The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around-Chapter 68: A Main Quest

’Useless. What about knocking it out instead? Would that count?’

[It is possible, but I do not recommend it. Raven’s Skill requires the target to remain conscious in order to be tamed.]

’So basically, we just have to beat the crap out of this piece of shit until its mind can’t handle it anymore,’

[....]

Useless went in silence as it saw the disturbing mental images Eren was imagining in his mind.

Meanwhile, Kristoff tried once again to persuade his junior companion to give up, but Leon remained stubborn. He pushed Kristoff’s hand aside and struggled to stand up on his own.

"You’re not even in fighting shape. You need to rest," Kristoff said urgently.

"I know my limits. I can still move," Leon replied, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, his knuckles white.

At that moment, Eren’s voice cut through the tense air.

"Let him be."

"But, young master—!"

Kristoff tried to argue, but Eren silenced him with a raised hand, his sharp gaze locking onto the blue-haired knight.

Eren’s eyes narrowed, piercing through Leon like a blade.

"Can you do it?" he asked coldly.

Leon lifted his head to meet Eren’s gaze. Eren asked again, slower this time, his voice a low rumble.

"Can you take it down?"

A short silence stretched between them before Leon answered.

"I can," he said firmly, his face serious, his tone unwavering.

Seeing the determination burning in Leon’s eyes, Eren couldn’t help but smirk a little. He pulled out a small elixir from his inventory and held it out for Leon to take.

"Here. Use this to recover your energy quickly," Eren offered.

However, Leon only stared at the potion in silence before shaking his head.

"I don’t need it."

His refusal stunned everyone around them. Even Kristoff frowned in frustration, his patience snapping.

"Stop being such a headache and just take it! You’ll need it if you’re serious about fighting that thing again!" Kristoff barked.

Leon let out a slow breath before explaining calmly, "I know. But if I take the elixir... it’ll hinder me."

What he meant was simple: drinking the elixir would completely restore his health, stamina, and mana—but it would also hurt his chances of achieving a major accomplishment.

If he fought the Thunderclaw at full strength while the monster was already weakened, the system would deem it less impressive, potentially lowering the rewards he could earn.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t level up at all.

Whether he succeeded or failed next would depend on his luck and effort.

If he won, he could level up and unlock new skills or abilities.

If he lost, he might still level up—just without any bonuses.

It was similar to how the system generated quests for Eren, the harder and more complicated the challenge, the greater the rewards.

Understanding Leon’s reasoning, Eren shrugged and pulled the elixir back.

"Suit yourself, then," he said casually.

He studied Leon for a moment before asking, "How much time do you need to recover?"

Leon’s eyes widened slightly as he remembered—the spell binding the Thunderclaw only lasted five minutes.

Hesitant, he answered, "Around three minutes. I’ll need to meditate to restore my mana."

Kristoff and the other knights around them widened their eyes in shock.

For an average knight, it would take at least ten minutes to recover mana even slightly.

But Leon’s meditation technique allowed him to recover several times faster—though even then, it still wasn’t perfect.

"That leaves only one minute..." Eren muttered under his breath, glancing at the struggling Thunderclaw still trapped by the magical net.

Just as Eren was considering whether he should purchase another [Sacred Net] magic scroll to reinforce the binding, a new green holographic panel suddenly popped up in front of him with a soft ding.

---

[New Notification!]

[Condition Triggered!]

[A New Main Quest Has Appeared!]

[Mission: Help the Knight Leon achieve his goal.]

---

Eren’s eyes widened in surprise before his expression slowly flattened into an unimpressed stare.

’...Useless?’ he called the system dryly.

[THAT WASN’T ME!!] Useless immediately screamed in panic.

....

....

Several silent seconds passed.

’What do you mean you don’t know?’ Eren asked with a deadpan face, staring at the glowing green screen after asking why a quest mission has appeared. To the system’s answer, Useless said it didn’t know.

[W-what I mean is, I didn’t know this would happen!] it scrambled to explain, flailing internally.

Apparently, the quest had appeared on its own because of specific hidden conditions.

[The conditions were: if Master encounters any major characters or individuals who can influence the fate of the world.]

[And... the character is currently at a Divergence Point.]

’And you’re telling me this just now?’ Eren narrowed his eyes dangerously.

[S-sorry! I’m still trying to figure out everything hidden inside the system’s functions!]

Useless cried out.

’Still?’ Eren said with an eyebrow twitching slightly.

[!!!]

The holographic screen visibly glitched as Useless trembled in fear, sensing its Master’s growing irritation.

He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh.

’Whatever. After we leave this forest, you’re giving me a full report on everything you’ve learned about the system.’

The screen shook up and down frantically, as if nodding.

[Y-yes! Of course, Master!!]

After reminding Useless, Eren calmly checked the quest screen.

---

[Main Quest: Help Leon Achieve His Goal]

Description: The knight carried by the wind desires to challenge the Thundercalw once more, this time alone and without assistance, to prove himself and surpass his previous result. Although you’re forbidden from helping him during the battle, you can buy him some time to prepare.

Objective: Buy Leon an additional 1 minute by distracting the monster.

(Note: You are not allowed to injure or weaken the monster in any way.)

Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆☆ (Hard)

Rewards: 5,000 Coins. 5 Stat Points. One Random Magic Artifact.

Failure Penalty: Leon’s fate remains unchanged.

[Accepted]

---

Seeing that the quest had been automatically accepted, Eren raised an eyebrow and asked flatly, "Can you delete it?"

[What?] Useless was stunned, almost glitching from confusion.

"I’m just asking," Eren replied with a lazy, cold tone, as if he were asking whether they served soup with or without poison.

The system went into a brief loading state, the screen flashing dots dramatically before finally responding.

[...No. It appears that’s not possible. The main quest is tied directly to the story progression. Although... you can ignore it if you want to.]

"And the consequence?" he asked, one eyebrow arching in mild amusement.

[Same as the penalty states. Nothing changes.]

Eren smirked to himself, his crimson eyes twinkling with irony. So he didn’t have to follow the system’s demands after all. He wondered why the system hadn’t implemented some ridiculous, over-the-top punishment like in those cringey system stories—where the protagonist dies, loses a limb, loses someone, something, or worse... The system could have made it like losing his precious game console—just for not completing a quest.

If the system had dared to try something like that, maybe then it would stand a chance at bossing Eren around...

Or, more likely, it would’ve ended with Eren doing something... Ugly, and dramatic. Possibly fatal. And that might just be why the system held back.

His gaze then moved back to the quest panel, particularly the objective and difficulty, as he casually asked:

"Hey. Am I allowed to ask the knights for help?"

He was curious whether he could delegate the task to Kristoff and the four senior knights, essentially outsourcing the quest like a true lazy overlord.

Useless paused, its screen flickering as it checked the quest conditions, then entered another loading phase.

[Umm... Yes, you can, Master. There are no restrictions on how you complete the quest, as long as the monster isn’t injured.]

Hearing this, Eren nodded in satisfaction. He was just about to call the knights over when he paused mid-movement, remembering something.

He turned back to the floating quest panel.

"Can you edit the main quest?" he asked calmly.

[....Yes. I believe I can, as long as you don’t change the main objective.] Useless answered in confusion.

"In that case, add these extra conditions..." Eren began, voice calm but eyes gleaming with a devilish glint.

Useless listened carefully to its Master’s idea, and if it had eyes, they would have widened in disbelief.

[M-Master... Are you sure about this?] it asked nervously, almost shaking.

"Yes. Just hurry up and do it," Eren commanded, not wanting to waste another second.

Only a brief moment had passed during Eren’s inner talk with the system. He turned to Leon and the others, who were still waiting and looking at him. along with Raven who is on the side.

"Alright, listen up, you lot," he said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. "We’re leaving Leon here so he can take on the monster alone. No arguing."

All eyes widened in surprise at the sudden announcement.

"All of you will stay outside the dome—except Leon, who needs to focus on recovering his mana. I’ll be staying inside too... to buy him a bit more time."

The knights’ eyes widened even more. Kristoff opened his mouth, clearly about to protest, but Eren swiftly silenced him.

"No, young ma—"

"Hup Pup! No interrupting," Eren cut in sharply, holding a finger to his lips like a strict school teacher catching a noisy student.

"Ahem. Anyway," he continued smoothly, "we’ve got about two minutes left before the barrier spell ends, and the Thundercalw gets loose."

"When that happens, I’ll face it myself and keep it busy while Leon finishes recovering."

This time, Leon looked just as stunned. He opened his mouth to object, but Eren’s glare cut him off.

"You can’t, young ma—!"

"Quiet, kid!" Eren barked. "I’m in this mess because of you, so shut it and don’t interrupt your elder!"

The knights and Rave stared at him, speechless, not just because of the plan—but because this boy was talking to them like he was the oldest person in the room.

Without giving them time to argue again, Eren quickly opened the system shop, purchased something, and tossed it to Leon.

Leon caught the item midair—it was a long, white cloak with a soft shimmer. Just from holding it, he could tell it was enchanted.

"It’s an invisibility... No, sorry. It’s a camouflage cloak," Eren corrected as he explained. "Use it to hide your presence from the monster while you meditate and restore your mana."