… the monster called 'Demon Eye' brought him an 'Evolution Crystal,' which allowed Vylyss to evolve to rank D+. Later, she would have the chance to advance to rank D-Peak.

Noan understood clearly… if he sold the 'Evolution Crystal,' he would undoubtedly earn enough 'credit points' to live a 'carefree' life.

After all, something that could help a hero evolve, even by a single rank, was enough to shake the entire Empire.

But he didn't want to do that because if he did, he would attract significant danger and risk exposing his rank SSS talent to the public.

Besides… Vylyss was severely injured, and he simply wanted to save her. It was as simple as that.

Returning to the present, Noan looked at the Zombie Tanker and frowned as he asked Urlgug, "Can you control it?"

"Yes, Master," Urlgug replied, bowing his head. Then, he waved his magic staff to prove to Noan that what he said was true.

At that moment, the Zombie Tanker picked up a rock from the ground, aimed into the distance, and hurled it with great force.

Whoosh!

The sound of wind echoed as the rock, the size of a tennis ball, left the Zombie Tanker's hand like a cannonball, flying at an incredible speed.

A second later, a loud explosion erupted in the distance.

BAM!

Noan saw the wall of a crumbling structure far away burst apart, with smoke and dust billowing into the air like a thick fog.

Throughout the process, every movement of the Zombie Tanker was fluid, nothing like that of a puppet. It was as though it was moving independently rather than being controlled.

"Master…" Urlgug grinned excitedly, looking at Noan as he asked, "How do you feel?"

Noan gave a slight nod. "Hmm! Very good."

He glanced into the distance and noticed that there was still plenty of time before nightfall, so he decided to continue hunting.

Although he already possessed a rank D energy crystal, which could be exchanged for many rank F energy crystals to upgrade his territory, that wasn't feasible.

If everyone could exchange low-rank energy crystals, the effort of training to fight monsters would become meaningless.

Thus, the Empire had strictly prohibited Lords of level 6 and below from exchanging energy crystals.

This was also why he held onto several rank E and D energy crystals but couldn't exchange them for rank F energy crystals.

He could only search for rank F energy crystals through his own ability without relying on anyone else for help.

However, as Noan looked at Vylyss, Urlgug, and the Zombie Tanker, he thought the task would be much easier.

…

On the way, a horde of over 500 zombies was wandering aimlessly.

This was the group of zombies that Urlgug had discovered earlier. However, since the Zombie Tanker had been defeated by Noan, there were no high-ranking zombies left among them.

"Suddenly, the surrounding space rippled like a calm lake, countless concentric waves appearing everywhere.

And then...

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The sound of countless metallic clashes echoed.

Chains, countless chains, pierced through the spatial ripples around them, immediately penetrating the heads of every zombie present.

Five hundred zombies—a massive number spread over a vast area—were all killed within seconds.

Even the energy crystals inside their heads were effortlessly extracted.

Not far away, Vylyss clenched her fist, causing a ripple of space to appear before her. Moments later, numerous energy crystals fell to the ground.

Noan's eyes widened as he watched the scene, filled with disbelief.

He knew Vylyss was a 'Mutation Succubus,' her strength far surpassing that of typical rank D-Peak monsters. But he hadn't expected her power to be this terrifying.

The chains that previously emerged from her palms could now easily pierce through the surrounding space to launch surprise attacks on her enemies.

Even more astonishingly, those chains could collect energy crystals for Noan.

It didn't stop there. Vylyss glanced down at the pile of rank F energy crystals coated in blood and streaked with bits of white brain-like zombie matter and frowned.

With a wave of her hand, a soft white light radiated from her palm, cleansing all the energy crystals, making them incredibly clean and glistening like polished gems.

Noan gaped, feeling like Vylyss had just been upgraded with a cheat code.

Still, he understood that the stronger Vylyss became, the safer he was.

Vylyss glanced at Noan. Seeing his expression, she chuckled softly, her smile as warm as a spring breeze, leaving Noan entranced.

"Master… are you staring at me?"

Hearing Vylyss's question, Noan snapped out of his daze and nodded. "Indeed, you… you truly surprise me."

"Hehehe…" Vylyss placed a finger, as delicate as a work of art, against her lips. Her eyes narrowed into crescent moons as her seductive voice echoed, "Master… you'd be even more surprised if you made love to me."

Noan: "..."

He felt that ever since he had been intimate with her, she had become increasingly bold and completely unreserved when it came to discussing such sensitive topics.

Seeking to change the subject, Noan asked, "How many energy crystals have we harvested?"

Vylyss pouted in mock displeasure, and her voice tinged with playfulness, "Master, about 70 rank F energy crystals."

Noan nodded lightly at her words, inwardly sighing, 'As expected… the drop rate for rank F energy crystals is incredibly low, much lower than rank E or D.'

But he quickly regained his composure. After all, gathering energy crystals would be much easier with Vylyss and the Zombie Tanker now by his side.

Noan led the group to continue hunting. By the time the sun was about to set, he glanced at the pile of energy crystals stuffed into his backpack and nodded in satisfaction.

Thanks to the combined power of Vylyss, Urlgug, and the Zombie Tanker, he had harvested over 1,000 rank F energy crystals, more than 50 rank E energy crystals, many rank E+ energy crystals, and even one rank D energy crystal today.

He didn't rush to level up. Instead, he led everyone back to the territory.

After all, this area was still incredibly dangerous. Even with the addition of Vylyss and the Zombie Tanker, he still didn't feel completely secure.

Upon returning, Noan sat on his bed, opened the lord interface, and began the process of leveling up.

"Use 1,000 energy crystals to upgrade to level 1." Noan commanded.

Immediately, a notification popped up, causing him to frown.

[Ding! Apologies, you cannot level up because the location of your chosen territory does not support this function.]