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Chapter 1: End of the Legend
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Dark clouds shrouded the sky, followed by the darkness and chaos that descended upon the earth. The spiral stone stairwell, bloody corpses, armories, weapons — everything was so chaotic and bleak, carrying the scent of death and danger.
Rhode took a deep breath, but he wasn't able to taste the cold and bloody air. After all, it was just a game. He shook his head and turned to look at his comrades who were sitting on the ground not far from him. Right now, they were resting quietly, restoring their own strength and repairing their own weapons. On the surface, it was no different from the usual day, but Rhode knew that this fight was clearly not as easy as before.
"How many survived?"
He asked in a low voice.
Hearing this question, his comrades looked at each other. Then a thin mage stood up.
"Guild leader, reporting! There are ninety-six people left. The Void Dragon Dungeon is even more dangerous than we imagined. A lot of our brothers are still left behind in the previous trap. Luckily we still have a diverse number of classes left."
"That's good."
Rhode nodded. He did not say anything else, so the others also went silent.
If it were an ordinary guild, they would have lost their courage long ago and would have fallen into disorder. After all, what they were about to face was the most powerful, most terrible, and one of the game's most elite bosses, the unconquered Void Dragon. It was the final boss of the Third Chapter in Dragon Soul Continent Online. At the moment, it was known as the most terrible existence. Facing such a fight, ordinary guilds needed to organize at least ten parties to challenge it. But now, Rhode's guild was only left with ninety-six people, which was clearly not enough. Still, there was not even the slightest panic in their eyes, only calmness, confidence, and trust.
The person that they trusted with their avatars' lives was currently standing not far from the stairwell in front of them. He looked up to the sky with a face full of fortitude. A cold scar could be found on his brow, which left people awestruck. A shining magical armor covered his mighty body as if it was a mighty bulwark that would never fall.
Of course, it was not because of his dignified outward appearance that had made others trust the man in front of them. No matter how strong he looked, it was only an avatar design, and the scar on his brow was just a cosmetic item.
The real factors were the countless achievements and prestigious titles behind him.
First player to rank top of all professional players.
First player to be acknowledged as the top player of the most difficult playable class, 'Spirit Swordsman.'
Since the First Chapter of 'Dragon Soul Continent Online: The Coming Darkness', he had led the guild by solely relying on his own ability. His frightening degree of familiarity towards other classes had helped him sweep three quarterly leaderboards and defeat all the bosses in the first kill as the leader of the guild. All of his dungeon videos would be reproduced by numerous players. He was worshiped as the holy teacher, and he was the Dragon Soul Continent's No. 1 guild leader — Rhode.
He had personally conquered 'The Coming Darkness', and paved the way to the Second Chapter, 'The Turbulent Era'. Then, he conquered the 'The Turbulent Era', and had arrived to 'The Void Trial'. And now, he would once again use his own hands to end 'The Void Trial'. However, the new era would no longer be opened by him alone.
How many years has it been?
Rhode shifted his gaze from the distant shining thunderbolts in the sea of clouds and asked himself.
Since the death of his sister, he had been in the Dragon Soul Continent for seven years, and in the past seven years, in order to force himself to forget the pain of the past, he repeatedly set many impossible goals for himself and had reached it again and again. At that time, it had brought him great excitement and glory, which slowly lessened the deep pain in his heart.
However, it was going to stop here.
A month ago, Rhode's parents had traveled abroad. Unfortunately, their plane flew into a hurricane and crashed, killing both of them instantly. Rhode had been unable to remember what the call he received was about, and how he had felt back then when he heard the news. Now, he had made the decision to leave the game and return to real life. This was not just for his own parents, but also for his own sake. He himself was very clear that it was time for him to change.
"Lea… leader?"
A timid voice sounded, interrupting his flashback. He looked up and saw that there was a timid female mage that had raised her hand from the crowd, her eyes were shining towards him.
"Are…are you really going to leave?"
"Yes."
Rhode nodded. Then he began to control his own complicated emotions. He shook his head and looked at his companions; these were all his memories and achievements for seven years, they were comrades that had been fighting with him for the past seven years. However, soon, he would eventually leave them. Although it was only in the game, even with a small hand gesture, he could feel what others wanted to do to some extent. After removing the game helmet and going back to reality, it seemed like he would not be able to recognize them.
"My resume was sent yesterday. I hope that I can find a company that will take me in."
"If I received the guild leader's resume, I will arrange you directly as a manager of the department, just rest assured!"
A knight waved the sword in his hand. His words had also livened up the previous dull atmosphere and made everyone laugh.
"Thank you for your kindness. Unfortunately, I did not write my game experience on my resume. As you know, our guild has many enemies. If my resume were to be received by people from another guild, then my life would be over."
Rhode also smiled and answered. After that, he coughed with a serious expression.
"I think we all know just how we have overcome these past years."
Hearing him, the people that had laughed just now closed their mouths and began to listen to his words.
"We also know that in the forums, there are a lot of people who accuse us and say that we undermine the balance of the game, monopolize all the boss first kills, and made the word 'competition' lose its meaning… Frankly, they're not wrong, but…"
Rhode suddenly clenched his fist and swung it forcefully.
"But this is what we do! We are the strongest guild, we are the strongest party! We have the strength! Then we have to do it, to rob it! The other guilds are not strong enough, therefore it's their own problem for being defeated. If their strength was enough, they should've been able to contend with us. Us monopolizing the boss first kill is not by relying on orthodox methods, position or the flattery from the game company. What we rely on is our own strength! We never give up, we never admit defeat, we will never slack, so what we have now is what we deserve. It is just that simple."
Rhode paused and then continued.
"I love this guild. I will also miss the time we have spent the past the seven years together, but in this world, all good things will come to an end. I need to go to find my purpose in life, but I will never forget everyone, neither will I forget the guild, which carries my most painful memories, but also my happiest ones. I will always remember Starlight forever."
Rhode said while pointing on his head.
"A lot of people said that if I left the guild, the guild will not be able to persist on. I know that there are a lot of guilds that heard about me leaving and are now busy sharpening their weapon to break our guild after I leave. However, they have underestimated us. Dragon Soul Continent Online is not a game with only me in it. I cannot establish the guild myself. I cannot create a party myself, and it is impossible for me to take the boss first kill by myself. That is why I hope that after I leave, all of you can give those people the reason why this guild is so strong…"
"Because we have the ability — the ability to take our guild to the first rank with our own strength!"
"Yes!"
"No problem, leader!"
"Leave it to us. When the time calls for it, we will give those idiots a perfect answer!"
"Very good."
Hearing everyone's answer, Rhode nodded, and then he turned to the right side of the crowd.
"Old Liu."
After hearing Rhode voice, the thin mage walked out of the crowd and came to his side. Rhode looked at the mage in front of him quietly for a moment, then took out his guild token and placed it in his hands.
[System Notice: Transferring Guild Leadership, Transferring Party Leadership]
"The next era is yours."
Rhode let go of his hand. His voice was very calm, without the slightest change.
"No problem, Rhode."
The mage nodded, but soon, he spoke again.
"Well, as the new guild leader and as the party leader, I order you to lead everyone one last time."
"Old Liu?"
Hearing this answer, Rhode could not help but frown. The thin mage only smiled and patted Rhode's shoulder.
"You are the one who started this era, and you are the one who supposed to end it too, Rhode. This is how it should be."
Rhode went silent; he looked towards his companions who were not far away. At that moment, they were ready and were waiting for his orders as usual.
Then Rhode raised his sword, pointing it to the front.
"Get ready!!"
As expected, the Void Dragon is extremely strong
Rhode had fought against almost all the higher level BOSSES in the Dragon Soul Continent and even included the other setups in the Dragon Soul Continent, but none of them was as troublesome as the Void Dragon in front of him. Its attack pattern was more complex, almost random. Its damage was several times higher than ordinary bosses. Needless to say that its speed, response, and even defense were all S-class level.
Huff…! What a difficult opponent to conquer…
Rhode held his sword and clenched his teeth, watching the monster in front of him. The fight had reached its peak, and he was the only survivor. But even so, Rhode's HP was almost empty; the flashing red alert on his retinas continuously reminded him that his vitality had reached the limit.
So what if it is the Void Dragon?
As they looked at each other's HP, it can be seen that the dragon's eyes were filled with hatred. Suddenly, Rhode had a very strange feeling; he seemed to be able to feel the dragon's emotions. As the game's most powerful and undefeated boss, it now actually fell into such a situation, it must have felt really bad.
Then, I'll go with you.
Thinking of it, Rhode raised his left hand.
Accompanied by a bird's cry, Rhode's sword suddenly burst out a blazing flame. It morphed into a soaring Fire Bird, with its head overturned, it rushed towards the Void Dragon. Facing a head-on attack from Rhode, the Void Dragon roared menacingly. It raised its forepaws high and smashed forward.
Suddenly, Rhode felt his body shake violently. A strong power was building up as the Fire Bird cried out in sorrow and vanished immediately. But before it disappeared, it created a strong explosion that successfully connected with the Void Dragon. The Void Dragon that was originally waving its claw failed because of the explosion and its claw was abruptly torn apart.
After a while, an empty door opened.
Rhode bit his teeth. The flashing red alert was now in an even deeper shade of red, reminding him that the damage he suffered had reached the critical point. However, it was not within his control anymore. This was the last chance; he would either win or perish trying. He raised the sword in his hand, rushing forward. But the Void Dragon also managed to recover. It growled and once again tried to thrust down its claw. At the same time, Rhode also threw out the sword in his hand.
Thunderbolt, activate!
The sword turned into a bright light, piercing the dragon's chest. Rhode was completely focused looking at it— looking at the light that pierced through the Void Dragon's claw which tore through the dragon's body scales easily.
The Void Dragon roared in agony; after that, a huge dragon claw smashed into Rhode's body.
The red in front of him had warped his entire field of vision, Rhode could no longer anything in front of him, but in the corner, the system prompt could be seen clearly as usual.
[Congratulations to the Starlight Guild that has obtained the first BOSS kill in the Void Dragon Dungeon. An eternal evil has been wiped out.]
[The character has received fatal damage and will soon die]
It's finally over.
As he observed the system prompt, Rhode exposed a pleasant smile.
And at this time, suddenly, a bright light beamed above him, warping him to the usual respawn platform.
At that moment, a pure white light shot up and penetrated the dark sky, dispersing the dark, lingering clouds.
The players who had already respawned quickly rushed towards the respawning platform. Even the other players around the world who were furious that Starlight had once again broken the record came. All of them stared at the platform quietly, waiting for Rhode to appear.
But at the top of their screens, a system announcement flashed.
[System Notice: Player 'Rhode' went offline]
A legendary player that had conquered the three eras disappeared just like that.
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The wind blew through the canyon and set off waves to the prairie.
The wild cows that were bowing to eat the green grass looked up towards the sky. There, a ten-meter long wooden merchant ship was floating in the air. The ship moved forward slowly as the sail bellied with the wind.
"No matter how you see it, this scenery sure is a magnificent one."
A middle-aged man in leather armor stood next to the deck, looking down at the endless grassland and its beauty.
"For us merchants, this is also a rare opportunity."
Standing next to the middle-aged man was a slightly overweight merchant. He had a weird curly hair and was wearing a merchant's robe. His small eyes were slightly narrowed as if he was planning something while gazing at the scenery in front of him. Looking at him, it was as if he was thinking that the beautiful scenery in front of him could be sold.
"If it were not for this thing, I am afraid we won't be able to move the goods into the central area this quickly. To be honest, I always opposed the idea of opening a market, but now it seems that my choice was correct."
"Please forgive me for being frank, but if you do not choose a wider route, even if we went from here, although it will save more time, the degree of danger will also increase. I heard that the other side is not quiet, and I think you have also listened to the captain's reminder that it seems there were Wind Serpents around here recently, what if…"
The man's face darkened. He turned his head, shifting his sight to somewhere not far from the mountains. Towering peaks blocked his line of sight, making him unable to see what was behind. But he could faintly perceive that the distant sky was not pure blue, and there was a touch of cloudy darkness.
That's not the world they should get involved with.
"Do not worry, how can there be so many ifs? Money comes from danger. This is the reason why I spend so much money to hire you! Only a few serpents, is that not it?"
The merchant stretched out his hand and patted the man's shoulder.
"Yes, what about the condition of the young man we saved? Is he still alive?"
"Lize has bandaged his wound, and now he is sleeping. His condition supposedly will not be life-threatening."
"That's good."
Hearing the man's answer, the merchant nodded with satisfaction, but then he quickly frowned.
"But what kind of wound is that from? Looking at the wound, it seems like it was from a big lizard, but is there anything like that in the north of Paphield?"
"I do not know, Lord, but it's supposedly a very ferocious beast. I hope we do not run into them."
While talking, the man's eyes subconsciously swept the entrance of the cabin, then he turned his head again, looking forward.
Rhode opened his eyes.
W-what happened?
He stared at the ceiling; his brain was dizzy. He remembered that he had been leading his team to fight the most powerful boss in the Dragon Soul Continent, the Void Dragon, and had successfully gotten the first kill. He was sure that he had got the achievement and system prompt, but then, the Void Dragon's last attack also took his life away.
According to his plan, Rhode should've respawned and then he would log out. But the moment he was killed by the Void Dragon, his whole vision immediately become dark, as if he was forced to log off. Then he lost his consciousness.
How can this be? Did I encounter a bug in the game?
Rhode could barely turn his head, but he still managed to catch a glimpse of the blue azure sky and white clouds outside.
Where is he? What's this place? What happened? Is he dreaming? Or is he still in the game? At least he was sure that this place wasn't his small rental apartment. Doubts immediately flooded his mind.
Then, Rhode frowned and tried to get up.
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, he felt an acute pain from his chest. He bit his lips and stopped moving. He found that his left shoulder and chest had been completely wrapped by a bandage. Although he did not know what happened, judging from the blood stain that permeated it, it seemed that his injury was quite severe.
This is definitely not a game.
Rhode was undoubtedly certain of this. He knew that although the current technology was quite advanced, and as the world's first virtual reality game, Dragon Soul Continent Online had also used a lot of high-tech technology, but according to the rules, it was impossible for the player to experience pain. The reason was so that people could distinguish between reality and the game. Also, for the sake of the players, they had to reduce the pain threshold. If the player was injured, instead of pain, the game would reduce the player's speed and use red color to block the player's line of sight. It was done so to warn and remind them, rather than the real simulation of pain. When the virtual reality simulation technology first appeared in the world, it had caused a lot of controversies. Dragon Soul Continent's operating company naturally knew it too.
Rhode lowered his head and looked at his right hand. Its shape was not like his character from the game; his body was not that full of muscle nor was it mighty. On the contrary, the arm in front of him was small and thin. Since he had almost never exposed himself to the sunlight, his skin was a little bit pale. This was definitely his own body; he was sure of it.
However, how did he get hurt? Was this place a hospital? Rhode scanned his surroundings; the whole room looked like a cabin—no lights, no phone, no call bell. A wooden table, two chairs and a fixed cabinet on the wall were the only things in the room. He did not know why, but he felt like he had seen this somewhere.
While he was studying the room carefully, the door suddenly opened.
A blonde girl wearing a white robe entered the room. She looked at Rhode who was half-sitting in surprise, with her eyes wide open.
"You have woken up? That's great!!"
The girl did not speak Chinese or English, but he seemed to be able to clearly understand it. He could not help but feel a little bit surprised because he knew the language too.
This is the Nimus language, one of the official language in the Dragon Soul Continent!
"How are you feeling?"
However, the girl did not care about Rhode's expression. She quickly went to his side, carefully checking his left shoulder and chest.
"Your injury is really serious. Frankly, I was worried whether you would survive or not…"
"This is…"
He frowned but did not know what to say. He turned his head, looking at the mirror next to the wall where a clear reflection of his face could be seen. It was indeed his face, no doubt about it, but it was not supposed to appear here.
"Did you forget?"
The blonde girl curiously blinked her eyes, her twin tails following her movement. Her blue eyes were clear and transparent, exuding a cheerful disposition.
"Two days ago, you fell in the middle of the Paphield Plains and suffered a very serious injury. If it was not because of the Silver Libra's merchant guild floating ship passing by, I am afraid it would be even worse. I do not know what kind of monster you fought against, but the left side of your body received a very serious injury. It can be really dangerous."
Wait, left shoulder…
Rhode froze in surprise for a moment. He immediately thought about the last battle with the Void Dragon before, wasn't it his left shoulder that was attacked? But it was his game avatar that was injured, and there was supposed to be no connection to the player itself, right? But now, the one who got injured was him?
Although the situation in front of him was a mess, Rhode still quickly calmed down. As the top player and the world strongest guild leader, he had a strong mentality, and in the middle of the conversation with the blonde girl in front of him, he had also learned about his current situation. He was seriously injured in the Paphield Plains, and Silver Libra Merchant Guild floating ship happened to pass by, so they saved him. According to what the blonde girl had said, his condition was pretty bad, but his ability to recover was pretty good.
"My name is Lize Noir, I am a member of the Crescent Star mercenary group. I am a Cleric. You can just call me Lize."
The girl straightforwardly introduced herself to Rhode.
"I'm Rhode Alander."
Even though he still could not completely sort out the situation, he hesitated for a moment, but he still told her his ID from the game.
"I am an adventurer from the Eastern Plains."
"So you are an adventurer, that was why you were alone in the vast mountain."
After hearing Rhode's answer, Lize did not feel surprised because, in this continent, there were many adventurers who liked to explore alone, so Rhode's identity was not much of a problem.
"But what kind of thing did you fight with actually? How did you get such a serious injury? I remember that there should be no high leveled monsters in particular in the plains."
Hearing her inquiry, Rhode showed a bitter smile. What could he say? Should he say that he was injured because he fought one of the five creator dragons, the Void Dragon?
"I did not see what it was because I was attacked at night. There were a lot of them and they were very quick. I think that maybe they were things from 'the other side'."
"I understand."
Although Rhode did not elaborate, Lize seemed to know what it was and nodded. By then, she had also finished checking at Rhode's wound, so she stood up.
"You have not eaten for two days, so you must be hungry. Please wait. I will get some food for you to eat. Ah, yes, I would like to report this matter to my leader, I think he will come to see you soon."
Having said that, she nodded towards him politely and then left the room.
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Chapter 3: Holy Sword Card Deck
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"Sigh."
Finally, Rhode was able to take a deep breath, then he laid down on the bed once again.
After chatting with Lize, he confirmed that this place was indeed Dragon Soul Continent. But it was not in the era that he was in before — it was far more distant— the Twilight Era. If this timeline was compared to the game, it was supposed to be when Dragon Soul Continent Online was in its open beta testing period.
How did I arrive here?
Rhode sighed, then shook his head, no longer wanting to think about these strange and mysterious things. In any case, he was already here, and this fact couldn't change. So what was he going to do next?
First of all, Rhode decided to try what he could do for now. Soon, after giving a thought, a clear and familiar system prompts showed up in front of him. It showed his current status and attributes:
[Rhode Alander]
[Level 1
Race: Mixed Race (??)
Talent: Locked
Racial Reward: Locked
Racial Characteristics: Locked
Class: Summoning Swordsman (Hero)
Class Skills: Summon (Rank E)
Special Swordsmanship: Moon Shadow Swordsmanship (Rank E) (Available Skills – Blade of Destruction)
Other Classes: Alchemist (Expertise in Mysterious Creation)
Special Skills: Shaping (Rank E)]
This was the very ordinary yet unusual Character Status screen. But when he saw the first line, Rhode almost shouted out loud.
Mixed race? Why am I a mixed race?!
In the Dragon Soul Continent, the meaning of the so-called mixed race was no different to the one on Earth. The mixed race here was born with the marriage between humans and other races. Rhode was very sure that he was a human, and even in the game, his role was also human. But why did his Character Status show that he was a mixed race? And it was also followed by question marks which meant that his other half-blood had not yet awakened. The racial bonuses and characteristics were also still locked. It meant that to unlock it, he must understand what kind of blood he had first in order to awaken the power within him.
For Rhode, this could be considered a concern because, usually, the race reward was automatically provided after creating the character. For example, the human race bonuses were able to shorten the time in learning skills, immunity to poison, enhanced reputation and many others. But now, he would be unable to get these bonuses and characteristics until he awakened it.
But it wasn't surprising either since he also found new additions to his essential skills like Swordsmanship and Alchemy. Because he had not forgotten his Swordsmanship and Alchemy skills that he had learned, it was displayed below his status, but the color was dark. It meant he did not have the required ability and level to learn and use them. However, he did not really have to worry about it. As long as he could raise his ability, he would be able to use those skills once again. Of course, the skill rank was also reduced to the lowest rank, which was E, rather than SS Rank.
However, Rhode did not care about those little things because what he valued the most was not the rank, but their sources. Many of those Swordsmanships were difficult to learn. Not only did he need to raise his level and stats, he also needed to complete chain quests, increase his reputation and find hidden items. To finish those, he would need a lot of money, time, and luck. In the game, it was only in the last year in Dragon Soul Continent that he managed to completely build his own character, thereby having the confidence to challenge the Void Dragon.
Unfortunately, everything had its own ups and downs. Even though his Swordsmanship had no problems, he quickly found out that his experience, level, and rank were all gone, and the most important thing that he had lost was the most crucial to the existence of a Spirit Swordsman— his Summoned Spirits.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, the Spirit Swordsman was a class with many dilemmas. In the beginning, when it was officially launched, it had garnered everyone's attention since it was an exclusive class. But after the official release of the class, because a Spirit Swordsman needed to cultivate both magic and Swordsmanship, both of them had totally different sub-stats, as well as the complexity of coordination with the Summoned Spirit. There was also the class knowledge gaining process, which meant that the player needed to play the class in all three aspects to know the class well. That was why this class was such a huge disappointment.
The Spirit Swordsman's 'summon' and the Mage's 'summon' appeared to be the same, but in fact, both of them were very different. A Mage's 'summon' consumed their own power to open a portal for the creature to enter the world, and control things by using magic. However, the Spirit Swordsman's 'summon' was different. They did not have the power to open a portal, because their power came from the world itself, and one of their abilities enabled them to awaken the soul from mysterious and historical relics. They could even make a contract and seal them for their own use.
Although it did sound very strong, it was still too bothersome. In fact, many players had been confused by the skills. They thought that by buying cheap ancient relics from the merchants, they could use the summoning skill to awaken the soul of those things and make a contract, effortlessly gaining an artifact.
Unfortunately, no matter how easy they thought it was, the truth still hurt. Not to mention, only high-level summoners could awaken the soul from ancient relics, and as a spirit, they had lost their material form, so their power was also much weaker than before. For example, the artifact that Rhode had used in Dragon Soul Continent Online, the "Dragon King's Wrath", was the only thing that he was able to awaken the soul from, and it was also when he had achieved the highest level.
There were three methods to obtain a summoned spirit. The first was by awakening and condensing the soul from dead magical creatures and turning it into a summoned spirit. But its stats would change based on the owner's stats, the environment, and other factors. For example, if a Spirit Swordsman killed a Fire Snake to obtain its soul, but the soul was summoned in snowy weather or the snake had been killed by equipment with the Dark Element, it would be really difficult to find out about the summoned spirit stats. If it was a Hydra, then it would be much better if it had the Dark Element. However, if it was only an ordinary weak monster with a conflicting element, then it would be better just to cry.
The second method to obtain a summoned spirit was to defeat non-human creatures and fulfill certain conditions. Afterward, one can make a contract and seal them up as a summoned spirit. This was a more simple method, but it was also more dangerous since non-human creatures had their own will and conscious, which meant that they could resist the summoner's order and act according to their own judgment. Of course, this method would not be welcomed by anyone since they would not want to summon something that created trouble.
As for the last method, it was by activating the special skill called 'Soul Awakening' at Level 10 and awaken a soul by fusing a certain number of spirits to produce a new higher level spirit. With this method, the player can control the summoned spirit to a certain extent. As long as the player was familiar with the fused summoned spirit's characteristics, race, and stats, the player can easily tell the fusion result. But this kind of method was way too risky and might also be disappointing because the level of the new summoned spirit was unknown. When two high-level spirits were fused, it might result in a Level 1 summoned spirit; it might also result in an even higher level spirit or even a useless spirit. If it was the former, it was still okay since the level could be raised, but if it were the latter, then it would be better to just delete it.
The summoned spirit's experience gain was shared with its owner. This was also one of the reasons why a Spirit Swordsman was far slower in leveling than other classes. For the others, they could just level up by themselves, but a Spirit Swordsman must share their experience to level up their summoned spirit so that they could evolve. But from the first point, one should know that a summoned spirit's evolution was affected by the environment, its owner's attributes and other external factors. Sometimes, the result of the evolution was not necessarily what the owner had expected.
Because of its disappointing characteristic, it had turned from the 'Most Popular' class into one of the '10 Most Disappointing Classes' in the Dragon Soul Continent official website. There were even people who regarded those who had chosen this class as newbies, or rookies that were cheated on by the introduction and CGI announcement, or players that only played for fun or even gambling addicts, and the last ones were people like…Rhode.
From a simple, regular player, he had turned into a legendary phenomenon. Using this troublesome class, the Spirit Swordsman, Rhode had taken 1st place on numerous servers and had even continuously conquered the three eras. How were the other players supposed to feel?
Most other players did not like those kinds of random methods because it would make them feel like the result was not within their grasp. But it was precisely because of that, Rhode felt really happy because it was challenging. This was also the reason why he had chosen this class. In fact, in his long gaming career, he had also experienced many of those 'disappointments', but he never gave up because only by conquering those difficulties would it make him more satisfied.
But now, his seven years of training dozens of high-level spirits were gone, just like that. Although on the back of his right hand, the mysterious summoning circle still existed, he could not feel his summoned spirits' existence anymore. It was no surprise though since his body was no longer the same as the game.
But…
Rhode reached out his hand, touched his chest pocket, and quickly found a card.
It was a white card. Painted above it was a thorn circling a pure white longsword. The sword was engraved with a complex carving. There were beautiful wings beside it; just looking at it gave a kind of pleasant feeling. At the four corners of the card, there were four different symbols. On the upper right corner, there was a white semi-circle; on the upper left corner, there was a small X written. Below, on the lower right and left corner, there were two small numbers written —3. Behind it, there was a line of mysterious elegant text emerging on the surface.
[The 10th Eternal Holy Sword: Star Mark, No stats, Available for Fusion— No matter how long time has passed, it is still unable to bury its dazzling brilliance.]
It's actually still here!
Looking at the card in his hand, Rhode was slightly surprised for a moment. This was a Summon Card Deck, and he was also very familiar with this card. This rare card was something that he had obtained when he joined the official game event. At that time, he has led his guild and won the combined-server 1st place for two consecutive quarters. To honor him as the strongest top player, the game company had gifted him this card. Of course, this kind of card was often sold in the game shop, but for him, it was a waste of money to buy such things that were good-looking but useless. That was why he kept this card with him. When he received it, he treated it like a lifesaver and always kept it by his side since it did not really take up much space.
Originally, there was nothing special about it except it was a limited edition card. But now, a weak light was emitting from the surface of the card and shining on his hand.
Should I give it a try?
Rhode hesitated for a second. After that, his right hand tightly gripped the card. The magic circle on his right hand shone, blue magic lines spread out, running through all his fingers. Suddenly, the white card burst out a dazzling white light, and turned into tiny specks of dust, completely disappearing into the thin air.
At this moment, a system prompt appeared before him.
[1/10 of Eternal Deck has been obtained, The 10th Rank Eternal Holy Sword, Star Mark]
"Sigh…"
Looking at the system prompt, Rhode could not help but sigh. He did not know why this card had a summoning function in this world, while it was useless previously. In the game, before reaching Level 15, finding a 2 to all stats weapon was very difficult, and the 'Star Mark' sword had 3 to all stats, which was sufficient to help him cover his current weakness. In addition, it was also available for fusion which meant that as long as he was able to find a spirit that suited him, he could add it to his own. He needed the power of 'Soul Awakening' to use the special skill. That was why this weapon was still inferior compared to other ordinary weapons. But based on its attack power, this weapon was considered as a rare and powerful equipment.
However, it was really difficult for him to feel excited right now because he still felt strange about being involved in this kind of situation.
Is this a game? Or reality? If it's a reality then how can I go back?
Knock. At this moment, a knocking sound was heard.
Rhode looked up and saw a middle-aged man walking inside. He wore an adventurer's leather armor, with bright red hair which was casually combed back. Looking at Rhode, the man smiled.
"Hello Sir, I am the leader of the Crescent Star mercenary group, Carter."
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"Hello, Mr. Carter."
Rhode looked up, greeted the man in front of him and smiled.
"Thank you for your help."
"No worries. It's not a problem."
Carter had a strong and tall body with casually combed bright red hair. From his characteristics, he should be born in the northwest of Lygatto. A long and a short sword quietly hung on both sides of his waist, and his angular faces revealed his fortitude and scrutiny. From his appearance, clearly he wasn't some ordinary mercenary.
While Rhode observed the man in front him, Carter too quietly looked at him.
With Rhode's appearance, it was easy to conclude that he was some arrogant young noble. His thin physique, pale skin, girly face, and attire. No matter how one looked at him, the man still did not look like an adventurer. He was more of a rich second generation young master.
However, Carter believed that this young man was not as simple as he appeared to be because of the mysterious circle on his right hand. As a Cleric, Lize could detect a trace of magic from the mysterious circle which meant that he did not lie. But based on Carter's years of experience, it was rare to see someone directly embed magic in their own body. From this point, he suspected that this man wasn't someone simple.
Previously, from their brief conversation, Carter could feel that this young man was neither arrogant nor humble; his expression was very calm. Carter heard from Lize that even though he had just awakened from a coma in a mere ten minutes, he was able to grasp his current situation. Judging from this, he was sure that Rhode was far stronger than those arrogant young nobles.
"I heard that you came from the Eastern Plains."
"Yes."
Rhode nodded his head.
"So where were you going?"
"I'm just traveling around."
Rhode shrugged his shoulders.
"I am an adventurer; adventuring freely is part of my life. Of course, please rest assured. I will not bring you any trouble."
"That's good."
Since Rhode was being honest, there was no need for him to ask more. They were currently on a mission; naturally, they did not want to add any more trouble. So after saying a few words like 'get a rest', he decided not to say anything anymore and left. After all, he was a leader of a mercenary group. There were a lot of things for him to do; he could not waste his time here.
After a while, Rhode became quite bored. However, it was still enjoyable when Lize brought food for him. Even though it was only ordinary bread and meat that Rhode had eaten countless times in the game, still, that was just 'fake' eating and was only for restoring HP and MP. Also, it was tasteless and could only fill the stomach. However, now he was personally experiencing how it actually tasted; it could be considered a good experience.
He had to admit, the taste really didn't live up to the item description…
"How do you feel? Does the wound still hurt?"
The blonde girl sitting beside Rhode had a worried and serious expression. Her eyes had a slightly worried look as her gaze fell on his shoulder. She just could not bear to look at it.
"It's alright now."
Rhode said while moving his left hand. The pain from his sternum was not as bad as before. At first, it was even difficult for him to breathe, but now, it had become much better.
"That's good."
Hearing Rhode's answer, Lize's nervous expression relaxed a lot.
"But you still have to rest. It will be a lot better after arriving at Deep Stone City. Maybe you can recover faster there."
The girl said earnestly. Although the person lying in front of her was no more than a stranger that she just met, looking at her expression, it was apparent that she did not care about those things.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's what I'm supposed to do."
Then, she stood up. Her blonde, fluffy hair followed along with her movements. It swayed left and right, giving others a playful and lively feeling.
"Then…"
Before she could finish, the ship suddenly shook violently.
She lost balance and almost fell to the bed. Fortunately, she managed to stretch out her hand at the last minute and held on to the bedside. They looked into each other's eyes, before quickly averting their eyes.
The floating ship sailed due to the wind; the sky was not like the ocean where there were reefs and whirlpools. However, it did not necessarily mean there was no danger. The situation right now was obviously not normal.
"I'll go out and see what's going on. Please stay in the room and rest."
Lize said in a low voice. She immediately turned around and left. After closing the door, Rhode couldn't help but stare at the leaving figure. He was speechless. Given that he looked older than her, was it still necessary to use this kind of child-coaxing tone with him?
But in the next moment, a shadow could be seen flying from outside the window. Rhode's expression suddenly turned serious. He turned his head slightly and stared at the window. Soon, there were three, four green figures flying from outside. At the same time, a low roar could be heard.
"Hiss——"
When he heard this sound, Rhode's heart sank.
They were in a big trouble!
At the moment, the deck has already turned into chaos.
"I did not expect that we would encounter these damn things."
The red-haired mercenary leader was holding a sword, standing in the forefront. With a grave expression, he looked at those green figures flying around the floating ship. Their appearance was that of a long, winged snake, about one meter in length. Although their lean figure gave people a delicate feeling, when they exposed their big mouth, rows of sharp fangs could be seen. In a short time, Carter had concluded what they were.
Wind Serpents.
"It seems like we broke into the serpent territory."
The fat merchant was hiding beside the mercenary leader. With a pale face, he wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Damn that cunning Picco. I knew it! I just knew there must be a problem since that bastard was willing to tell me such a route with such a small compensation! That murderous b*stard! After I go back I must let him know how powerful I am!! "
"Let's talk after we get out from here!"
Carter interrupted the fat merchant's hysterical screaming. Looking around, there were hundreds of Wind Serpents that had surrounded the merchant. At first, he thought that by launching a volley of bolts he could scare off this group of monsters. But the Wind Serpents' unrelenting nature was really beyond his imagination — or it could be said that their comrade's death had inspired them to be fiercer.
At this moment, they had already occupied the outer deck and begun to move inward. The mercenaries already threw aside their crossbows and unsheathed their melee weapons to engage their foes in close combat.
"You! Go and hide inside. Tell the captain that we must leave here as soon as possible!"
Carter used the back of his hand to push the fat merchant towards the captain's deck, then he took two steps forward and swiftly swung the sword in his hand to cut down the Wind Serpent that rushed up to him. But soon, two more Wind Serpents replaced its dead comrade.
We don't have enough men!
Carter could not help but frown. He swept his gaze across the deck and saw that there were only six people left and they were the ones he had brought with him on this mission. Although the merchant ship itself had guards, their experience was not enough. In fact, after the first wave of attacks, the number of guards had decreased down to one-third. Looking at their panicked expressions, he knew that they could not hold on much longer. Carter's face hardened at the sight of those hideous monsters.
It was not like he did not have the experience of facing Wind Serpent. But it was his first time to face this many Wind Serpents at once, making him feel slightly nervous. He once again took a step forward. His body flexibly moved, creating a half circle. Then he thrust the sword in his hands to the side, cutting into the Wind Serpent's body. The Wind Serpent fell to the ground in a bloody mess, and after a few loud roars, it turned into a dead corpse.
Carter looked up and subconsciously swept the surroundings. Then, his heart suddenly jumped.
"Lize! Be careful!"
The girl was unable to react for a second.
Healing one of the poisoned mercenaries had excessively consumed her power and made her almost lose her consciousness. Even though she had rushed into the deck only for a few minutes ago, she had healed a lot of injured people. As the only Cleric in the group, Lize, of course, had to take this responsibility.
After hearing Carter's warning, she turned her head.
What she saw then was a big mouth with two sharp fangs.
At that moment, she could only stand frozen. Looking at the Wind Serpent in front of her, she could not think and did not know how to react. In front of her, she could clearly see the cold, sharp, and shining fangs. Even the flesh inside could be seen, and a clear stench could be smelt.
Then, a hand suddenly stretched from behind, seized her back and pulled her back in the nick of time.
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The Wind Serpent bit into empty air.
It would've succeeded if Rhode had not suddenly shown up from behind.
"Mr. Rhode?"
Lize, who had barely escaped the Wind Serpent attack, lifted her head in surprise. She was shocked to find Rhode standing behind her. Currently, she was leaning on his arms. Perhaps, it was because she was frightened that her entire body felt weak and powerless. She wanted to stand up, but her legs felt powerless, so she sat down instead.
"Lize!"
Seeing that Lize had escaped from death, Carter was relieved. But soon, his heart tensed up again. Because at this moment, the Wind Serpent from before had turned around. It was flapping its wings, intending to attack again.
Damn!
He gripped his sword and ran to Lize, hoping that he would make it. But no matter how hard he ran, he was unable to catch up.
Looking at the Wind Serpent, the girl could not help but hold her the breath. She wanted to do something, but she did not know what to do. As a Cleric, she couldn't use a weapon. So what should she do then?
"Leave it to me."
Just when Lize fell into panic, she could hear Rhode's voice from behind. Then, she saw Rhode taking half-a-step forward, blocking her from harm.
Does he intend to go against the Wind Serpent?
Lize was confused, yet she still noticed Rhode extend his right hand. Suddenly, Lize noticed the mark on his right hand. It was a complex, beautiful magic circle. Magic lines were spreading out, running to each of his fingers. Then a translucent, card-like thing emerged from the center of his palm.
Then, Rhode clenched his hand tightly.
A dazzling, white light suddenly emerged.
An invisible magic had lifted the seal, turning into a visible air and spreading to the surrounding. The first Wind Serpent that had attacked was screaming and flapping its wings. It was trying to keep up the balance from the turbulence. But before it could take further action, a dazzling light suddenly burst through the air. It slashed the Wind Serpents body and sent it flying.
"Sigh…"
Rhode let out a sigh. At that moment, the dazzling light had already dissipated— replaced by a very beautiful, transparent, pure white sword that appeared in his right hand. He waved the Star Mark Sword in his hand, scattering the remaining specks of light. It was a really fascinating scene.
He did not notice that, at the moment, all the other people had been completely astonished. Lize sat on the ground blankly, looking at the man standing in front of her unbelievably. Carter also slowed down his pace, looking at Rhode's eyes with shock in his eyes. Although he suspected that Rhode was not an ordinary person, he had never thought that he would be so 'extraordinary'.
Although she was still sitting on the ground, Lize still could not help enjoying the sight of that pure sword in front of her. It was a thin sword engraved with simple patterns, emitting a faint light around it. It could be seen with the naked eye that the little light particles were beautiful like magic. Moreover, the folded wings on it made it look exquisite, even the pieces of its feathers were clearly visible. Although girls usually would not be so interested in weaponry, this sword was far beyond the usual weapons. Calling it a work of art was also not excessive.
Lize was purely appreciating it, but Carter was different. As an experienced adventurer, Carter swore that he had never seen such a strange thing. In fact, when Rhode called out his weapon, Carter was stunned. Although he had seen some mages' summons, they usually used a crystal as a medium. They also need to cast a spell beforehand and after that, a few ugly monsters would be summoned. But being able to summon weapons? He really never did see such a scene.
Although Carter was not sure what the thing in Rhode's hand was, he could be sure that this kind of magic weapon could not be used by normal people. Someone who was eligible to use this kind of weapon must be a noble or an extraordinary person. Seeing the beautiful wings on the sword, Carter could not help but frown. He was certainly sure that in this continent, the angels were a very noble race. Most of them were prominent, or they were backing up some important groups. Just like the ruler of the Munn Kingdom, Lydia Paphield Mila Frederica that ascended the throne three years ago was also an angel. Even though the young man in front of him had yet not revealed his true identity, but Carter could be sure that based on that weapon, Rhode and those nobles must have some kind of connection.
As these thoughts flashed in Carter's mind, he had already arrived beside the two.
"Are you okay?"
"I- I'm fine."
Lize's little face was somewhat pale. It was not because she was a coward. After all, it was just because of the situation. If Rhode did not pull her back in time, she would be already dead. The fear of barely escaping from death was definitely not something an ordinary person could understand.
After determining that Lize was not hurt, Carter immediately turned to look at Rhode who stood beside him.
"Mr. Rhode, are you alright?"
Rhode nodded his head, indicating that he was okay. Although the left side of his body still felt some pain, it did not affect his fighting. On the contrary, more than himself, he was more concerned about another thing.
"What are you guys going to do?"
The Wind Serpents around them kept increasing. Although the floating ship had accelerated to its top speed, they still could not get rid of most of the Wind Serpent attacks. Their situation had not improved; on the contrary, it was getting worse.
"We intend to fight until we get out of their territory. Before that, we can only keep going."
If it was on land, Carter might have some other ways. The problem now was that he was in the air. Besides this idea, he did not have any good solution to solve the current problem.
After speaking, the young man in front of him frowned.
"Too late, Mr. Carter."
"Oh?"
"The Wind Serpents are absolutely superior in this area. Even if you speed up, we still have no way to leave in time before the floating ship collapses."
"Really?"
Carter was not stupid. The reason he had made that decision was because he was unfamiliar with this area. After Rhode stopped talking, he immediately understood the seriousness of the matter.
"So what should we do?"
"Land immediately."
Rhode almost did not hesitate to give the answer. Then he reached out his hand and pointed to the side.
"Then we rush to that side."
Carter looked at the direction Rhode had pointed towards. His eyes flew open wide as if he'd been completely shocked.
"Did you mean that we should rush to the Twilight Forest?"
"If you want to get rid of the Wind Serpents, this is our only way, and…"
Saying until here, Rhode looked around.
"Our time is running out."
The situation was indeed worsening.
The Wind Serpents' didn't only have sharp teeth, but their corrosive venom was highly dangerous as well. Moreover, Wind Serpents were sly. Once their head-on attacks failed, they would immediately change their goals. Now, there were a lot of Wind Serpents shattering the glass and going into the cabin. Facing that kind of situation, everyone simply could not resist. Although the narrow space on the cabin limited their flexibility, their threat had not been reduced. It was precisely because of this that the cabin's current situation was a total mess. Smoke even started billowing out of the ship.
The situation is really bad!
Carter turned around immediately. Meanwhile, Rhode held his sword and blocked the front of the gap.
"Hiss!!"
A Wind Serpent flew from the right, opening its jaws wide to attack Rhode. But when it rushed over, Rhode just stepped to the left. He held his sword and smashed it into the Wind Serpent's chin. The impact sent the Wind Serpent flying away and at the same time, also blocked the other Wind Serpents from spraying out the venom. Then Rhode quickly turned around; his silvery hand was emitting a light which accurately blocked another Wind Serpent's attack attempt from his back. While it lost its balance, he thrust his sword forward, completely ended that poor Wind Serpent's life.
But the Wind Serpent attacks did not stop there. The smell of blood had stimulated them. When Rhode was trying to remove the dead Wind Serpent's body from his sword, numerous Wind Serpents rushed to him. They came wave after wave. It looked like a green cloud from a distance, but also looked like an unknown monster that could devour him at any moment.
"Mr. Rhode!"
After dispersing a venom from a mercenary, Lize turned around and saw Rhode as she subconsciously called out to him.
An acidic stream of liquid sprayed out like rain, targeting towards Rhode. If he got hit, it would mean death.
But at this time, Rhode suddenly moved back.
The acid missed him, dripping on the deck. It created a little bit of smoke, and the corrosion sizzled out a small hole. Almost at the same time, a group of Wind Serpents was rushing to him. Taking any chances they had to destroy this dangerous man in front of them.
If it were any other ordinary person, perhaps they would've frozen in fear. However, Rhode was calm. He held his sword in his right hand and thrust forward.
Blade of Destruction, Activate.
A white light suddenly rushed towards the group of the Wind Serpent. One became two, two became four—the slashes were like a razor, moving fast and piercing every one of the Wind Serpents. A powerful air swept through the deck through as if there was a giant, invisible hand pulling them apart, ruthlessly tearing their body apart. In a few seconds, the green cloud was completely shredded by the dazzling light, leaving only pieces of flesh and blood.
At that moment, everyone held their breath.
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Chapter 6: Critical
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The Wind Serpents' attacks slowly dwindled. The chaos, anger, screams, and shouting turned into silence. Everyone looked towards Rhode's direction, speechless.
For a moment, almost everyone thought Rhode was dead. Never had they imagined that someone could escape from the Wind Serpents' encirclement. Of course, high-leveled mercenaries or knights with donned with full body armor might be able to withstand it, but Rhode did not look like a veteran at all. Besides his white sword, he did not have any other protective equipment.
He did it.
Lize, Carter and the rest of the crew could not help but stare at the young man unbelievably.
Just who is he?
No one knew if it was because of Rhode's attack or other reasons, but those Wind Serpents who were still trying to attack the floating ship began to scatter and back down. For some time, the whole deck was quiet. Only the sound of the breeze could be heard. The mercenaries were shocked by Rhode's performance, but Rhode did not seem to care what they thought of him. On the contrary, when he looked at those pile of corpses, deep down in his heart, he felt quite good.
Wind Serpents were among the many low-level monsters. Their individual strength was not particularly great since they relied on their huge numbers to win. Rhode's class, the Spirit Swordsman was a solo-oriented class but had a low attack power. The reason why everything went smoothly was because of Star Mark that gave him an additional 3 to all stats. So when he held the sword, the monster's danger level dropped from red to green. Thus, eliminating the entire group of Wing Serpents wasn't some amazing feat.
Still, Rhode felt that something was off; based on his experience, Star Mark shouldn't be that overpowered. According to his original estimation, Blade of Destruction should have just injured the Wind Serpents badly, and he had prepared a backup plan in case things turn awry. He never thought that the Blade of Destruction could kill all the monsters.
Was his stats as a human not calculated properly?
Thinking of this, Rhode subconsciously opened the Character Status window. He didn't know what to check as his race was still unknown, hence, his stats were also hidden. But luckily, he gained 1900 EXP in this battle.
I can gain EXP? Wow, that's surprising…!
While he was checking his gains, the ohers thought that he was just staring at the pile of corpses.
Suddenly, Rhode felt a strange presence. It wasn't a person, but more of a dangerous one.
Where are the Wing Serpents?
This thought flashed through Rhode's mind. He seemed to think about something and then hurriedly turned his head and shouted.
He immediately realized that something was wrong and quickly turned his head to shout.
"Everybody, be careful…!"
And at this time, the floating ship suddenly shook.
The violent shake made a lot of people fall to the ground. There were even two people with bad luck that did not have time to stabilize themselves and they slipped and fell off the ship.
Then, the front deck cracked open, followed by a huge Wind Serpent's head that suddenly appeared.
"Be careful, it is the Wind Serpent Lord!"
At this time, Carter finally appeared. He shouted and rushed towards the huge Wind Serpent. The other mercenaries also quickly stood up. Although they had been injured, they still clenched their teeth and followed their leader to attack the monster.
However, Rhode's action was faster than them…
He lowered his body, a line of system prompts immediately appeared before him.
[EXP 1900/200, Level up! Received 1 Skill Point, Level 2]
[EXP 1700/400, Level up! Received 2 Skill Points, Level 3]
[EXP 1300/600, received 3 Skill Points, Level 4]
[EXP 800/1000, received 4 Skill Points, Level 5]
[Used 1 Skill Point to enhance the moon shadow Swordsmanship 1/3, Rank E]
[Used 1 Skill Point to enhance the moon shadow Swordsmanship 2/3, Rank E]
[Used 1 Skill Point to enhance the moon shadow Swordsmanship 3/3, Rank E]
[Used 1 Skill Point to enhance the moon shadow Swordsmanship 1/4, Rank D. Shadow Flash has been unlocked]
Activate.
Rhode jumped into the sky.
Everyone thought they were hallucinating. They saw the young man who was originally standing on the ground suddenly turn into a black shadow, like a sharp knife thrusting forward, and even the huge Wind Serpent Lord could not react.
Rhode raised his sword and thrust his sword into the Wind Serpent Lord's copper bell-like eyes.
"Blade of Destruction!"
Facing the incoming sword attack, the first reaction of the Wind Serpent Lord was to dodge. But after increasing the level of Moon Shadow Swordsmanship to Rank D, the Blade of Destruction's power had increased to another level. A myriad of white flashes coalesced at the tip of the sword.
One, two, three…
At first, the Wind Serpent Lord's tough scales managed to withstand the attack. But even with its Master rank of defense, it fell by the twentieth slash. Then Rhode's sword easily tore apart its scales, flesh, and blood, piercing into its body. Although the Wind Serpent Lord's body was huge, Rhode knew where to find the weak point in its body. With his exquisite control, his slash did not spread like before but instead focusing on its neck.
The Wind Serpent Lord let out a sharp scream and fell down to the deck. But even so, it still did not give up on attacking. Although the left part of its neck had turned into flesh and blood, the Wind Serpent Lord still raised its head and stared at Rhode. Then it suddenly opened its mouth.
Rhode dodged, once again turning into a shadow and withdrew to the back. Still, a vile venom bullet shot towards him directly, almost grazing him. As Rhode had dodged it, the venom landed into the rear of the mast instead. In no time, the poison corroded through the mast and the originally thick mast melted in a few seconds.
As expected of a BOSS monster.
According to Rhode's game experience, the average Wind Serpent was at level 3 and the Lord was at level 10. Looking at the BOSS monster in front of him, he judged that its level should not exceed 10. With his current level and with Carter and the mercenaries' attracting some of its attention, defeating this boss should not be too difficult.
But judging from that attack before, he had found out that it was not a normal Lord-class monster, but an Elite BOSS type. Because if it was just a normal Lord-class boss, then the attack just now was supposed to have sliced its wings apart. But even though he had already tried his best, he only could leave deep visible scars.
"Attack its wings, remember to distance yourself from its mouth and attack from the side!"
Rhode instructed Carter and other mercenaries while fighting the Wind Serpent Lord. Even though he was a Spirit Swordsman and not the tank, but looking at the current situation, it seemed like that there were no people that had the experience to face the Wind Serpent.
In the game, if a group died while fighting the Wind Serpents, replaying was possible. But here, Rhode could not take that risk. The wound that was beginning to heal had begun to hurt again; it was tearing him apart. If he did die here, he wouldn't know whether to laugh or to cry anymore.
Although he was still at level 5, to Rhode, as long as his opponent did not exceed level 15, he still had the confidence to win. After all, in the Dragon Soul Continent, there were three classes that leveled up primarily by killing monsters: Mages, Rangers — and lastly — Spirit Swordsmen.
Mages were known for their unpredictable magic, rangers were known for their kiting power that attacked from an ultra-long distance, and Spirit Swordsmen used a large armada to defeat their enemies. For these three classes, even if the difference in levels was over five, or even if the opponent was an Elite BOSS with a ten level difference, it was still an easy matter.
Even so, these three classes were flawed. Mages without magic were standing targets, even a group of low-level monsters could beat them. Rangers in close-range combat were just tragic. Spirit Swordsmen attack patterns were too random and their moves were too complex and impossible to follow. These were the reasons why these three classes could not really steamroll around the map solo. This game mechanic was intentionally designed for Dragon Soul Continent, to make it more realistic. To risk it yourself and go for the unusual way, or to take a steady step forward… The players are able to decide their own destiny.
The level 10 Wind Serpent Lord Elite BOSS in front of him was injured because of Star Mark. The Wind Serpent's defense was only about level 6 or 7 so that was why Rhode did not hesitate to be more aggressive. However, the Wind Serpent Lord's offensive power…
"Swoosh!!"
The violent wind shook the ground.
Rhode was startled; he quickly dodged backward, barely making it in time. The Wind Serpent Lord's wings failed to connect with its intended target and smashed into the deck, creating a large hole.
As expected from a Level 10 Elite BOSS attack.
Rhode wiped out the cold sweat off his forehead. Now he was only level 5 without any equipment other than his sword. If he was hit by that attack, he definitely wouldn't survive. He was also worried about Carter and the others.
The good news was that he did the most damage to the BOSS, so it mostly only focused on him. The bad news was that being eyed by this kind of high-level BOSS… for a non-tank class like him, the pressure was incredibly immense…
30% of his Soul Power was left. He began to feel a little bit weak. Even though he had already expected that the fight would be difficult, its power was really too overwhelming. He needed someone to help him draw its attention so he could attack from behind. With his current stats, dodging the Wind Serpent Lord's attack was simply impossible. On the other hand, he needed to use the Blade of Destruction skill to inflict some damage and kill it in the shortest possible time.
But now it seemed that it wouldn't be easy.
The floating ship was slowly landing, but under the siege of the Wind Serpent Lord, the ship kept shaking as if it was facing a huge storm. Two mercenaries had fallen off the ship and it was almost impossible for them to be alive. Carter was still trying to drive away the Wind Serpent Lord. He was moving with his sword, attacking the Wind Serpent Lord flexibly at different angles, but it was still no use. If it was not because of Lize who was casting a healing spell from behind, the mercenaries wouldn't be able to survive until now.
I must think of a way. Otherwise, before we can even land, we will all be killed by this damned Wind Serpent Lord.
Thinking until here, Rhode bit his lips.
The Wind Serpent Lord did not stop attacking; its wings keep flapping widely on the deck. Its two claws were gripping the edge of the ship tightly. Although the attack Rhode had inflicted on it had given it a considerable amount of damage, but as a Lord-class monster, it certainly would not fall just because of this minor injury. On the contrary, the cunning Wind Serpent Lord seemed to be aware of its opponent's weaknesses. Its two sharp claws gripped the hull of the floating ship tightly and shook it forcefully.
Although the floating ship's hull was strong, due to the battle with the Wind Serpents previously, it had been battered badly. Now, coupled with the violent winds around the ship, it had begun to distort. Several cracks appeared on the deck, followed by a crisp sound of wood splintering.
"Oh Holy Soul save me..!"
Curled up in the corner of the captain's room, the fat merchant stared at the terrible Wind Serpent Lord outside. But because of his nervousness and fear, his voice had become somewhat distorted.
"That damned Richard!! Don't let me see you or else I will kill you! Giving me this kind of route, it's practically murder!" Speaking up until here, the fat merchant suddenly shuddered in terror and looked at the captain beside him.
"And you! Why didn't you remind me of such a terrible thing!?"
The captain did not reply. At this moment he was clenching at the rudder, focusing his attention on the front. But inside his heart, he was cursing that fatty. Before setting off, he had clearly reminded him that by taking this route, they may provoke the Wind Serpents, but this fatty just brushed it off like it was nothing.
Good, when something happens, you actually blame me! If I had known, I would not have taken this job even if you killed me !
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The situation was bad.
Whether Rhode or Carter, at this moment, both of them had the same thought.
The Wind Serpent Lord is a really difficult opponent.
Perhaps the ship would be destroyed before we can even land!
"Hmph!"
Carter shot forward, thrusting his swords straight at its huge claws. However, before he could reach, the Wind Serpent Lord suddenly opened its mouth. Carter could taste the stench of its breath pervading his sense of smell. Before he could react, the attack had already arrived towards him.
Carter tried to dodge, but he didn't expect that the Wind Serpent Lord would release its grip on the hull to attack him. He did not have the time to dodge, so he used his sword to block it. Even so, he was still sent flying a few meters away, hitting the mast of the ship.
We can't go on like this.
Rhode frowned and shifted his gaze to the anxious girl that stood not far from him.
"Lize, I need your help."
"Ah?"
"I will draw its attention, and when it attacks me, I hope you can cast a shield for me!"
"Sure!"
Lize nodded without hesitation. She gripped her hands tightly and a bright soft light appeared on her body. When Rhode saw this, he did not say anything; he turned his head and started to thrust forward.
Blade of Destruction!
A dazzling bright light once again streaked through the air. This time, he did not focus the light on the tip of the sword; instead, he let the light scatter to attack, so the power seemed weaker than before. It wasn't able to pierce the hard scales, but the scattered attack made some visible bloodstains throughout its wings which made the Wind Serpent Lord shriek in pain.
"Hiss!!!"
The Wind Serpent Lord was startled. It quickly turned its head; a burning flame could be seen in those pair of bright red eyes, tightly staring at the young man on the deck as it once again opened its mouth, rushing to attack Rhode.
The Wind Serpent Lord moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, Rhode could already see it appearing to the top of him opening its bloody red mouth. It made Rhode quite nervous since it was a risky endeavor. He deliberately did not use Shadow Flash to maintain a slow speed just to lure the Wind Serpent Lord to make a move. Even though it would be more dangerous, but when the opponent was attacking in full power, its weakness would also be more visible——this was the chance that Rhode wanted to seize.
The Wind Serpent Lord opened its mouth in front of him. It only needed half a second to swallow that pesky human whole, but it wasn't able to do it.
At that moment, a faint, dazzling white, egg-shaped light barrier suddenly appeared around Rhode's body, blocking the Wind Serpent Lord's fangs. The Wind Serpent's movement slowed, it then used more force to crush the barrier, but it only managed to bite air.
Rhode had already activated Shadow Flash.
Like a phantom, he dodged the Wind Serpent's fangs. Then, he raised the white sword in his hand and slit across the Wind Serpent Lord's throat.
That was its weakest point. Previously, it had shrunk back its neck, making it difficult to attack. But now that it completely gave up on defense, it unintentionally revealed its weakest point.
A sharp shriek rang throughout the ship. The Wind Serpent Lord looked upwards as if it had been shocked by electricity. From its throat, dirty blood sprayed out, covering the entire deck with red. Its body gradually became weak and fell heavily on the deck, lifeless.
After its death, Rhode something dark green expanding in front of him.
"Boom!!!"
Suddenly, he felt the hull tremble and his body was thrown into the air. The next moment, his vision turned dark, completely losing consciousness.
When he woke up again, he could only feel the cold wind blowing.
"What happened…"
The first thing he saw was a beautiful night sky. Unlike the city, the night here was clear. The soft moonlight shone down as the shadow of each leaf were mapped on the ground. Not only was the night sky filled with stars, it also had interconnecting lines. They were linked together, spreading throughout the night sky.
This was one of the special characteristics of the Dragon Soul Continent. According to an ancient legend, this place used to be chaotic and desolate. But then the Five Creator Dragons came along and used their bodies to create the sky and all things on Earth from nothingness. In order to suppress the chaos, the Five Creator Dragons sacrificed their bodies to shape the world and left their soul in order to protect the world.
Each soul had its own unique form: just like the sky Rhode was looking at just now. It represented the region under the Light Dragon's protection. Its unique characteristic was the presence of light even in the night. On the flip side, the Dark Dragon's soul completely blocked the light. It didn't matter whether it was day or not, there would always be eternal darkness.
It was also because of this that the species distribution in this continent had their own rules. In the region under the Light Dragon, lush green grass could grow bountifully. As for the Dark Dragon's region, one can only see the shadow of plants. Of course, this unique characteristic also applied to the distribution of the various races in this continent. Humans were usually under the protection of the Light Dragon, so were the elves and angels. As for the undead, vampires, incubi, and other dark races were, of course, people under the Country of Darkness.
This continent had no god. To put it bluntly, the beings that they worshipped were the Five Creator Dragons. Similarly, it also included the Dragon Soul Holder.
In this continent, each soul had their own Soul of Existence, the Five Creator Dragons were no exception, and their Soul of Existence was usually hidden in a person's body. It made that person able to wield the same power as the dragon to provide its respective unique characteristic to the region. For example, if chaos is a 'virus,' then Dragon Soul's ability would be the 'firewall,' and the Dragon Soul Holder's role is the CPU. As long as the CPU is still able to operate, then the firewall would not fail and will remain strong enough to resist the influence of the chaos from the outside world. Thus, these Dragon Soul Holders were viewed as the heir of the Dragon Soul.
But these things meant nothing to Rhode.
Rhode slowly stood up. A violent pain swept through his body, especially his left chest injury, which seemed to be more serious than before. Before, he was barely able to move his left hand and now, he could not move it at all; even moving his fingers would cause a stinging pain.
But he felt relieved; this meant that his left hand was still there. If he could not feel anything—that would be a bigger problem.
Looking up to the sky, Rhode discovered the wreckage of the floating ship. Around him were tall trees, meaning that he was in the forest.
Rhode understood what happened after collecting his thoughts. Though he managed to kill the Wind Serpent Lord, the ship couldn't maintain its aerial ability as it had received too much damage.
Right now, the forest was bathed in silence; even the sound of insects could not be heard. Rhode scanned his surroundings and found many corpses; humans and Wind Serpents alike. And not far from him, a petite figure lay motionlessly on the ground.
"Lize!"
Rhode came to the girl's side, lowering his body to check the situation. Luckily, although the girl was pale, both of her hands were still clenched tightly, and her breath was steady. When Rhode called out to her, she opened her eyes after a while.
"What…what happened…"
Lize opened up her eye, blinking at the man in front of her.
"Am I still alive?"
"Yes."
Seeing that Lize had answered him, he felt slightly relieved. She slowly stood up, shook her head, and bit her lips; apparently, she wasn't fully recovered, but to her, there were more important things she needed to do.
"Where is everyone? How about leader?"
Rhode did not answer, but it from his expression, she had guessed what happened.
"Impossible … Crete! Charles! Leader!"
She rushed towards bodies of the fallen mercenaries, desperately calling out their names, but no one responded. However, Lize did not give up; she lowered her body, carefully checking the mercenary in front of her. After making sure that the person had truly passed, she did not cry, but only bit her lips and ran to the next person.
However, her efforts were in vain. She couldn't do anything when they were dead.
A terrifying thought gnawed her mind, but she chose to ignore it and cling on to whatever hope she had left. It was until when she saw Carter's figure that she finally broke down.
The previously spirited mercenary leader had turned into a cold, dead body. His lower half was stuck in a gap on the deck, and a broken splinter had penetrated his lower abdomen.
"Lea…Leader…"
Lize's knees gave way as she stared blankly at her leader's corpse. The ever so tiny flame of hope she had been grasping on, was completely extinguished. Eventually, she lowered her head and covered her face with both of her hands. No words were spoken, but only a heart-wrenching cry of a woman filled the quiet night sky.
Rhode gazed at her trembling shoulders helplessly. Now, all he could do was to stand silently behind her and not say anything.
Before the battle, he did not care anything about life and death, but when he saw the dead bodies surrounding him, a complicated feeling overwhelmed him. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen a dead body before in the game, but that was merely a simulation. Moreover, there were ways to resurrect the 'dead bodies' in the game. However, what he was witnessing now wasn't a game. Dead people stay dead, and death meant the end of the road.
At that moment, Rhode somehow recalled the night from seven years ago when he could only helplessly watch death devour the ones he loved without having the power to stop it.
After a while, just as he was about to say something to comfort Lize, a sudden call for help broke the silence.
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Chapter 8: After the Shipwreck
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Matt sat awkwardly next to the bonfire. His face showed a helpless and depressed expression. He wanted to get angry but could not.
Meanwhile, Rhode was quietly leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. Lize was silently preparing for food; although her expression was calm, her swollen eyes revealed everything.
The fat merchant was lucky because he was the only other survivor besides Rhode and Lize. As a merchant, he traveled frequently, so he had some life-saving magic props. Before the ship fell, he had taken out his protective pendant, which then displayed its miraculous ability; that was why his injury was lighter than the other two.
Rhode's injury from before had not yet healed. Because of the battle before and after falling down from the ship, his injury had gotten a lot worse. Lize was also the same. As she was rather distressed earlier, she wasn't aware that her right arm had been dislocated, and her leg was also injured. She only found out about it after everything had ended. As for the fat merchant, other than a few scratches and dizziness, he was absolutely fine.
If Rhode was a 'normal' person, this kind of injury would be enough to keep him bedridden for several months. Luckily, Lize was a Cleric and healing was her primary job. With her healing spells, his injury had closed up, but Rhode still needed some time to rest to fully recover. The presence of a Cleric was quite a blessing as the previous battle could've left him disabled or dead. After the crash, Rhode somehow managed to keep all of his limbs intact, other than the fact that he could not move his damaged muscles, everything else was normal. Lize was surprised as she hadn't thought that his body would be this strong.
It wasn't only Lize who was shocked, Rhode himself was startled. Even though he knew that he had mixed blood, he didn't think that it would be that abnormal. He was injured before, then participated in an intense battle, and finally thrown out of the sky afterward. And he was still able to move…?
It can't be that my hidden race is a Barbarian… right?
But there was still one thing that bothered him. The reason he was aware of his own body condition was because he knew his own stats. Even though he was still unsure what his other bloodline was, but half of his blood was supposed to be human.
However, Lize was also very strange; she was just a delicate girl and even a non-combat Cleric. She was supposed to be dead already judging from the previous situation. If it was him, of course, he would have survived because his physical body wasn't of a human. But why was she able to survive? It can't be that she got lucky.
The question floated in Rhode's mind for a while, it was not until when he found a trace of gold hidden within Lize's beautiful blue eyes that he finally concluded that the reason she survived wasn't because of luck.
"Umm… Mr. Rhode?"
Matt rubbed his hands, with his chubby face revealing a fawning smile.
"What do you think we should do next?"
After rescuing Matt, the trio split up and searched the wreckage of the entire floating ship separately, but did not manage to find any other survivors. In order to avoid her comrades' bodies from being eaten by the wild beasts inside the forest, Lize had asked for them to be cremated. Even though Matt felt pained to see his valuable materials go to waste, looking at Lize's gloomy little face and Rhode's indifferent attitude, he had to change his mind, and with a distressed look on his face, he burnt the floating ship to ashes. That expression he had on his face was as though his family had died.
They rested in the forest for a day to recover. While they did not face any more trouble after the Wind Serpents' attack, the fat merchant still felt terrified. Before, he still believed that Wind Serpents were nothing to worry about, but now, he had totally changed his mind… those rumors were actually true!
Those people said that we might encounter the Wind Serpents on this route…and we really did! I also heard that in the Silver Moon forest, there were man-eating wolves and weird scary birds! We won't encounter those too, right?!
The fat merchant's forehead was full of sweat. Even though he was a long-time merchant, he did not have adventuring experiences. Looking at the forest that was surrounded by bushes and trees, the fat merchant's leg couldn't help but tremble. A while ago, he heard about the guard mentioning something about poisonous snakes, wolves and many other terrifying things. All of it suddenly flashed through his mind, making him even more frightened.
Moreover, his only life-saving treasure was already unusable. In this situation, he had no choice but to rely on others.
Lize was out of the question. Firstly, he had seen this girl when he hired her. In his opinion, she was very obedient but did not have her own judgment. Moreover, she was a non-combat type. If something were to happen, it would be too for her late to save him. So he decided to depend on Rhode. Even though he had no experience in fighting, Rhode's previous performance was quite eye-catching.
As for Lize, she was still wallowing in the grief of losing her comrades.
"Do not worry, Mr. Matt."
Looking at the fat merchant's nervous expression, Rhode nodded his head. Even though the other person was quite vulgar, Rhode did not really hate him since if it were not for the fat merchant ordering the ship to stop, he would not be able to survive. So he still somehow left a good impression on Rhode.
"I am very familiar with this Silver Moon forest. In this area, it is unlikely to encounter any dangerous existence. You can rest assured."
What Rhode had said just now was not groundless. Inside the game, the northern Paphield Plains was a place where newbies gathered, so he was definitely familiar with the monster distribution at this place. In the plain, the most threatening existence was the Wind Serpents. Their large numbers had become a nightmare for many melee professions and non-solo players.
In the Silver Moon forest, the most dangerous existence was the Silver Wolf, but unlike the Wind Serpents that relied on their overwhelming numbers, the Silver Wolf usually attacked alone and was, therefore, easier to deal with. Moreover, after killing the Wind Serpent Lord, Rhode had gained 3000 EXP and leveled up to eight. The newbie area highest level monster was supposedly at level 10. So as long as they did not encounter the rare Lord-class monster, they would be just fine.
"That's good, that's good…"
Hearing Rhode's reassurance, Matt subconsciously let out a sigh of relief He took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his forehead. After that, he opened his mouth wide and let out a yawn. Because of his nervousness, he was not able to have a good sleep these past few days; even the sound of the wind blowing would be like a wolf's howl to him. It could be seen just how jittery he was. But now that he had decided to trust Rhode, he became more relaxed and decided not to worry about anything anymore. He curled up next to the bonfire and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
After ascertaining that the merchant had already fallen asleep, Rhode, who had been quietly sitting next to the bonfire, stood up and walked into the forest.
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Chapter 9: Ten of the Strongest Spirit Decks, Wind Elemental Card
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Rhode, of course, did not mean to leave the fat merchant alone. The reason he left was to look for some loots.
In the previous battle, Rhode had gained a lot of EXP, but he did not get too much loot. To players, those things in the floating ship wreckage were all treasures, and since a lot of people died, there must be some treasures hidden in their bodies. But in the end, he gave up on that idea. No matter what, they had saved his life. It would be shameful if he took their belongings now that they were dead.
Even though loot was important, the most important thing Rhode had obtained was another thing. It was something that he held on his hand at the moment—a black ore. According to the Dragon Soul Continent's archives, this ore is a condensation of dead souls which would eventually form into a Soul Core. It had strong magic power and had many usages. It could be used as a gemstone for socketing weaponry or dissolved into the weapon itself to create a Soul Weapon. To Mages, Soul Cores were an excellent weapon-crafting material. Moreover, the Soul Core drop rate was very low. That was why their price was astronomical in the Dragon Soul Continent. And to a Spirit Swordsman, it was an irreplaceable existence.
Because the Soul Core was a treasure that was needed to awaken a spirit.
Right now, Rhode was deep inside the forest. He lifted his right hand; it could be seen that the Soul Core that was quietly sitting on his hand was emitting a dark aura. Surrounded by the silence, the gentle breeze swept through the leaves, and the moonlight glistened through the falling leaves. After that, the magic circle on Rhode's hand started shining. Then, the system prompt appeared in front of him.
[The Soul Core has been contaminated. Do you want it to be purified?]
"Purify."
Soon, a dazzling light burst out once again. Streams of magical lines were spreading to each of his fingers, including the Soul Core in his palm. With the help of the sacred power, the previous black mist around the Soul Core quickly melted and disappeared. It finally showed its original appearance— it was translucent and emitting blue light as if the egg-shaped gemstone was trembling and struggling to break out of the shell.
[The Soul Core has been purified. Do you want to awaken it?]
"Awaken."
After that, the blue egg-shaped gemstone trembled even harder. And with a light 'crack', it instantly broke; blue, magical lines fanned out, spinning fast and turning into a card form, then it quietly lay onto his palm.
A cool and comfortable feeling came over Rhode's body. He could not help but feel startled, but at this time, he also learned about what kind of existence he had made a contract with. He took out his deck and saw a green, Spirit Bird soaring in the sky.
The upper right corner was a blue semicircle (representing the card attribute), while the upper left corner had a V word written on it. As for the two lower corners, there were two small numbers written as '2.' Rhode flipped the card, and soon, a line of text emerged on the surface.
[The Soaring Spirit Bird (Wind Element): Flying Unit, Available for Fusion. Attack: 10% chance to trigger paralysis effect, has no effect on the enemy with magic protection. Special Skill: Phantom Wind (This skill range only affect flying units)]
[1/10 of Sky Deck has been collected, The Soaring Spirit Bird]
My luck sure is good…
Rhode could not help but laugh. A flying-type spirit was one of the important ones for a Spirit Swordsman. Moreover, the wind element could easily penetrate through non-magic associated items, meaning that it rendered ordinary defensive equipment useless. It also had 30 meters of effective range and a special skill. At least now he could guarantee their safety; even if they accidentally met some wild boss, he still had the confidence to win.
However, the most depressing point was his stats. Until now, his STR, VIT, AGI, INT, and other stats were still hidden, which made him feel uneasy somehow. This was his true body, but now it had changed beyond the ordinary. He was sure that his stats were above a normal human, but the feeling of not knowing his own body's physical condition felt unnerving at times. When you thought that you were going to die, but you didn't— that would be a nice misunderstanding. But when you thought that you won't die, and then you died, that would be the end of the story. And since he did not know, he could only walk this path by relying on his own experience.
After the fight with the Wind Serpent Lord, he had some clue about his stats. After all, the Wind Serpent Lord's information as a BOSS was something he had studied in detail before. From the previous battle, it can be said that his Strength stat should be roughly around the same as a typical Swordsman, and his Vitality was also quite high. Since he transmigrated to this world, although he experienced several crises, his body appeared to be able to soak quite an amount of damage. At this time, he couldn't really find a Mage to give him a buff to check his stats.
Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the trees. Rhode frowned and he put down his right hand. The light on the magic circle disappeared and the card then disappeared into thin air. After being sealed as a card and confirming the relationship with the owner, the sealed card would no longer appear in the form of an entity; it would quietly sleep in the Spirit Swordsman's magic circle called the 'Ten of the Strongest Spirit Decks', where it would wait for its owner to wake and use them.
The two cards that were already sealed in his deck was at Sixth Circle, which means they were the lowest rank of the 'King Spirit'— the difference was only that 'Star Mark' had no element, while the 'Spirit Bird' had a wind element.
Rhode did not intend to expose his ability in front of other people just yet. Although it had long been known in the game that the Spirit Swordsman was an exclusive job and had once existed in the distant past of Dragon Soul Continent, the players were the only inheritors of this job. They set foot on the journey to look for the glory of this once heroic career. But of course, this all was just bullsh*it from the character introduction, but judging from Lize's and Matt's reaction, it was clear that they did not know about this job. Thus, it was not really convenient to say anything. Moreover, maintaining a certain sense of mystery was not exactly a bad thing for him.
When Rhode turned around, he saw Lize walked out from the trees.
"Lize? Why are you out here?"
"Ah… No, it's nothing, Mr. Rhode."
Lize shook her head, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"That…I just want to ask about your injury… Is there something I can do…"
As she spoke, her voice kept getting softer and softer. Both of her hand were clutching the hem of her clothes.
In fact, it was not only Rhode who had noticed Lize's abnormality. Matt could also notice it because he was a merchant and had traveled quite a bit, so he had a good eye for detail. The reason Rhode could see through her was because he had the experience of being the first guild leader in Dragon Soul Continent Online. One must understand that a game is quite different from reality because people tend to hide behind the avatar they created, so they must be a lot warier than in real life.
In the game, to unify his guild, Rhode must possess a keen eyesight for detail since most of the players were playing to have fun and not as a responsibility. If he wanted them to keep setting new records and obtain success, it would be very difficult if someone did not have a good grasp of it. Therefore, as the guild leader, it was very important for Rhode to observe his comrades' emotions and inner thoughts.
And now, it was very clear that Lize needed someone to rely on and so she felt somewhat uneasy about it. Rhode could see that she had received a harsh blow to her emotions because not only her comrades had left her, but there was also the anxiety and fear for her own future.
He had been observing her since the previous battle and thought that she did a pretty good job as a Cleric. She could cast healing spells on her comrades in the shortest possible time and also quickly disperse their debuffs. Lastly, when she cast a barrier on him, it was done perfectly on time. For a supporting class like hers, this kind of reaction time was quite outstanding indeed. Moreover, even in face of danger, she was still full of confidence and could clearly cast her spells accurately without hesitation.
However, the trembling girl before him had completely lost her previous self-confidence and there was only one reason for that.
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Rhode sighed when he looked at the girl in front of him.
"Lize, the person you're supposed to worry about is yourself. You've not gotten even a little rest since last night."
Hearing the word 'last night,' she shivered as if she had once again recalled that incident. Nevertheless, she still stubbornly bit her lips and shook her head.
"No… I…"
Slap!!
Lize hadn't finished speaking when Rhode suddenly raised his hand and slapped her face.
What the heck?!
Holding her red cheeks, Lize stared wide-eyed at Rhode in disbelief and shock. But the young man just watched her.
"I know how you feel." He said expressionlessly.
Hearing him speak with a quiet and indifferent tone, anger immediately out-broke from her heart. She put down her hand and clenched her fist. Just as she was about to flare up in anger, Rhode's next sentence completely drenched her from head to toe.
"You feel that you're guilty to have survived just because you were born different. As a mixed race—or should I say, angel—that kind of thinking does not seem to be correct though."
Lize was completely stunned. She gasped in shock and took a few steps backward until her back was against a tree. But even so, she chose not to say anything for a while.
How did he find out?!
No, that's impossible.
I've never told him before—even in my mercenary group, the people who knew about my race were only a few…
"How do you…"
"Your eyes."
Rhode pointed out his finger to his eyes.
"Your irises exudes a golden light—a clear sign of a 'messenger,' and also a special trait unique only to angels. However, you are different from the pure-blooded angels… The reason why the golden light is slightly dimmer is because of your mixed human blood, right?"
The girl did not speak.
Although there was no answer, Rhode had confirmed that he hit the mark. The girl standing in front of him was indeed a half-angel. In fact, he had already observed Lize for a while.
As a top player, in his long-term game career, Rhode had long familiarized himself with the existing equipment and used it to determine the opponent's attributes. This allowed him to develop the most appropriate tactics in the boss battle in the shortest possible time and also enables him to make preemptive strikes in PvP battles. It could be said keen observation skills were mandatory to all of the senior players.
When he was rescued, he began to consciously observe her and soon became aware of her true identity. Although she was a half-angel, the angel's powerful healing ability and the ability to resist injury did not disappear, which was one of the main reasons why Lize could survive after being thrown out from the floating ship.
Lize must've been aware of this; that was why she was so depressed.
"That was why I said I know how you feel."
Rhodes shrugged his shoulders.
"You know the reason why you survived. It was not because of luck, but because of the difference between you and the others. That is why you cannot accept it… If you could, you'd rather wish that you were just an ordinary human and died together with your comrades."
Lize lowered her head, her hands clutching her skirt.
"But that is not something you can decide."
Looking at her slightly trembling shoulders, Rhode's tone soothed.
"You cannot decide your own birth, neither can you stop the things that had already happened. It is all beyond your limit. Don't regret something that you can't control."
"Then…"
Lize finally spoke.
"…What should I do?"
"This is your path. You should decide it yourself."
Hearing this sentence, Lize was silent for a moment, then she looked up.
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Rhode."
"You are welcome."
"…However, that slap was really painful …"
Although there was some 'violence' in the process, in the end, Lize had finally let go of the shadow of her self-blame and the pain of losing her comrades. On the next day when the sun rose, Lize had completely moved on from, her face replaced with her usual warm smile. This caught Matt by surprise, who did not know what happened. He constantly shifted his gaze between the two of them, and then finally turned his direction towards Rhode, smiling wryly at him. As for its meaning, no one really knew.
However, before the fat merchant could finish satiating his curiosity, Rhode's words immediately made his heart sink into the abyss.
"I think it is time for us to depart."
Depart?
Those words set off all the alarms in him. His content face and casual burping all disappeared; he just remembered that he was not in his warm, comfortable room, but inside the forest with endless danger…
Right, we were not here for a vacation. That damned Wind Serpent and that damned captain… Just forget it, saying this now is meaningless. The most important thing is… how do we get out of this damned forest?
Thinking of this, Matt quickly stared at Rhode. Since this young man said he had a way, then he must have got a plan. After all, they were still stuck deep in the mountains. One wrong step and they might be lost forever, not to mention that there were so many beasts lurking around. How would they escape from them? Survival skills were essential knowledge to traverse the wilderness. They had to really pay attention to the little details. If he died here because of his own negligence, then he would have lost everything he had worked hard for in his life.
Holding this idea, Matt forcefully slapped his face. His sleepiness disappeared as he carefully watched as Rhode stand up from the ground, casually pat the dirt off his leg and casually stretching his arms before gesturing to him and Lize to move.
"Let's go."
"… Wait, Mr. Rhode. Please wait!"
The fat merchant suddenly jumped off the rock he sat on.
"Where are we going?"
"Northeast, there is a small town there. As long we arrive there, our next journey will be a lot easier."
"Is there no need to pay any special attention?"
"No, there is no need."
It wasn't surprising that he said that. After all, in the Dragon Soul Continent, this was the place where the newbies gathered. All the areas of the Paphield Region had been explored by the players.
Near the beginning of the game, many players intentionally went to isolated places and explored dangerous areas that were difficult to reach—trying their best to obtain the game's legendary artifacts. Once they had those magic weapons, they would be invincible and would unite the continent…
But of course, the reality is always cruel.
Although the players' tireless efforts had indeed led them to find some rare, decently stat weapons, unfortunately, no one could claim that they achieved the: 'With this artifact, the world is mine' kind of item.
After all, those items were just too rare.
To Matt, this place was full of danger, and every step was like betting his own life. But to Rhode, this place was like as his own backyard.
In the game, as a guild leader, he had helped countless groups of newbies togrind 1 levels here. The places with high or low monster population, what kind of quest was suitable for which job, what kind of attributes were needed to train more effectively, etc… He was extremely familiar with these things, so even though he was thrown in the middle of nowhere, he could still find his way around.
As for Matt? Rhode had already done so many escort quests to protect a merchant in the game. Perhaps even a thousand times at least. So what's the difference between then and now?
Hearing Rhode answer, Matt's chubby face immediately turned into a frozen eggplant that had wither up. He absolutely did not know why Rhode was so confident.
The fat merchant began to regret the decision he made. After thinking to himself for a while, he seemed to recall that the young man was seriously injured on the mountain before…
If he wasn't injured, then perhaps his words would be more persuasive… But the fact that he had been injured in this very forest… by saying something like this, isn't he courting death?
Though there was a little regret in his heart, this was the so-called 'riding a tiger to the south'; for him, there was no other way. He couldn't help but clench his teeth and follow the two of them towards the depths of the forest.
Under the bright sunshine, Silver Forest was terribly quiet. The sunlight permeated through the gaps of the leaves, illuminating some spots on the ground. There were sounds of chirping birds, and in the grass, traces of hares could be seen. The scenery in front of them seemed peaceful, therefore, the previously nervous fat merchant gradually relaxed and was no longer as suspicious and restless as before.
Rhode walked in the front. Although walking in a forest without road was not easy, but seeing his figure making his way through the vines and plants, it was difficult to imagine he was seriously injured before.
He was followed by Lize, whose speed was also fast; it was clear that she had been accustomed to this field of action and life. Although wearing a long dress wasn't the best for forest trekking, Lize still followed Rhode's pace and walked closely behind him. From time to time, she also reminded the fat merchant to be careful.
The more they went in depth, the more surprised Lize became.
It seemed that the direction Rhode took was quite random since he did not choose to go straight, sometimes he even turned left and right. Occasionally, he even went around in circles. But she had noticed that the forest that was quite dense before, slowly turned into a flat road, as if it were hidden in the forest, waiting for people to find its existence.
Lize had once heard the leader speak of it before; it was a high-level skill. After all, for ordinary people, it was difficult for them to find their way in the forest. Only those who lived in the harmony with the elves and often went to explore the mountains were able to master this skill. She had previously witnessed this skill once. At that time, her team was lost in the forest, and the elf that was sent to help them did not use the usual road in the forest, instead, the elf chose a completely opposite direction. Back then, Lize was also very worried, but in the end, they managed to get out of the forest without a hitch. It was also at that time that her leader told her about this skill, however…
Looking at Rhode's back, Lize felt a little puzzled. According to the leader, that skill could only be used by experienced elves and Rangers. Elves were able to communicate with nature, but there was no way for people like her to use this skill. But Rhode did it so easily. He did not even stop to interact with nature, which was proof that he was not an elf, but… looking at him, he did not seem to be a Ranger either?
Even though she barely met any Rangers, she knew that their main weapon was a bow. However, up until now, Rhode had never used a bow.
Who is he actually?
Right now, Lize was getting even more puzzled.
Rhode suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Through the shrubbery, he could clearly see a lake from afar. That place was the center of the Silver Moon Forest—the Moonlight Lake. In the game, this place was regarded as one of the field camp destinations.
"Great!"
Looking at the clear lake, Matt subconsciously licked his chapped lips. Even though this incident had not happened for too long, but to the usually pampered merchant, these days were extremely difficult. Looking at the resting place in front of him, he immediately took a big step forward. Just when he was about to move, Rhode placed his hand on his shoulder.
The fat merchant was puzzled. He looked at the young man, but Rhode did not say anything. Rhode extended his finger, made a 'no' gesture, and pointed to the front. Then Matt looked at the direction Rhode pointed to and his face suddenly turned extremely pale.
In the shadow of the lake, a giant Silver Wolf was quietly resting there with its eyes closed.
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Chapter 11: Finding a Way Through the Forest
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Since Matt was a traveling merchant, he had unquestionably seen a wolf before, but he could swear to the Five Creator Dragons that he had never seen such a humongous wolf.
It was almost as tall as a man, and its thick fur gleamed with a silver light. Right now, it was sleeping while enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Its tail was swinging back and forth, appearing extremely carefree. Lize had already contained her breathing, following Rhode quietly from behind. As a mercenary, she knew just how frightening and dangerous those beasts were. She was not as nervous as the fat merchant who did not even dare to breathe, but she still looked at Rhode, waiting for his order.
The Silver Wolf, Moon Soul, was a level 10 Elite Beast. Even though it was not classified as a BOSS, it was still very troublesome.
In Dragon Soul Continent Online, monsters were classified into 3 types: Wild Beast, Giant Beast, and Demonic Beast. A Wild Beast was just an ordinary beast monster while Giant Beasts were the Wild Beasts who had lived for a long period of time or had been stimulated by external factors and evolved. They were dangerous and ferocious. Once they had awakened their soul, they would turn into a Demonic Beast. At that time, it would be more difficult to fight them since they would not fight just by using their own body anymore.
Although the Silver Wolf's level was below the Wind Serpent Lord and killing it wasn't that hard, but…
Rhode subconsciously glanced at the two following him.
If it was still game, he would not mind killing it to gain more EXP and materials. However, this wasn't a game, and there were only the three of them. Lize was a cleric, so she didn't have the power to protect herself and Matt… was even more vulnerable. Since this was the case, it was better to do nothing.
Rhode made a gesture and pointed towards another direction. Since Moonlight Lake was big, there was no need for him to expend unnecessary energy. Looking at his gesture, Lize and Matt looked at each other and followed him with the intention to leave. It was a pity that lady luck wasn't on their side.
Kacha! When the fat merchant turned around, he suddenly slipped and fell to the ground, crushing a branch under his body.
At this point, Rhode immediately rushed back and lifted his right hand. Soon, a bird's whistle resounded in the air and a green figure appeared from his hand, rushing to the other two.
Boom!! Accompanied by the sound of the impact, a low howl came from behind. Lize and Matt turned around and were surprised to find that the giant Silver Wolf that was previously far from them had already approached them from behind. But suddenly, its huge body was flung to the ground as if it had been hit by an external force.
After that, a shadow flashed past.
When Matt fell, Rhode already had a bad feeling. After all, in the Silver Moon forest, the Silver Wolf's perception was third highest among the monsters. Luckily, he had encountered this kind of troublesome situation before because of stupid NPCs.
Although Rhode's perception was not as high as being able to lock the Giant Wolf's movements, but based on his familiarity towards the Silver Wolf, he could immediately make a judgment. He knew that the resting Silver Wolf was unlikely to attack them immediately but was already aware of their presence. Based on its characteristics, it would most likely wait until dark to attack them.
Meanwhile, Rhode judged that it was probably better to take the initiative to attack first based on his experience.
He was right.
The Moon Soul did not expect that the other side would be so fast to attack. Facing the Spirit Bird's attack, it managed to react, but it was still too slow. The Spirit Bird's attack landed on its body, smashing it flying a distance away.
The Giant Wolf laid on the ground, but before it could recover from the impact, Rhode had already arrived beside it in a flash. He then stretched out his right hand.
"Cage!" (Elf Language: Transform)
The Spirit Bird flew back to his hand, transformed into a card, and the color instantly turned from green to white. Rhode did not need to look at it; he flipped his hand while holding the card with force, and thrust forward at the Moon Soul.
At this moment, the white card pierced the Moon Soul's right leg, nailing it to the ground. Then, a pure white sword appeared in Rhode's hand.
The Silver Wolf made a painful howl. It opened its eyes and stared ferociously at the hateful human in front of it. When it tried to stand up, it lost its balance and stumbled.
Rhode then prepared for his second attack.
He studied the Silver Wolf's movement. One of those Elite Beast's special characteristics was their incredible speed. If he could not overcome its speed, this battle would turn into a bitter struggle. Right now, Rhode had already broken one of its legs, causing it to be unable to fully utilize its mobility. Hence, the next step would be much easier.
Though its leg was broken, the Silver Wolf did not panic. It stared at the target in front of it and when Rhode's sword was about to pierce again, it raised its paws at Rhode.
But Rhode had already expected the Silver Wolf's counterattack. He flipped his right hand and successfully wounded the Silver Wolf's paw, turning it into a bloody mess. After spending a moment to wince in pain, the next thing it saw was a dazzling sharp edge thrusting towards it.
Critical hit!
Blade of Destruction easily tore apart its scale-like fur.
Accompanied with a painful cry, the Silver Wolf's body flew into the air, hit a small tree and fell to the ground. Half of its body had been torn into a bloody mess, even its internal organs could be seen slowly flowing out.
It was truly a gruesome scene. Even Rhode who was planning to give the last blow could not help but frown. After all, in the game, a critical hit was only shown by a number and was not as explicit as it was right now. Even though he already expected this as he had seen it before during the battle with the Wind Serpent Lord, it still felt disgusting.
After being hit by the Spirit Bird and Rhode's attack, the wolf had reached its limit. The previously threatening howl slowly turned into a whine. It tried to get up, but Rhode did not give any opportunity. He took up Star Mark and pierced its head, decisively taking its life.
The fight might've seemed long, but in fact, it only lasted a minute or two. Lize and Matt only managed to catch a glimpse of the wolf being knocked to the ground, and after that, Rhode was already finishing its life by the tree.
Both of them were shocked. They knew that the Silver Wolf wasn't an easy foe to deal with. Lize was thinking that even if her mercenary group was here, it would still be slightly tough for them to kill it. But looking at Rhode performance, no matter how she saw it, it didn't look like he was killing a wolf. Instead, it looked no different than him killing a chicken!
As for the fat merchant, the feeling he had right now was even more complicated. When he fell on the ground, he had already almost said his last prayers. Of course, he understood what it meant and was terrified that the Silver Wolf would be aware of his presence. Though he had guessed the process, he would not have been able to expect the outcome. The Silver Wolf was indeed fully aware of their presence, but it still tragically turned into a corpse before it could satisfy its appetite.
Though the danger had been removed, the fat merchant was still frightened. He looked at the young man not too far away from him uneasily. He knew this had happened because of him. What if Rhode decided to leave him here?
If it was the usual situation, he would not have to worry about this kind of thing as he had guards protecting him that he'd hired with money. However, it was different now; this young man was not his guard nor his mercenary. His relationship with him was that of equals; if he wasn't happy, he could just leave him here. If that happened, he would be finished!
"This… I… I am not…"
The fat merchant broke out in cold sweat. He licked his lips, intending to say something, but no words came out. At this time, he saw that Rhode had stood up again, then he turned around and looked calmly at him.
"Be careful when walking."
Other than nodding, the fat merchant was unable to do anything else…
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Chapter 12: The Lingering Shadow
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Rhode's initial plan was to take a break in the vicinity of the Moonlight Lake before continuing their journey. But after encountering the Silver Wolf, he had to change his plan since the smell of blood from the Silver Wolf's corpse was likely to lead to more unnecessary trouble.
Rhode picked a relatively flat high ground near Moonlight Lake to set up camp before the sun went down.
After dinner, Rhode once again stood guard. Though it was straining its body, there was no other choice as he was the most familiar with Silver Moon Forest.
The fat merchant Matt volunteered to help, but when he saw how Rhode and Lize stared at his rotund body, he could already guess their answer. Thus, he could only sit by the side and grieve over his body in boredom.
Meanwhile, Lize didn't remain idle. She knelt beside Rhode, resting both her hands on his left shoulder.
Of course, Lize was not idle. Right now, she was kneeling beside Rhode, putting her hands on his left shoulder.
"Aliy-Mia." (Dragon Language: Heal)
As she chanted, streams of light emerged from her palms, which slowly and gently wrapped around Rhode's body.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, magic casters generally adopted dragon tongue to cast spells since 70% of the spells known to humans came from the dragons. As for the other 30%, they were from the angels, elves, demons, and undead.
The oldest ancestors in Dragon Soul Continent were conceived from the Five Creator Dragons, so they naturally inherited the dragon's talent in magic and longevity. To show their respect, the oldest ancestors classified the various regions in the continent as three different countries named after the dragons: The Country of Darkness (Dark Dragon), Country of Light (Light Dragon), and the Country of Law (Trial Dragon). As time passed, no matter what political system the country took, the highest position would always be the person who inherited the Dragon Soul. Angels were in second place, followed by elves, demons undead, non-humans, and the last were humans.
Of course, as the political system in every country was different, the race composition of each country wasn't the same. As a monarchy, the Country of Darkness had a relatively strict caste system; there was no place for humanity to be among the upper caste. Meanwhile, the Country of Light practiced constitutional democracy—half of the high-level members of the parliament were all humans.
Country of Law was ruled by angels, elves, and human beings equally; their numbers were quite balanced since each race occupied one third. This is because of the religious centralism system in the country; they believed in the Way of Balance. For them, equality is perfect.
Rhode was well aware of the situation on the continent. He knew what would happen next, which made him quite worried. In the game, players were just players. If they did not want to play, they could just log out by taking off their VR helmet. However, his current situation was different. He had become a part of the continent. Then what should he do when facing the inevitable disaster?
" Mr. Rhode…"
"Mr. Rhode!?"
"What's up?"
Lize's voice roused Rhode from his deep thought. He looked up and saw the girl in front of him. After that time, Lize had finally regained her usual demeanor. Though her brows occasionally revealed a trace of anxiety, compared to the 'end of the world, going to suicide anytime' gloomy expression from before, it was much better.
"It's just that…"
Lize shook her head, carefully looking at Matt who was sitting beside the bonfire while counting something from his pocket with a pained expression as if being bitten by a snake. She lowered her voice, and said with a serious look:
"Before…during the fight with the Wind Serpent, I felt something."
"Oh?"
Hearing her, Rhode creased his brow.
"What?"
"I felt a tiny dark element aura from the Wind Serpent Lord's body"
Lize bit her lower lip.
"But the aura was very weak, unlike something that the dark monsters usually had… Mr. Rhode, the Wind Serpent should not be a dark creature, right?"
"Of course not, the Wind Serpent belongs to the wind element, and definitely has nothing to do with the dark element, but…
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
On hearing Lize's confident answer, he could not help but fall into deep thought. Of course, he knew what had happened in the history of the Dragon Soul Continent: the Wind Serpents would continuously attack the merchant ships, leaving them with a massive loss. When the Country of Light investigated this matter, they discovered that it was actually manipulated and instructed by the nomads from the disputed areas in the border of Southern Paphield that was under the Country of Darkness. Not too long after, the Country of Light sent their troops to attack the area and they carried out the expulsion by massacring the inhabitants. In response to this action, the Country of Darkness sent troops to attack the Country of Light's garrison and recovered the piece of land that they had claimed as their own. This event set off the spark between the two countries.
These series of events occurred during the beta period when Rhode and other players were busy familiarizing themselves with the new environment, system, and upgrades, so he did not really dig too much in-depth of what had happened. After the end of the beta period, when the game had officially launched, the war between the Country of Light and the Country of Darkness was already in motion. As for what actually happened, the players could only speculate.
There were some conspiracy theories, though. Some people thought that the Country of Light was trying to recover its territory but it turned into a tragedy, some people also thought that the Country of Darkness was deliberately provoking the Country of Light and initiated a war to expand its territory. Many people had also thought that the Country of Darkness had been eyeing the Country of Light for some time and it was their problem since they did not take care of the matter properly. Of course, the players had no position to say anything; it was just their own personal speculation to try and figure it out what had happened.
Rhode believed that some of them were right. The border of the Southern Paphield was rich in crystal mines. To any country, that was an important resource. There was no reason for the Country of Light to let go of that territory. And the Country of Darkness had a very powerful ruler in that era. In the midst of the war, even famous players were still unable to gain an advantage over him. There was even a rumor that he was not an NPC, but a player that was part of the game company.
Still, many players were disappointed with the Country of Light's parliament decisions. There were many idiotic orders that led to many complaints from the players. In the end, the Country of Light had provoked some to use the Country of Darkness as an excuse to go against the Country of Light.
Lize's hunch was quite reliable. As a creature of the light, an angel was very sensitive to dark elemental auras. Since she inherited half of its blood, her perception shouldn't be far off. This meant that the Wind Serpent attack on the merchant ship was indeed premeditated by the Country of Darkness. Were they trying to provoke the Country of Light to launch an all-out attack?
Things don't seem to be that simple.
"Lize, do not tell anyone what you just told me."
"Yes, Mr. Rhode."
Hearing Rhode's answer, she nodded. Then placed her hand on his back, carefully checking on his injury as her pale face revealed a trace of a smile.
"Your injury is almost healed. If nothing bad happens, you will be fully recovered in about five to six days."
"Thank you."
Rhode nodded his head a little, showing his gratitude, then he bowed his head to look at his own system information.
His HP gradually turned green. If he were to lie still for a few days, he would be fully recovered. But there were still a lot of things he needed to do.
What should I do first?
Rhode frowned and fell deep into thought…
Meanwhile, the location where the floating ship had crashed, two shadows could be seen slowly walking into the forest.
"Is that the ship?"
The first man asked coldly. He was donned in full white, with a beautifully streamlined armor. There was a glittering gold pattern carved above it. If Rhode was here, he would be able to recognize the symbol on it. It was the emblem of the Border Defence Force from the Country of Light.
The other man behind was wrapped in a black cloak all over his body. His appearance could not be seen. Facing the man's inquiry, he could only nod.
"They killed my messenger."
The hoarse voice echoed through the forest night, giving a very cold feeling.
"To be killed by such a group of dirty and incapable mercenaries, it seems like your pet really is incompetent."
"Isn't this also because of you?!"
The black-cloaked man's suddenly shouted.
"If you gave me higher leveled creatures such as Commander level… or a Master level lords, I will not use these low-level creatures!"
"What a joke, Commander level?"
The man snorted coldly.
"Who do you think we are? We are only responsible for providing resources. If we do everything ourselves, why should we even need you?"
Then the man paused and reduced his tone.
"How long will it take to recoup the losses?"
"At least half a month. Do you think it's easy to find a Wind Serpent that can be manipulated?"
"Ten days, we will double the reward."
Noticing that the other party was apparently dissatisfied, his face darkened. He reached his hand and took out a purse, then threw it over.
The purse fell to the ground, and a sound of gold could be heard. The black-cloaked man lowered his body, stretched out his hand, and opened the purse, then immediately closed it.
"Well, ten days. It is a deal."
"I hope you understand that this matter cannot be known by others."
"Of course I understand… Right, judging by the situation of the ship, it seems that three mice have run away. Do you want me to help to clean them up?"
"No need."
The man waved his hand.
"I have my own way."
Hearing his answer, the black-cloaked man coldly laughed.
"Well, then I'll see what you have."
A thick fog appeared and wrapped around the black-cloaked man. After that, he disappeared. Looking at this, the other man's face revealed a trace of disgust.
"That greedy undead! One day, even your bones will turn into ash!"
After snorting once more, the man turned around. With a thoughtful look, he swept around the surrounding forest. He put one of his hand on the hilt and another one on his mouth and blew a loud whistle.
Soon, a Griffin hovered down from the sky and landed on the ground. At the same time, three silhouettes from the depths of the forest quietly surfaced. The man looked at them, but soon turned his body around to mount the Griffin.
"Go look for the other three mice and kill them."
He ordered in an indifferent tone.
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Chapter 13: The Ring of Will
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Shadows were streaking through the forest. They would separate from time to time, then reassemble again.
"Have you noticed?"
"There are traces from the east side. It's likely to be the targets. Based on the time, it should be from a day ago at most."
"They sure are quick…"
"Continue our action and pay attention to the opponent. Since they could get rid of the Wind Serpent Lord, we should not underestimate them."
"Yes!"
After the three men finished talking, they once again transformed into black shadows and moved into the depths of the forest. Their movements were silent; not even the birds were disturbed.
After the shadows had left, a green bird that had been quietly sitting on the branches flapped its wings and flew high.
"There's someone following us?"
Hearing the report from the Spirit Bird, Rhode's face somewhat turned gloomy. At this time, the translucent green Spirit Bird was quietly sitting on his shoulder, shaking its head and stretching its wings from time to time, as if it was no different from an ordinary bird. Only its translucent body and the glorious aura around it were able to show its surreal characteristic.
Summoning the Spirit Bird to monitor the situation was something he thought of along the way. When a group of players intended to gather a party for an adventure, they usually teamed up with a Thief, Ranger or other classes that could scout danger ahead.
Rhode had no option like that now, so he could only use the Spirit Bird to recon the area. Luckily, not only did the Spirit Bird have a dominant advantage in its sight, it could also sense other people's presence as its soul was well-attuned with nature.
Initially, he did so only as insurance in case something happened after killing the level 10 Silver Wolf. Never would he had thought that he would encounter a greater problem instead.
Although the Spirit Bird couldn't show what his opponent physically looked like, judging from the moving blob of light, he felt somewhat uneasy looking at the opponent's speed. Since they could run freely at that kind of speed, they could either be Rangers, Rogues, or other similar classes. Anyway, it should be an agility-based class.
Moreover, the opponent moved in order. It was difficult to believe that they were just ordinary adventurers.
Are they just passing by? Or are they specifically coming for them?
Rhode did not dare to take the risk. It was better if they came straightforwardly, but the 'lurking in the dark' kind of classes was the most difficult to deal with. Moreover, what Lize had reminded him kept making him think that this matter was quite strange. If these guys were hostile towards them, then the situation would be difficult to imagine.
But, looking at Lize beside him, his eyes couldn't help but brighten up.
He had an idea.
"Mr. Rhode, where do we go next?"
Lize asked while handing the kettle to the fat merchant who was sweating profusely beside her. Even though Rhode did not ask her to, the one who had been taking care of the fat merchant was her. According to Lize, her mercenary group was given a job to protect this merchant. Even if she was alone, as long as the mission had not yet been completed, she would continue to do it.
Matt was naturally very grateful for it, but looking at him gasping for breath, Rhode was afraid that he would probably pass out if they continue to walk.
"Mr… Rhode, I…I am…. very exhausted, let's… rest for a while!"
The moment Rhode stopped, Matt had already sat down, held onto his bag, took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his face. He rubbed it until his face turned shiny like a big lightbulb under the sunlight.
"Holy, Holy Soul bless me… I have not… walked… walked… for several years…*cough*"
The fat merchant was unable to breathe properly; he coughed for a few times until the fat on his face started jittering. After a few minutes, he finally recovered.
"We have been walk…walking for so far, I thought…I thought that I was going to die!"
"Let's rest for five minutes."
Rhode looked at the sky while calculating the next destination and the required time. After that, he issued a command. Hearing his words, the fat merchant who was sitting on the floor immediately cried, and then rested on the ground. Lize sat gracefully next to a rock.
After the battle with the Silver Wolf, they did not encounter any danger. With the Spirit Bird's help, Rhode had avoided a lot of dangerous areas. Though it meant that he also lost some of the opportunity to get some precious equipment, he was not distressed. Because, in this world, there were no other players, and ordinary adventurers would not suddenly overturn the mountains and the forest. So it was not too late to grab it after safely bringing them back. However…
Rhode looked up towards a place not far from the mountains, then he stood up.
"Lize."
"Yes, Mr. Rhode. What can I help you with?"
"I'm going to check the road ahead. After you finish resting in five minutes, take Matt and go uphill. See that piece of white stone? Go there, and walk towards its shadow. There, you will find an abandoned mountain. Both of you will wait there; I'll follow after a while."
Lize raised her head, looking at the direction Rhode had pointed and soon found the white stone on the hillside. She turned again to look at Rhode, puzzled as to why he knew about it. But when she opened her mouth, she decided not to ask. After traveling for a few days, she had found out that this man in front was worth relying on. Even though she did not know what he wanted, she still nodded her head, then watched him as he turned away.
Rhode, of course, had his own plan. That stone was the entrance to Zenar Mountain. It used to be an excellent trade route. The ancestors of the Northern area were poor, so they used their whole life to dig a tunnel through the mountains so they could connect the plains with other areas of the road. It had its moment of glory, but with the development and utilization of the wind magic, the air passage was, of course, safer to go through. That was why this trade route was gradually abandoned, and those people who worked and lived here had already abandoned their homes and left to find a better life. That was why this place had become barren land.
The progress of civilization will always make something that once was a miracle turn meaningless, no matter which world he was in.
But Rhode did not travel to this world to comprehend the philosophies of life.
He stopped in his tracks. At that moment, a barren land laid before his eyes.
As well as corpses.
Those bones were almost buried by the dust. Broken armors and corroded weapons were scattered on the ground. These were the corpses of a mercenary group called 'Tiger Fangs'. During their adventure, they had suffered a bandit attack and died here. Back in the game, Rhode needed to receive the quest from the mercenary guild, and then investigate their final mission according to the clues that were given. After that, he would need to follow the mark on the map all the way here and finish the quest by bringing them the letter and treasure. It was a game, after all, so it was necessary for them to follow those steps. But even so, many veterans did not follow such a stringent rule. They would rather take the letter and treasure first, then bring it to the mercenary guild. Wasn't it also the same? Not only did it save more time, but it was also more convenient. Since they could save those few steps, then why not?
But, the reason why Rhode was here was not to save those few steps…
He went to the depths of the battlefield and saw a skeleton lying on the edge of the hillside. It was wearing a steel armor that had long been corroded, and there was a dark, rusty, iron sword beside it. That was Rhode's goal. Those were also the bones of the mercenary group leader.
Walking towards the remains, he lowered his body and stretched out his hand. Soon, a mercenary badge could be seen. This was the keepsake of 'Tiger Fangs' mercenary group and also the item needed to complete the quest. Rhode carefully put it in his pocket and then looked down again. He quickly found what he wanted.
It was something that was worn by the skeleton, a dirty ring.
Rhode carefully took out the ring. On the surface, it looked like this ring was useless and no different from a scrap of metal in a pile of garbage. But the system prompt in front of him showed a totally different thing.
[Black Iron Ring. Unidentified. Contains magic fluctuations]
"Resonance."
Rhode closed his eyes, holding the ring in his right hand. The previous weak magic fluctuations became clearer. When he opened his eyes again, the item on his right hand was not a scrap of metal anymore. On the contrary, a dark ring carved with a simple pattern was lying quietly on his hand.
[The Ring of Will has been identified. Can activate a shield for 5 minutes. Immunity against mental (MEN) attacks. Cooldown: 3 days]
Nice.
Rhode wore the ring on his right hand, feeling relieved. After he looked around for a moment, he did not find any other valuable things, so he turned back and returned to the hillside.
Rhode could clearly see Lize and Matt were struggling towards the white stone's direction. The fat merchant had no mountain climbing experience and was trembling behind Lize. Looking at his face, it seemed that if Lize wasn't a female, he would have cried and asked her to carry him up.
That good-for-nothing…
Rhode shook his head helplessly. Just as he was planning to reunite with them again, his heart suddenly froze upon hearing the Spirit Bird's report.
Rhode was startled. He quickly dashed towards the forest and soon, he saw three shadows flying out.
Bad!
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Chapter 14: Fog Ruins
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The three black-clothed men stopped looking for traces because they already found their target when they spotted the two shadows on the hillside. They glanced at each other and quickly rushed towards the direction of the target.
They were quick, but Rhode was not slow either.
He dashed through the hillside and whistled. The Spirit Bird flying in the sky acted as if it had heard some kind of instruction; it fluttered down and rushed towards the three black-clothed men.
Facing the sudden ambush from the Spirit Bird, the three people did not panic. They quickly set a formation to counterattack: the person that was holding daggers in both hands rushed toward the Spirit Bird, and the other two people kept advancing towards Lize and Matt. Clearly, they were very professional. They wouldn't stop just because of such a minor attack.
Indeed, if their opponent was just an ordinary bird, it would be very difficult to stop them.
Unfortunately, the Spirit Bird was not an ordinary bird.
The Spirit Bird didn't intend to dodge the man with dual daggers. Instead, it increased its speed and drove right into the man. The previously conceited expression of the man turned fearful the next moment because he could clearly see the bird penetrating through his sword right.
Elemental creature!
The black-clothed man was shocked. He quickly turned his body around and tried to dodge its attack. But even so, the Spirit Bird successfully injured his shoulder. He felt his body instantly froze and almost lost his consciousness. He tried to balance his body, but still heavily fell to the ground. He even lost the grip of the daggers on his hand.
The other two were the same. When the Spirit Bird passed by them, they did not concern themselves with it. However, soon, a cold breeze blew towards them. They only felt their body turn numb, and couldn't help but pause for a moment.
Even though the numbness dispersed quickly, because of that delay, Lize and Matt managed to reach the white stone. Upon seeing this, one of the black-clothed men frowned. He made a gesture and pulled out a crossbow from his waist.
"W- what happened!"
Matt finally made it to the white stone with Lize's help. He was extremely tired and his whole body was half-paralyzed. He put his hand next to the stone wall while taking a deep breath, then, just as he was about to grumble. Suddenly, a thin shadow flashed by and at the very next moment, an arrow was embedded into the wall beside him.
"Waa!"
Matt quickly lowered his head. Lize's body also subconsciously shrank back, but she did not forget to grab the fat merchant and push him to cover.
"We have to hurry."
Rhode said while looking at the three shadows on the mountain not far from him. At this point, Rhode had also kept up with Matt and Lize.
"They… who are they? What happened? Why are they attacking us?"
"Probably Rogues."
Rhode was able to catch a glimpse of their clothes, which was a common outfit for a Rogue. Most Rogues wore similar clothing. As to who had sent them, it could only be known after they were killed.
Rhode currently didn't have the strength kill them. Even with the Spirit Bird's ability, he could only stall them for a few seconds. It wasn't that their resistance towards elemental creatures high, but it was because that his current level was far too low.
"Maybe you would like to ask them why they attacked. Perhaps they would be kind enough to tell you before killing you."
Even though it was rare for Rhode to make a joke, the merchant couldn't bring himself to laugh. He knew that those Rogues weren't people to be messed with. If he fell into their hands, he would most certainly die.
Matt's face was pale from all the running, but no matter how tired he was, he still forced himself to follow Rhode into the hidden passage behind the white stone.
Zenar Mountain's trading route used to be bustling with activity and was wide enough to cater for two carriages side by side. However, as time passed, rocks from the top of the mountain rolled down and obstructed most of the trading route, causing it to become rough and narrow.
Still, the trio quickly made their way forward without stopping. Rhode looked behind from time to time, and he realized that he was running out of time. If it wasn't for the terrain, perhaps they would've been surrounded already.
"Mr. Rhode, it's a dead end!"
Lize's voice made Rhode quickly turn his head. The road ahead had been completely blocked by rocks.
As expected.
Rhode shook his head. He thought that the game wanted to force the players to take the route that had been designed, so they purposely led them towards this direction. But now it seemed that it was not the case. Well, whatever, that was not his original intent anyway.
"Turn right."
"Right?"
Hearing Rhode's command, both of them were surprised for a moment. Then they looked at the right side of the passage and hesitated for a while.
Although the main passage was blocked, there was still a path to the left. The weird thing was, the sky was obviously clear on the left path, but the passage on the right side was foggy and creepy. Just looking at it gave them the shivers, but Rhode actually wanted them to go there?
"Hurry up, or it will be too late."
Due to Rhode's urging, the two of them quickly walked into the foggy passage, and soon, their shadows were completely concealed by the fog.
Seeing that both of them had walked into it, Rhode felt relieved. He looked back again and then stretched out his right hand.
"Cage!"
A white card emerged from his palm. After that, the exquisite white sword appeared once again. Then, while gripping his sword, he rushed towards the cliff.
A bright light flew out from the sword and hit the loosened rocks above the cliff. Boom! Huge chunks of rocks and earth rolled down, blocking the passage completely. When the three black-clothed men finally caught up, Rhode's figure had already disappeared behind the fallen rocks.
"Damn it!"
One of the black-clothed men gnashed his teeth and cursed. The way ahead had been completely blocked by the rocks and they simply could not pass. Moreover, the impact had led to a chain reaction, and now the whole place was shaking. If they tried to follow the trio, the situation would dangerous for them.
"What should we do?"
"There is no other way."
One black-clothed man stared at the passage that had been completely blocked off.
"We can only go back and report to the captain and send people to monitor all the villages around the area. They're intending to escape from behind. I did not expect these guys to be so smart."
"Elemental creature… Is one of them a Mage?"
"It seems like so, but from my observation, there appears to be no Mage among them."
While the both of them exchanged glances, the last of the black-clothed men that had been silently observing the traces left on the mountain finally spoke,
"But there is a very strong Swordsman among them."
Having said that, the black-clothed man turned away.
"Let's go. These three targets are not simple, but it isn't as though all is lost. Pass my order! Immediately monitor the surrounding villages and towns, I believe they will not stay in this mountain for long."
As for Rhode and the others, the danger had not yet lifted.
"What… is this place?"
The fat merchant looked blankly in front of him. He thought that after traveling for so many years, he had already seen many things, but the experiences from these past few days had told him that there were still many things he didn't know yet about this world.
After passing the foggy passage, the scene in front of them was a barren, abandoned town. The whole town was surrounded by thick fog, and everything was hazy. Even if he looked at the sky, he could only see a greyish sky. The sky was dull and nothing like before as if they were in a different region.
"This place is called the Fog Ruins."
Rhode replied as he strode from behind.
"As long as we pass through here, we can reach the port of Araga, and then we will be able to leave."
"But is it… dangerous?"
Except for a blind person, no one would think that this place was peaceful.
"Of course it's dangerous."
Rhode did not state it clearly but the Fog Ruins was one of the five-man player dungeons in the game and was also the players' first dungeon. It wasn't difficult, but it was not completely easy either. To complete with just the three of them would be a challenge. After all, Rhode was only at level 8, and Lize was only at level 6. As for the merchant, whose combat power isn't even at level 5, Rhode did not even count him in. So the conclusion was basically: One level 8 Spirit Swordsman and one support class NPC was going to conquer a level 10, five-man dungeon. If this had happened in-game, people would have thought that he was stupid.
But he isn't stupid. In fact, he just thought of this risky idea when he looked at Lize. If not, he would not have chosen this option. And it seemed that this route was indeed the safest route for them after considering the overall risk.
"Everything will be fine if you follow my command. So…"
Rhode paused, turned his head around and faced the blonde girl in front of him.
"Lize, I'm counting on you."
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Chapter 15: Two People's Raid
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"Me?"
Lize's eyes widened in disbelief; even Matt, who was standing beside her, was also surprised.
Everyone in Dragon Soul Continent knew that the Cleric was a job similar to pharmacists, doctors, and nurses. They were basically a supporting class and their job was to bandage wounds, heal injuries, cast protective shields, and remove poison-like effects. As for fighting in the front line? That kind of thing was unheard of!
"That's right."
Rhode nodded his head. When he entered this place, it seemed that he had once again turned into that guild leader who commanded his team to conquer a dungeon.
"You must listen to my command. It does not require a particularly complex skill, but you need to be more responsive and aware of the surroundings. When you have familiarized yourself with it, it won't be difficult anymore… How many times can you use 'Holy Radiance'?"
Although he had already guessed her level, when he was healed by her, it was still better for him to confirm it just to be sure.
"I am an Outer Circle 7th Layer Cleric. As for Holy Radiance… I can only use it once a day, and it lasts for a day…if my Soul Power consumption is not too much."
Non-combat casters' classification was different from the combat type. Besides the level, they also differed in the Soul Power level such as Outer Circle, Middle Circle, and Inner Circle. The Outer Circle had a total of ten layers, Middle Circle had 7 Layers, and Inner Circle had 3 Layers. This was because casters believed that their Soul Power came from the depths of their own soul. In general, from their point of view, the soul was an existence of three mutually reinforcing circles, the deeper the caster could understand their own soul, the more powerful they would be. And since Lize's strength had reached the Outer Circle 7th Layer, it meant that she was about to break into the Middle Circle.
It was very rare for level 6 Cleric to reach Middle Circle. So Rhode was even more confident of his choice after confirming her ability.
"Alright. Remember, from now on, you don't have to use Healing Light on me no matter how injured I am. Pay more attention to Mr. Matt. Give him a barrier if there is any danger… do you understand?"
"… I understand, Mr. Rhode."
Though she did not understand some words Rhode used, she still understood what he meant, so she nodded.
"Mr. Matt, how long will our food supplies last?"
"About three to four days."
While holding the travel bag, the fat merchant thought for a while then answered with a saddened face.
"But if we save up more food…"
"It is a good chance for you to lose weight now."
If Rhode had said it while laughing, Matt might have thought that he was just joking, but Rhode's expression was very calm; it did not look like he was joking. This made him fall into a dilemma. He held onto the travel bag, intending to say something. However, Rhode had already turned around to face Lize and commanded her:
"Cast Holy Radiance now and show me."
"Ok."
Lize slightly nodded, then she stretched out her hand and closed her eyes.
Soon, a soft light slowly emerged from her palm and spread in all directions. It was unclear if it was an illusion, but the fat merchant found that the light somehow caused the fog to retreat and vanish slowly.
Then, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief and saw that the fog around them had really disappeared. Previously, they could only see a vague shadow of some of the ruins, but now, they could clearly see the nearby incomplete walls and houses. This made them feel slightly more relieved. After all, having a clear line of sight was always better.
"I'll be the vanguard. Lize, you follow behind me, and Mr. Matt, you'll be the last one. Don't walk too far from us — and no matter what happens, do not act alone."
The ruins were eerily silent.
The Holy Radiance had dispersed the fog, but it did not disperse the ominous aura. Under Rhode's lead, everyone slowly moved forward. But soon, Rhode gave a hand signal, instructing them to stop walking.
If his memory served him right, he was almost close to the first wave of monsters' spawning location.
Sure enough, it did not take long for them to see a weak light in the distance. It was blinking like a torch.
"W-what is that?"
Matt instantly tensed up.
"That's a Will-o-Wisp."
Rhode stretched out his right hand and Star Mark appeared in his hands.
"Be careful, they will not come near us if we do not provoke them."
Just as Rhode stopped talking, the fog in front of them suddenly shriveled up, then three strange creatures appeared.
Their figure was like a human's, but their whole body was enveloped by thick fog. Only the three pairs of bright eyes on their head confirmed that they were not part of the fog.
"Lize, cast Healing Light on the first one."
Healing Light?
Hearing his command, a trace of doubt crossed her mind. It was a healing spell, why should she cast it on a monster? But this question only lasted a second. Right after that, Lize raised her right hand and cast Healing Light on the monster in front of her.
As a Cleric, Lize's skill was quite good. Healing Light was a long-range spell; it was not difficult to cast as long as she was able to clearly determine the target's location. To Lize, it was an easy task but right now her opponent was a foe, not her comrade. It made her hesitate a bit, but she soon completed the spell.
A white light immediately emerged from the air, then it wrapped around the Will-o-Wisp. According to its original effect, Healing Light was supposed to restore health; it could even make people feel energized. It was the basic foundation of the cleric's magic.
But surprisingly, the Will-o-Wisp had a reaction contrary to what she had thought. After being hit by Healing Light, it made a loud sound as if it was screaming; even she could hear it clearly in the distance. The previously humanoid fog monster bent down and trembled as if it was hit by something. The fog that wrapped around its body fell apart as though the sun shone and melted the ice. The shockedLize subconsciously lowered her head and looked at her hand. She could not believe that she had released such a lethal spell.
Looking at the Will-o-Wisp, Rhode's reaction was very calm. He knew that the light produced from Healing Light was of the Holy Element which was the nemesis of the Will-o-Wisp. Moreover, Lize was a half-angel, and the Holy Elemental power from an angel's bloodline was clearly different from humans in terms of quality. To make it simple, if a human cast Healing Light, it would be akin to pouring hot water on the Will-o-Wisp, but if an angel was the one who cast the spell, it would be like pouring a high concentration of sulfuric acid into its open mouth. Alas, Lize was just a half-angel. If she had a pure bloodline, the Will-o-Wisp would have long turned into ashes.
Lize did not understand how the healing spell could result in such an effect. But the players from Dragon Soul Continent knew why. From their point of view, the name 'Healing Light' was just a deceptive name for Holy Elemental magic. Since the effect of the spell was a healing spell on living things, it was more convenient to call it Healing Light, but it did not mean that it only worked like that. In the Dragon Soul Continent's earlier days, there was even a joke about this among the players.
A Necromancer's most tragic fate was to encounter a group of undead. Because a Necromancer's spells were basically of the Dark Element, and using them to attack an undead that had the same elemental composition would only result in a healing effect rather than destroying them. It had also broken the fantasy of the players who had chosen a Necromancer as their job and thought they could create an undead army and become invincible. So they had to learn other elemental spells to ensure that they could kill other undead monsters.
Comparing their basic characteristics, a Necromancer and a Cleric were almost similar; they mostly lived based on their own capacity and could not cause harm to the environment. They would only shine when they encountered the opposing element. But a Necromancer was a lot more likely to encounter the living than the undead.
As for Clerics, when they encountered the undead, they could temporarily change their playstyle from the supporting class to one of the more offensive types. But before that, the probability of encountering an undead was much lower than Necromancers encountering the living.
Now, it was time for the Cleric to shine.
"Attack the other two behind it!"
Rhode commanded her while dashing towards the Will-o-Wisp in front of him.
"Yes!"
A delicate yet sonorous sound rang from behind.
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"Sigh…"
Looking at the dust-covered ground, Rhode wiped the sweat on his forehead, feeling a little tired. Along the way, they had encountered about fifteen or sixteen Will-o-Wisps. If they were a five-man party, it would have been easy, but right now, there was only one person with combat ability other than Rhode. So, there was no way to conquer it like the usual dungeon raid like before. He couldn't find a tank to help hold the aggro while everyone else would attack. Thus, he could only act as the bait and ask Lize to weaken the enemy with Healing Light before finishing it off himself as fast as possible. The Will-o-Wisp was at least a level 10 Elite monster, so even when its defense was weakened, it was still difficult to deal with. To make a critical hit, not only must he use Star Mark on his hand, he also needed to attack its vital points.
After all, Rhode wasn't an NPC. Even in the game, to make such a high demand for the attack would consume a lot of energy. Not to mention that Rhode was using his true body right now. If it was in the game, he could still replay if he failed. But if he failed here, that would be the end of his life.
To Rhode, this kind of pressure was really hard to bear. He raised his head, looking at the fog that surrounded the ruins. And after making sure that there were no more monsters, he felt relieved.
"Mr. Rhode, how about we take a break for a while?"
Lize looked at Rhode with worry in her eyes. As a Cleric, she did not really understand what Rhode was trying to do, but she was able to feel his current pressure.
"Not now…"
Rhode shook his head. Although he had cleared the monsters here, he always like there was something dangerous watching him. He studied his surroundings carefully, but still couldn't figure out the where it was. According to his memories, they should not have reached the BOSS area, so there shouldn't be an overly dangerous encounter yet. Moreover, he was very familiar with the monsters here, all of them should have been cleaned up already.
So where is this feeling coming from…?
Rhode looked around again, but he could not find anything abnormal. At that moment, the fat merchant suddenly screamed.
"Ah!!"
"What happened?"
Rhode and Lize hurriedly turned around and saw Matt's pale face. One of his hands was holding the bag, while the other one was slightly trembling, pointing towards the fog behind them.
"Just now, there was a black shadow over there…"
"Black shadow?"
Lize looked at the direction Matt had pointed towards, but beside the dim light emitting from the fog, nothing else could be seen.
"No way…"
"Get on the ground!!"
At that moment, something flashed through Rhode's mind; he finally understood what he was feeling previously. Then he shouted while pushing down Lize's head down, forcing her to crouch.
"Swoosh!"
Almost at the same time, a black shadow flashed through the air. Rhode could feel a cold claw brushing past his head, leaving quite a painful feeling.
Damn it!
Rhode's heart immediately sank. He finally realized what was that 'Black shadow.' It was a Gargoyle!
In the legends, the Fog Ruins was once a lively and glorious town, but after the trade route was abandoned a Mage moved here to save his loved ones. He decided to study the forbidden death magic in this abandoned town. In the end, his spell failed, and the Mage also died. But the death magic did not stop there; it created a thick fog and hordes of undead monster.
In this dungeon, the most dangerous creature was the Gargoyle that was left to protect the Mage's belongings. It was a level 15 Rare Elite monster!
If it was in the game, Rhode would have been very happy because the Rare Elite monster was—well, very rare. Even if he ran to the dungeon a few times, it was still almost impossible to see it even once. However, he couldn't feel happy now since his opponent was a level 15 monster and even a flying one on top of it. Not only could it move flexibly, but it was also on a totally different level from the Will-o-Wisp because Lize's Healing Light had no effect on it. Moreover, the Gargoyle's body was extremely hard, an ordinary attack could only cause a scratch. This was definitely going to be a bitter struggle!
In the game, Rhode had run the Fog Ruins dungeon for more than thirty times but he still had never seen the Gargoyle, so he almost forgot about it. Now that he entered the dungeon with his true body for the first time but he already encountered it?
Is this considered good luck or bad luck?
However, Rhode no longer had time to complain because the danger was right ahead.
A head-on attack was useless since his level was less than 10. Challenging a level 15 monster was an almost impossible thing to do. Even with Star Mark, his attack was still limited.
"Quickly run!"
He commanded without hesitation, then he grabbed Lize's hand while running.
"Follow me! Lower your head and whatever you do, do not look up!"
It was impossible to escape now. The only way right now was to find the Gargoyle's controller device and destroy it. Even though it was technically possible to escape from its attacking range, but looking at his team now, there was no one that could attract its attention without getting hurt. If only there was a Ranger or a Thief…
Lize and Matt kept their head down and ran forward. The fog around them also began surging. It was clear that their actions had also attracted the Will-o-Wisps' attention; now there were even four or five Will-o-Wisps rushing towards them.
"Lize, cast Healing Light! Do not stop!"
"Yes!"
Although casting the spell while running was not easy for her, but she still tried her best and stretched out her hand. Soon, streams of white lights swirled through the air and landed on a Will-o-Wisp, after which, Rhode quickly stabbed it with his sword. Then, with a scream, it turned into ashes and disappeared. A system prompt suddenly flashed in front of Rhode.
[EXP 1900/1800, Level Up, Level 8]
Unfortunately, there was no time for him to care about system prompts at this time because more Will-o-Wisps had appeared. Although their momentum had slowed slightly because of Healing Light, their advantageous numbers made up for this gap.
Compared to the Will-o-Wisps, the Gargoyle did not care about Healing Light at all. Although the Gargoyle was also a Dark Elemental creature, as the Mage's Guardian, the Gargoyle's outer body was made of stone, enabling it to resist most low-leveled spells. After it had failed its attack previously, it had immediately identified the target and chased after the three of them while waiting for the chance to attack. Rather than an undead who attacked based on instinct, an undead who had an AI was indeed more difficult to deal with.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Matt lost his balance and fell to the ground. The Gargoyle had been waiting for an opportunity to attack and immediately flew down. Its two sharp front claws were rushing to pierce the fat merchant. When Matt turned around, the only thing he could see was the shadow of it trying to tear his body apart.
"Oh God…"
Right at that moment, a faint golden light emerged from the air and blocked the Gargoyle sharp claws. After that, the light from the sword scattered and hit the Will-o-Wisps surrounding them. Followed by a loud flap, the Gargoyle flew back and crashed into a group of Will-o-Wisps. At that moment, Lize pulled the fat merchant up who thought that he was about to meet his family in the underworld and continued to run.
"Here!"
After avoiding the Will-o-Wisps' "encirclement", he raised his head and finally found his goal. It was an abandoned church, the place where the Mage did his experiments. According to his memory, the controller should be there.
But this place was, of course, difficult to enter.
When Rhode ran to the church entrance, he only saw darkness. He immediately activated Shadow Flash and dodged—at his previous position a second ago was another Gargoyle sitting on the ground, its claws were dug deep in the ground, crushing the green stone which he had once stood on.
"Tch!"
Rhode cursed. At the same time, he quickly swept a glance and found that the Gargoyles on both sides of the church entrance had been missing. Of course, he could imagine where did they go.
He actually encountered two in one run. It seems like he won the lottery today.
"Both of you, quickly go inside and find the controller!"
He faced the Gargoyle while shouting at Lize and Matt.
"Those Will-o-Wisps won't pursue the both of you; I will face the two of them. You guys take this opportunity and immediately go in. Find the control device, and then destroy it. Be careful of traps."
"But … Mr. Rhode you…"
"This is an order!"
Rhode interrupted Lize coldly. He held Star Mark and slashed forward. A white light instantly appeared on its edge, causing the Gargoyles to scream as they flew up, escaping Rhode's attack. But by doing so, they also opened the road leading to the church.
"Quick, go!"
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Chapter 17: Unlocking The Talent Tree
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Metal and stone clashed against each other, igniting a bright spark.
"Ugh!"
Rhode retreated a few steps back. The huge impact caused his sword to tremble, producing violent waves that traveled from his arms to his upper body.
As expected, a level 15 Gargoyle was an opponent not to be taken lightly — especially when there were two. Gargoyles were unique because of their intelligence. Normally, that was something that he'd worry about, but because of said intelligence, the AI made less threatening movements out of caution. It was especially so after it was attacked by the Blade of Destruction. When Rhode's sword emitted a white light, the Gargoyle immediately screamed and flew back. As for the other one, even though it had not been hit, it also became hesitant, giving Rhode a chance to breathe.
But it was only for a moment.
Rhode held Star Mark firmly in his hand as he studied the hovering Gargoyles. Then, he clenched his teeth and poised himself. Although the two Gargoyles were afraid of his Blade of Destruction, he discerned that the both of them wouldn't let go of him that easily. Even though they were in a stalemate right now, it wouldn't last much longer. When he leveled up, he had raised his Moon Shadow Swordsmanship into Rank D 4/4, which in turn reduced the Soul Power consumption of the Blade of Destruction. Still, it would be a problem if it was frequently used. Besides, this wasn't even the final battle; Rhode knew that he had to save some of his strength in case something went wrong. And since he was the only combatant amongst the three, if he used up all of his power, the situation would turn grave.
The two Gargoyles did not continue to stare at him. On the contrary, they flew back and forth as they extended their claws to attack Rhode, only pulling back once they found that he had the intention to fight back. This kind of never-ending battle required a lot of stamina, but since the two Gargoyles' were made from alchemy, it was not a problem for them at all. However, it wasn't the same for Rhode.
Sweat slowly trickled down his forehead. His body had been in a defensive position for an extended period of time and he knew that he would gradually become exhausted. But Rhode wasn't able to retreat. He knew that with his current ability, it was almost impossible to defeat two Gargoyles, and that was why his only hope was Lize. However…
It seemed like I forgot to remind them to pay attention to the protection circle?
After pondering for a moment, he shrugged and switched his focus to the Gargoyles in front of him.
It's not THAT dangerous anyway.
Suddenly, Matt yelped in pain.
"Ah!!"
He fell to the ground and his whole body twitched non-stop.
"I'm going to die! Help! Help!"
"You're just stunned Mr. Matt… You're not going to die because of that."
Lize was flipping over the things on the dusty and cobwebbed table, most of it was just debris that had been already been eroded. She casually cast Healing Light at Matt without looking and continued to search again.
Although most of the mages would cast a lot of protective spells to protect their secrets, this church had been forgotten for a long period of time. Thus, the power of the protective circle had weakened about 70%-80%, so it was not particularly dangerous.
As a half-angel, Lize's magic resistance was quite strong, so these weakened protective circles didn't really affect her. Under her influence, those circles that were supposed to trigger fire and lightning only created a flicker before disappearing. However, the poor Mr. Matt had helped these traps to regain back some of their self-confidence. Since he was just an ordinary person and had no magic resistance, his reaction made the protective circle seem threatening.
"This… this place is awful…" The man muttered while observing his surroundings.
Matt then removed the dust from his clothes before standing up again.
In the dark church, the only light that illuminated the darkness was the 'Holy Radiance' that Lize had cast. But this only made Matt more frightened because he could clearly detect the locations of the strange magic circles. Moreover, the light also revealed ominous piles of bones which were scattered on the black floor. This scene was enough to make his legs weak. And as if that wasn't scary enough, when he saw the bloodstains on the wall, he almost ran away in fright. If it wasn't because of Lize's calm demeanor that made him feel embarrassed as a man, and because of the Gargoyles at the entrance that was even more dangerous, most likely he would have already run away long ago.
But now he could only grit his teeth and cling to Lize to find something called the 'Controller Device' which he had never seen before.
This place is so damned messy… how can one even find an object?
He complained in his mind, but when he noticed Lize's seriousness, he decided not to express his view verbally and continued to survey the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Rhode's situation wasn't getting any better.
The Gargoyles shrieked and attacked Rhode. But he made a quick movement as he sidestepped and dodged its attack once again. This time, the Gargoyles did not retreat like before. One Gargoyle spun around and whipped its tail at Rhode.
This is bad!
When saw the attack, his heart sunk. It was too late for him to dodge so all he could do was to raise his sword to parry the attack.
Rhode's reaction was fast, but the Gargoyles weren't slow either. When he felt the vibrations through his sword, he was already sent flying into the air. Rhode rolled on the ground several times before stopping. The clash caused his hands to tremble uncontrollably.
"Ugh!"
Rhode's body was shaking as he got up. He felt dizzy and weak with half his body totally numb. If he had not gripped his sword tight, he would have already lost it. At that moment, as he was beginning to regain clarity, a creepy sound echoed in his ears.
"Hiss…"
Cold breath trickled down his back. He hoped that he could escape the opponent by falling to the ground, but when he raised his head up, he discovered three Will-o-Wisps approaching him slowly.
While the Gargoyle did not deal him much damage, instead, it had thrown him out of the church barrier entrance area. Due to the invisible barrier, the Will-o-Wisps were unable to enter the church, however, they still lingered around the edges, relying on their instincts while waiting for an opportunity to attack.
And now, the opportunity finally came.
Of course, Rhode did not intend to let them do as they please. Facing the encirclement, he clenched his teeth and decided not hold anything back. Lifting up his sword, a hallowed light emerged and shot forward.
As the white light burst out and spread around the battlefield, one of them landed heavily on one of the Will-o-Wisp, shredding apart its protection. After which, he fluidly followed up with an attack, thrusting his sword into its core. While the unlucky Will-o-Wisp screamed and slowly turned to dust, Rhode had already passed through its body and landed inside the barrier.
What should I do next?
While Rhode was thinking about his next course of action, the system prompt suddenly appeared, startling him for a moment.
[EXP 4000/1800, Level up! Talent Tree Unlocked, Level 8]
I'm already at Level 10? But I remember that I was only at Level 8 when I entered Fog Ruins…
Rhode froze for a moment as he tried to recall what happened. He seemed to remember that the system prompt told him that his EXP was already enough to level up even before he met the Gargoyle, but he did not notice at that time. But now, it seemed as if his EXP was enough for him to level up again. This wasn't too surprising, after all, in this dungeon, almost all of the EXP was earned by him. Moreover, his level was low, killing monsters above his level allowed him to gain a lot of bonuses. That was why reaching level 10 was very normal. The only strange thing was… how did the EXP work when he was clearly living in the real world?
But now wasn't the time to worry about these minor matters. Rhode quickly opened his attribute table and made his choice since this might be his only chance to gain a quick advantage.
[EXP 4000/1800, Level up! Talent Tree Unlocked, Level 8]
[EXP 2200/2000, Level up! Talent Tree Unlocked, received 1 Skill Point, Level 9]
[EXP 200/2500, Talent Tree Unlocked, received 2 Skill Points, Level 10]
[Do you want to activate the Talent System? ]
"Activate!"
In less than a second, the Talent System branched out three sets of talents.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, when the player reached level 10, each job was given a choice of three different set of talents. They could only choose one as their main, and another as secondary to compliment their main talent. The effectiveness of the talent was based on how many Skill Points the player allocated. In the beginning, many players were confused because they could only obtain 1 Skill Point whenever they leveled up. The Talent Tree, Swordsmanship, as well as spells, needed Skill Points to level up. So, in the beginning, they could only allocate a limited amount of Skill Points. Fortunately, when the players reached the intermediate areas, they would be able to use the 'Awaken Scroll' to finish some high-level quests and obtain additional Skill Points.
Rhode's Spirit Swordsman class had three different kinds of talents—— 'Summoning Master', 'Soul Messenger' and 'Hell Lord'.
For 'Summoning Master', when leveled to a certain level, it could increase the number of summoning spirits. Players chose the 'Soul Messenger' to strengthen their awakening spirit power. As for 'Hell Lord', when a non-human lifeform is killed, it had a special power to convert the corpse into a summoning spirit based on a certain percentage. Of course, the conversion is limited to undead attributes.
It can be said that every talent had their own pros and cons, 'Summoning Master' relied on numbers to win, 'Soul Messenger' focused on quality, but beasts were rare to find and so were Soul Cores. 'Hell Lord' was also a good option. If it was an ordinary person, they would have been hesitant as to which talent to give up. But for Rhode, it wasn't a problem since he had played the Spirit Swordsman class for seven years. He had already memorized all the skills and even held the de facto title of the 'Walking Library,' which was given by the players who respected his knowledge.
Even in the game, almost two-thirds of the entire player base chose this job because they want to build their character using Rhode's character as their class guide. That was why it was difficult for new players to decide their talents.
But Rhode was different, once he saw his Talent Tree, he immediately made his decision.
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Chapter 18: Summoning Master
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The first rule of how to play a Spirit Swordsman was to absolutely not attack alone at any point in time.
[Used 1 Skill Point to enhance the Moon Shadow Swordsmanship 1/5, Rank C——Moonbeams Unlocked]
[Used 1 Skill Point to assign talent —— Summoning Master]
[Summoning Master First Talent has been unlocked:
Soul Resonance (Every 10 levels, the character's summoned spirit capacity will increase)
Telepathy (Share your thoughts with the summoned creatures, increase the telepathy active time duration)
Integration (Dual Spirit Fusion)]
[Received Permanent Skill: Soul Resonance LV1 (Every 10 levels, the character's summoned spirit capacity will increase 1)]
[Summoned Spirit Capacity 1]
When the last line of the system prompt disappeared, Rhode came across a huge shadow. However, he didn't retreat in shock. On the contrary, he raised his sword and thrust forward.
Swoosh!
A green shadow quickly flew out from the sword and shot towards the Gargoyle.
It was the Spirit Bird.
The fact that he was unable to summon two creatures at once was his current weakness. Alas, unfortunately, Star Mark was also considered to be one of his summoned weapons.
The Spirit Swordsman class was almost similar to an ordinary Swordsman. They could also choose to equip a 'normal' weapon, but Rhode decided not to. Even though he had considered using a normal weapon instead, he could not bear to give up Star Mark's attribute bonus. And because of that, he was able to easily eliminate higher-leveled monsters which provided him with many benefits, such as additional EXP. On the flip side, he was unable to fight with his 'summoned creatures,' making him look like a full-fledged Swordsman.
This caused Rhode to feel really uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it. If he summoned the Spirit Bird, then he would need to give up Star Mark. But this way, his future battles would be more troublesome. Even though he could summon creatures, his class was still 'Swordsman' and not 'Mage'. He couldn't act like the mages who stayed at the back.
However, if he wanted to use Star Mark, he must give up on the Spirit Bird and fight like an ordinary Swordsman. That wasn't an suitable option either.
The Spirit Swordsman class had a big weakness when compared to the 'genuine' Swordsman class. It was the class penalty ——— All the Swordsmanship rank -1.
This meant that if a genuine Swordsman achieved the highest rank of SSS, the maximum a Spirit Swordsman could reach was only the SS rank, no matter how much effort they put in. Moreover, in the beginning, both classes starting point were different. A Swordsman started with Rank D, but Rhode, as a Spirit Swordsman, started with Rank E. That was the difference.
It could be said that until now, Rhode was fighting really hard. If it wasn't because of the Star Mark and his deep knowledge of the Dragon Soul Continent, he would have been very miserable. Even more so because he'd been familiar with his summoned creatures and fighting style. It made him feel extremely pressured.
And now, after choosing the 'Summoning Master' talent, his the weight on his shoulders had finally been reduced.
Yes, though the Spirit Swordsman lacked a strong attacking power, they were not the type that would just run up to monsters and mindlessly attack things.
As the Spirit Bird flew forward, the Gargoyle could not react in time. It could feel a magic power from its opponent, but his AI could not figure out what was this thing in front of it. But it still identified the other side as an enemy, so it attacked with its claw.
But at this time the Gargoyle missed.
When the claws finally met its foe, the Spirit Bird suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke. The air that spread within its claw drifted away in the wind, leaving no trace behind. Not giving any chance for the Gargoyle to react, Rhode rushed forward, holding the sword in his hand tightly as he swung it down.
A silver moon appeared from his sword as it flew through its target.
This was the Moon Shadow Swordsmanship 3rd Skill —— Moonbeams.
Although it was the same as the Blade of Destruction since the attack was condensed from the sword aura. But the effect was completely different ——— the Blade of Destruction created a light that pierced forward. Even though it was strong, but the AOE was too small which made it very easy to dodge. But Moonbeams was different, the crescent moon-shaped attack had a large area of effect, it was very difficult to dodge.
As expected, facing the incoming sword light, the Gargoyle flapped its wings frantically, trying to escape its opponent attack. But it was too slow, and the light pierced its right wing. The Gargoyle trembled violently and began to lose altitude.
But Rhode wasn't done yet. When it attempted to maintain its balance, Rhode took another two steps forward and waved his left hand, making a strange hand gesture.
The Spirit Bird which previously transformed into a gust of wind arrived from the Gargoyle's rear and froze its body once again. Followed by a tweeting sound, the wind smashed directly into the Gargoyle's back. The collision made a powerful impact which sent the Gargoyle flying away. This made the Gargoyle even angrier as it started to scream loudly. But Rhode did not wait for it to express its anger as he drove a shimmering light into the Gargoyle.
One.. two… three!
The Blade of Destruction accurately and continuously pierce the Gargoyle's right wing. Even it was made of rock, it still could not withstand a series of continuous attack on the same spot. Cracks spread through its wings and with a snapping sound, the wing completely shattered. The Gargoyle that lost its wing screamed hysterically as it fell to the ground. When it smashed onto the floor, it created a small crater in the bluish stone asphalt.
Relying on numbers to win as well as combining quantity and quality was the Spirit Swordsman's fighting style.
Rhode finally reunited with his old fighting style. In fact, if he was holding a normal weapon right now, when he activated his 'Summoning Master' talent he could summon two creatures to attack. At that time, not to mention rare elite monsters, even if it was a boss monster, he would surely kill it.
Unfortunately, this world had no 'ifs'. Reality was harsh. He did not have a second spirit to summon.
That was why he gave up this idea and retreated immediately.
Because at this time, the second Gargoyle was already rushing over towards his direction.
Perhaps when it saw its comrade being attacked, it rushed over as fast as it could. As for Rhode, since he could now summon the Spirit Bird, he did not intend to fight it head-on. Instead, he raised his head to stare at the monster that had once made him so miserable and then blew a whistle. A strong wind quickly blocked the black shadow that was trying to attack him, throwing the Gargoyle off its flight trajectory as it fell and rolled several times onto the ground, only stopping when it smashed into the wall of the church.
Of course, Rhode would not miss such a good opportunity to retaliate.
Under his command, a green whirlwind gathered from below. The Spirit Bird then stretched its wings and attacked its enemy once again.
In a blink of an eye, he switched from defense to offense.
The Gargoyles, who previously had aerial superiority, were now grounded. Rhode who was previously under a lot of pressure managed to turn the tide. He deliberately made the Spirit Bird separate the two Gargoyles so that they could maintain the '2 vs 1' battle and made sure that the other one had no way to come to rescue its comrade.
Although the situation had turned for the better, Rhode was still unable to continue the next battle. The recent clash consumed more than half of his current Soul Power. In the game, once you level up, your avatar will automatically replenish to the maximum. But of course, reality wasn't like that. When he leveled up to level 10 and unlock the talent tree, his Soul Power did not change at all.
If he just relied on his remaining Soul Power, he definitely wouldn't be able to destroy the two Gargoyles. Since he had already consumed a lot of his power, he must ensure to avoid the 'power outage' condition. After all, the level gap between them was simply too large. The Gargoyle's defense was naturally very strong. Even with the Blade of Destruction, he could only destroy one of its wings which did not really damage them to the point of death. But since he almost consumed all of his power and there was still one more Gargoyle he had to face alone —— even an idiot would know what the outcome would be.
Right now the only thing he could do was to buy some time until Lize and Matt found the 'Controller Device'
Otherwise, the tables would turn upon him again.
Though one of its wings was destroyed, it still did not lose its threatening gaze. It crawled on the ground as if it was a dark giant dog and attacked like a goblin. This was the frightening part of alchemy creature. If someone thought that all they could do was fly around and attack, then they'll be sorely mistaken.
Luckily, Rhode understood their behavior very well. He wasn't the newbie who believed that once they lost their ability to fly, the Gargoyles would be as good as dead. But the fact still remains it still reduced some of his pressure as he did not need to worry about air attacks any longer.
A black shadow suddenly appeared behind him, it was trying to sneak attack him from behind. But he was prepared. Rhode sidestepped and blocked the attack with his sword. At the same time, he stretched his right hand and made a hand gesture. After recognizing the gesture, the Spirit Bird flew towards him and blocked the other Gargoyle that was trying to launch another attack from above.
The Spirit Bird level was low and it could not really cause much damage to the rare elite monster. But as an elemental creature, it was not a difficult task to parry an attack.
As time passed, Rhode's heart beat faster and faster as he felt increasingly anxious. His body started to become sluggish, unable to keep up with his techniques. His vitality and Soul Power was running dry. Up till now, there was still no movement coming from the church.
Could it be that they had not found the controller device?
Swoosh!!
He heard a sharp sound of wind slicing through the air beside him. Rhode was caught off guard which made him feel slightly surprised. He immediately threw his body to the side and activated his shadow flash, but due to him being slightly careless, he lost his balance and the skill automatically disengaged.
His Soul Power almost ran out!
Rhode's heart sank. Right now he could not think of anything anymore. He quickly spun around and swung his sword forward. The pure white sword clashed with the Gargoyle's claw, igniting a loud, screeching sound like metal scratching against each other. The Gargoyle quickly retreated after it failed its ambush but Rhode was too exhausted to chase after it.
Just at this moment, a voice sounded from behind.
"Mr. Rhode! We've found it!!"
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Chapter 19: The Gargoyle's Heart
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"Mr. Rhode! We've found it!"
Hearing this voice, Rhode immediately looked back and saw Matt happily standing at the church entrance. He was holding a beautiful statue. It was the statue of Two Gargoyles in a curled up position, their eyes were made of ruby, vaguely emitting a trace of dark red luster.
That's the controller device!
Matt's action caught the attention of the two Gargoyles. As alchemy creatures, they certainly knew what that statue was. Therefore, the two Gargoyles immediately shifted their attention towards Matt.
"Aaah!"
Discovering that the two terrifying monsters were shooting after him, Matt couldn't help but scream. He wanted to run far away, but at that moment, Rhode yelled at him.
"Throw it over!"
Matt paused for a while when he heard Rhode's voice, and then he glanced towards the two Gargoyles advancing towards him. He had no qualms about their ability to shatter him to pieces, but still, he steeled his mind and threw the black statue.
The fat merchant's throwing accuracy was awful. When he threw it across, while it still it flew in an arc, the direction that he threw towards was totally opposite from his intended target. It can be said that he wasn't even throwing it to Rhode, rather, he threw it toward the two Gargoyles instead.
If anyone was watching this scene at the moment, they would believe that Matt was helping the two Gargoyles instead of Rhode. The two Gargoyles were surprised for a moment as they stared at the gift that was being delivered to them. But they still stretched out their claws to grab that little statue.
Just as they thought that they were about to succeed, a breeze suddenly sped beside them. It was the invisible Spirit Bird! It shot through the air and snatched the statue before the Gargoyles could react.
This move from Rhode was his final attempt at whatever strength he had left. Then, he stored his sword and made a snap with his right hand.
The Spirit Bird homed back towards Rhode when it heard the sound. The two Gargoyles also stopped midway and immediately locked their sights in Rhode's direction again.
"Swoosh!!"
The Gargoyle that was on the ground spun its body and flicked its tail towards the Spirit Bird. While the impact didn't cause much damage, it still distorted the wind element that formed its existence.
However, the Spirit Bird did not give up and kept trying to increase its speed. It flapped its wings vigorously and flew towards Rhode's direction.
But things did not go as expected.
Suddenly, a claw appeared from the sky, smashing through the Spirit Bird's body. The distorted wind elements could no longer maintain its form and turned back to its original appearance, drifting away in the wind. The black statue that the Spirit Bird carried flew a distance because of the impact. In an instant, two large shadows appeared from behind. They stretched their claws and opened their mouth, trying to reach out to the statue ——— only to find out that it had fallen into Rhode's hands.
[Obtained The Gargoyle's Controller Device, Identified]
[Command———]
"Aig" (ED: The command to stop)
Rhode spoke in a low voice and the hostile Gargoyles stopped abruptly. The bright light on the Gargoyles bodies gradually turned dim and the incandescent red light on the Gargoyles also disappeared in an instant. Two large shadows flew past Rhode and crashed towards the ground.
Boom!!! Followed by a tremor, the Gargoyles that had lost their power, turned back into a statue. Right now, they were quietly sitting near Rhode. After losing their magic power, they were not as violent as before. Their remains scattered on the ground.
"Sigh…"
Rhode could finally breathe. At this moment, he felt that he had no energy left. And because of the overconsumption of Soul Power, he lost his strength to stand. Even his right hand that was holding on the statue felt powerless. But on the surface, he still wore a calm expression on his face and stood firm. He then put the statue in his pocket.
"Mr. Rhode!"
Lize and Matt ran towards him and stared at him with a worried and anxious expression.
"Are you okay!?"
"I'm okay."
Rhode took a deep breath. Right now, he truly wanted to sit down and rest for a while. In the game, Soul Power overconsumption would also affect the character movements. But to directly feel that kind of sensation on his real body was indeed too much. He could not fall yet.
Fortunately, after scanning the surrounding fog, he found no more Will-o-Wisps in the vicinity. It appeared as though they had given up and moved away.
Nevertheless, while it did not mean that they had given up entirely, it was still good news. Rhode did not have the habit of expressing his emotions explicitly. As the team leader, he must always be calm and not panic just because of trivial things. If he screamed and yelled every time he encountered difficulties, then surely his subordinates wouldn't treat him seriously. Although the current Rhode was no longer the guild leader of thousands of players, this habit of his still affected him.
Due to his calm demeanor, it gave Lize and Matt some relief. After all, when they were still looking for the controller device, they were extremely anxious about the situation outside. Lize was trying very hard, but in the case of item identification, Matt was apparently better than her. Finally, they found this little statue placed in the corner of some room. They had to admit; their timing was impeccable. If any of them were late by just a little, maybe the current situation would be completely different.
Initially, Rhode planned to pass through the Fog Ruins quickly. But because of the two Gargoyles, he had to change his mind. After all, facing those two statues had almost wholly consumed his power. If he did not rest, then the next battle would be more dangerous. Thus, Rhode finally decided to sleep in the church for one night and continue on the next day. He did not have to worry about any ambushes because, back in the game, this church was used by players to rest and organize loots, so there shouldn't be any significant problems.
Despite being utterly terrified of the dark and creepy church, but as always… Matt did not have the right to go against Rhode's decision.
The sky was getting dark.
A thick fog surrounded the church. Peering through the window, nothing could be seen at all. Three people sat in the center of the church. Abandoned and rotting wood from the benches and tables had turned into firewood. The fire lit up the dark sky, creating warmth for the trio. A cold wind was still blowing from the broken windows and cracks in the wall, producing a weird sensation of hot and cold.
Lize carefully stretched out her hand and removed the bandage from Rhode's chest. Her brow slightly twitched when she saw the state of his injury.
"Your wound opened up again, Mr. Rhode."
"I know."
Rhode nodded and did not say anything. In fact, this wasn't the first time. After all, along the way, he was always the one fighting in front. Even though he did spare a thought about his injury, he already tried his best to avoid using his left hand. But since he had encountered many life-threatening situations, he really could not help it. Therefore, this made his wound flare up. According to Lize, his injury was supposed to heal in two or three days. But because of what happened, it seemed that he needed about ten more days or so to recover.
Lize could not complain about his situation because this happened because of them. Thus, the only thing she could do was to help Rhode change into a clean bandage to avoid infection. Fortunately, before leaving the floating ship, as a Cleric, she brought some of first aid materials.
When she removed the bandage, she saw a deep gash on his chest. Matt took a deep breath when he inspected the wound. He even touched his own chest with a lingering fear. There were deep, black claw marks on his chest and other minor scratches everywhere else. Because of the fierce battle with the Gargoyle earlier, many scars were torn open. The oozing bright red blood even mixed with the dark blood clots, just by looking at it could make ordinary people shiver.
Lize took out her handkerchief and poured some water from the pot. Then, she pressed it on Rhode's chest, which made his body subconsciously twitch. Even Matt could not bear looking at it, so he turned his head around, not wanting to see again.
"S-sorry, does it hurt?"
"It's okay."
Lize asked in a panic. Rhode shook his head. Although he did feel some pain, it was still tolerable.
Once she heard his answer, she also felt relieved and continued to wipe his wound. At the same time, she even began to secretly observe the young man in front of her.
Frankly speaking, since the first time they met, he only gave her a very ordinary impression. Since he was charming and his skin was also very white, she thought that he was a noble. But, his attitude was not like the usual young nobles she had seen, which was why she could accept him. But at that time, she had never looked at him seriously. After all, a man that looked like a woman, the first impression he gave was, 'weak'.
But since then, Lize's view slowly changed.
He was different from the usual young noble; his power was extraordinary, he was even stronger than his leader. His character was calm, and following him made people feel at ease. Even if the situation was dangerous, he wouldn't panic. Unlike his appearance, he was a tough man.
Lize knew just how severe his injury was. Since she was a Cleric, she had treated many kinds of injuries before. Men that fought fiercely on the battlefield would also yell when she treated their wounds. But from the start, Rhode had never spoken a word of complaint. Not only that, he even fought with such a massive injury…
Lize's hand suddenly stopped.
What am I thinking about? This is so messed up.
The girl shook her head and pushed her thoughts to the back of her head. After that, she continued doing her job.
Rhode didn't notice Lize's strange act. Right now, he was focusing his attention on his right hand which held two pieces of glowing, dark-red gems.
It was the loot from the battle before, the Gargoyle's heart.
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Chapter 20: Holy Sword Level Upgrade
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The Gargoyle was one of the top picked guardians for a Mage. This was only because Mages could utilize its usefulness as much as possible. Although the Gargoyle was a useful guardian, it was a colossal waste merely to use it as a shield. As such, other than its primary use, a lot of Mages also like to use it as a safety box.
And these two Gargoyles were just the same.
Rhode found a lot of good things. As a level 15 rare elite, the Gargoyle's 'loots' were worthy of their rarity. In addition to precious gems, crystal and gold coins, Rhode also found three kinds of magical equipment.
[Ice Talisman [Elite Item: When attacked, can automatically trigger an ice shield, able to resist 50 to 150 damage and immune to water attacks]
[Oath Keeper [Excellent Item: Increase the caster 5 spell power, 5 spell resistance.]
[Ring of Fog [Excellent Item: Every 10 days could activate "Ethereal Body", lasts for half an hour.]
All of these were great equipment. If sold to the auction house, it would provide a lot of money.
Unfortunately, these equipment were meant for casters.
In the end, Rhode gave these pieces of equipment to Lize. As a Cleric, even though she was a non-combat class, these equipment were still useful to her. He gave her the Ice Talisman and the Oath Keeper but kept the Ring of Fog for himself. In the game, this ring helped a lot of players to solo a dungeon, so he unreservedly kept the ring for himself.
But Lize was delightfully surprised when she received two rare equipment by doing almost nothing. One must understand that usually within a mercenary group, even though when they adventured as a group, most of these loots were given to the mercenary leader to be sold. The money earned from it would be used to maintain the operation of the entire mercenary group. The action of transferring equipment directly to group members was rarely seen.
From this, the difference between NPC and player could be seen. As a living, breathing person of this world, the mercenary's ultimate goal was to earn money to live. So, when they found a piece of equipment, they wouldn't use it for themselves. In fact, many small mercenary groups rarely picked up difficult missions. However, in the player point of view, they were merely doing some third-rate task since all they wanted to do was to make money to survive. Those who were eligible to acquire these magic equipment were those highly respected, powerful individuals within the group. As for those who were not strong enough? They could only drool while looking at it.
But players were different. When they entered this world, their goal was to become better and stronger, acquire good gear, gain more experience, increase reputations, and upgrade their character. Those were their goals. To these players, magic equipment wasn't considered to be very rare, and so they wouldn't worry if they wore it casually ——— They could even sell it after they had found better equipment.
Just like these three pieces of equipment. To Rhode, these things were simply level 10~15 equipment. Once he over-leveled the equipment, it would be useless. Even though the Ice Talisman was quite good, Rhode did not need it. If he could procure a Water Elemental spirit, then he could also get the same advantage such as being immune to water attacks. So these 'low-level' equipment wasn't a big deal to him. Unless it was the legendary or ancient level equipment such as 'Sky Sword' or 'Saint's Heart', then maybe he would reconsider.
But to Lize, these three pieces of equipment were considered to be very 'high-level'. Even a mercenary group leader only equipped three to five magic equipment. Mages require slightly more gear. But, as a supporting class, it was tough for her to have a share of the loot. From her class position standpoint, it was unnecessary for her to have it. But right now, as a small mercenary group's Cleric, she actually received two rare magic equipment?
It made Lize doubt whether she was dreaming or not.
But compared to Lize, Matt was more surprised.
As a traveling merchant, he understood just how precious one magic equipment was. Specifically these magic equipment. From Matt's point of view, even if the items were auctioned in the most prosperous North Carolina port, it might worth at least two to three thousands gold coins. But Rhode actually gave it casually to Lize. He was so calm as if he was handing out a piece of bread. It was also not an act of calmness where the main point was to leave a good impression. But instead, he was truthfully calm ——— meaning that Rhode honestly did not care about these magic equipment at all.
Without a doubt, this was something that an average person could not do. In his life, Matt dealt with many kinds of people, mercenaries, and nobles. Even for them, these magic equipment were extremely precious. Very few people could throw these equipment out like what Rhode did.
So what does this mean?
This meant that in Rhode's point of view, these magic equipment were simply not worth mentioning. This also reflects on his extraordinary identity.
If Matt only thought of Rhode as an ordinary member of a noble on the continent before, then now would have begun to relate him to those high nobles or royal families. Because only those kind of people had the capital to look down on magic equipment ——— Just like a man with innumerable wealth, he wouldn't care about this little money. But this 'little money' could be something an ordinary person wouldn't be able to earn in their entire life.
Just the thought of this made the fat merchant excited. As a minor figure among the merchants, he did not have the opportunity to meet with high nobles often. Usually, high nobles had their own personal backings. They wouldn't really bother to look at merchants like him. But now was his chance! If he could grasp it, then maybe there would be hope.
While these thoughts flashed through his mind, he suddenly remembered about his failed attempt at throwing the statue just now. Even if this young man did not complain, he could understand that his actions until now didn't prove himself to be worth any value to Rhode. He could only sigh when he thought of this.
Rhode truly didn't bother about those three pieces of equipment. What he considered precious was the two gems on his palm, the Gargoyle's Heart.
Artificial soul condensation medium.
Saying it like this might sound a bit complicated. But from a player point of view, if the Gargoyle was a robot, then the Gargoyle's Heart was the CPU chip.
It was extremely valuable.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, life alchemy was a very high-level skill. Only God had the ability to create souls. Even a Mage could not violate this rule, and thus, creating an artificial soul was their last resort. It was precisely because of this—a complete artificial soul core was incredibly rare and not every Mage could use it. But for Mages, artificial life alchemy was one of the highest goals in their life. It was like men who were tall, handsome and wealthy. They still must own a sports car to be able to prove their value.
Most Mages keep it close to them. It was rarely circulated in the market, and manufacturing of the artificial soul core was also very rare. Naturally, the price was very high. If sold in the normal auction, it would worth more than ten thousand gold coins, and probably even higher in the black market. Based on the color quality, the best artificial soul could even sell in millions, which was enough to buy a piece of small territory.
Not to mention, Mages were usually very rich.
But Rhode did not care about the money. His years of experience as a player had taught him that money could be earned gradually. But no matter how much money one could make, it would still never be enough.
Because there were things that even money couldn't buy.
For example, another function of the Gargoyle's Heart.
Force level upgrade and summoned spirit evolution 1
The summoned spirit's experience was shared with the holder. Usually in the battle, if Rhode earned 1000 EXP, in truth he will only receive 700. The other 300 EXP will be given to the summon spirit. Even though 30% of the EXP didn't seem like much, but it meant that the more EXP he got, the more it would be deducted.
This was another reason why the Spirit Swordsman class was more difficult to level up than the other classes. Let's say Rhode took another class. If he was a level 8 player and he received a five-man dungeon clear EXP, his level should rise to approximately level 12 or 13. But in contrast to the Spirit Swordsman, because of the Green Bird and Star Mark, he would just level up to 10 instead.
As for his summoning item…
[The 10th Rank Eternal Holy Sword: Star Mark, No attributes, Available for Fusion———no matter how long time has passed, still unable to bury its dazzling brilliance. LV:5, the victory glory ahead, sharp edge characteristic]
A summoned spirit highest level was 10. After reaching Level 10, they could evolve. After evolving, not only would they change form, but their level cap would increase by 10 again. The Gargoyle's Heart could force a summon spirit to skip 10 levels and then evolve once. This way, not only he could save up more EXP, but it could also reduce the leveling time.
What things could money not buy?
Time could not be bought with money.
Rhode did not know the level limit for the Star Mark. But according to his experience, the level of summoning card deck that positioned at the end of the deck was usually not too high, and three evolutions were the limit. If he fused it with the two Gargoyle's Heart on his hand, then at least when he fought the same level monster, the sword wouldn't rob his experience anymore because of the forced upgrade.
But…
Rhode fell into deep thought. This Holy Sword card was unique. When he got it from the BM Company's director, he clearly told him that in this world, there's only one of this card. At that time, Rhode didn't really bother about the details, but thinking of it now, he felt a bit strange.
Only one?
But didn't the system prompt explicitly informed him that he only acquired 1/10 of the eternal deck? Then how did it became the only one? So how about the remaining nine?
Nevertheless, this deck did not even exist in the game because it was just a souvenir in reality. In the Dragon Soul Continent history, he had never heard about this sword. This could not be hidden from the game since he got this deck when he had won the game championship. Because his guild was called the Starlight Guild, the company had specially designed this deck of cards for him as a prize and memento. This kind of rushed product was impossible to enter the game system.
But no matter what, he would still try it.
Rhode stretched his right hand and held one of the gems in his hand. In an instant, a line of system prompt appeared in front of him.
[The Gargoyle's Heart was detected (Magic Item), do you want to use it? ]
Use.
Rhode made an answer in his heart.
Followed by Rhode's answer, the magic circle on his right hand immediately emerge a small magic light. After that, the dark red gem broke into tiny shards which disappeared under this light. Soon, a new information appeared in front of him.
[Target? ]
Star Mark.
Rhodes lowered his head and replied in his heart.
[Target – Star Mark – Forced Evolution]
[Level upgrade finished]
[Evolve? ]
Yes.
The white card once again appeared on his hand, the light emitting from it made Lize and Matt curiously stare at it.
At the same time, lines of system prompt appeared in front of him.
[Evolution has finished]
[The 10th Rank Eternal Holy Sword: Star Mark, No attributes, Available for Fusion———no matter how long time has passed, it's still unable to bury its dazzling brilliance. LV:10,
The Victory Road Ahead: Sharp Edge
White Wings to Protect: Winged Guardian
Holy Light to Disperse the Darkness: Star Piercing]
[Attached skills: Sharp Edge Technique, Winged Guardian, Star Piercing. Each skill can be used three times per day]
Not bad!
Looking at these system prompts, Rhode nodded his head. Star Mark had three special skills, and these skills were directly attached to the weapon. It means that when he used these skills, it wouldn't consume his Soul Power. Three times per day for each skill each was also considered to be top grade. These skills would surely be useful in the next battle.
But the next system prompt caught him off guard.
[Magic condensation detected]
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Chapter 21: The Secret of Fog Ruins
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Magic condensation?
Rhode was slightly surprised, he played the Spirit Swordsman profession for seven years and had seen many strange situations. But he was sure that he never encountered this kind of situation.
The so-called magic condensation refers to the player's compatibility with the long-term used summon spirit. They would 'nurture' the summon spirit in the evolution process. According to the game, it meant that when they evolved too fast, it would result in excessive magic condensation ——— In other words, it would turn into a piece of equipment.
On the other hand, when the player reached a high compatibility rating with the summon spirit, it would give them a surprise…
But this wasn't something realistic for most of the time. Firstly, the equipment level from summoned spirit wasn't often high, and secondly, these equipment were an illusion created by Spirit Swordsmen only. If it was thrown away, it would just disappear into nothingness. As a result, it could not be traded or given away, so it as good as 'half valueless.'
Rhode wasn't surprised when his summon spirit condensed. After all, this sword had been with him up until now. But what made him surprised was ——— wasn't the holy sword supposed to be a piece of equipment?
Usually, only creatures with self-consciousness would have the characteristics of magic condensation?
What's going on?
Unmistakably, the holy sword wasn't a living creature.
Rhode fell deep into thought for a moment, but he couldn't make a concrete decision because the system prompt did not let him confirm anything. It merely told him what was happening, nothing more. The golden texts then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He looked down at his hand, realizing that the deck of cards on his palm also disappeared somehow.
Lize and Matt stared at each other but did not say anything. In fact, they were not very clear about Rhode's identity. Even though it looked as if he was a swordsman, but besides his sword skills, he also did a lot of things that were unlike swordsmen.
But the two of them did not ask. Lize was an adventurer, of course, she knew that many swordsmen had their own unique abilities and legacies. On the other hand, Matt was very sure that Rhode was one of the descendants of an ancient clan, since only they would have this kind of extraordinary presence.
Although he could feel that Lize and Matt were staring at him, but he didn't feel the need explain. As a guild leader, he was very clear that he did not have to say and do unnecessary things. He remembered that when those players on the internet started a war of words, it would become incredibly intense. The moment you said one word wrong, the opponent would seize the opportunity to turn the tables.
This was particularly important when Rhode became the first guild leader. As the saying goes, great winds blow upon high hills. His enemies would take his every word and action to their advantage. The more you explain, the more loopholes would appear, it was better to say nothing and let them misunderstand. He took back his card and began to sort out his other items.
Mages were usually rich.
Not only did Lize and Matt find the Gargoyle's controller device in the church, but they also found a small pile of precious gems and magic crystals which had lost its magic. Rhode took all of these items since his other profession was an alchemist, those things were still useful to him.
What surprised him further was Lize finding a diary on the desk. It recorded the mage's life after coming to this small town.
This aroused Rhode's interest. Even as a player, he was very clear about the Fog Ruins dungeon ins and outs. But it was his first time looking at it from an NPC point of view.
Most of the diary's content became unreadable due to the passage of time, but there were still some records left.
The year of Saints, the 5th of the month of Thunder.
I succeeded! By sacrificing countless innocent lives, I finally saw her shadow in the middle of the magic circle. She smiled at me. It was the same gentle smile, I was so excited that I called out to her, but she was not able to hear my response. The spell was not complete, but I already have some hope since my idea is indeed correct!
The year of Saints, the 15th of the month of Thunder.
Praise the Holy Spirit! I finally got to see her again. I've attained enough power to conquer all things! By bringing back the dead soul, she finally could see me! I could touch her and feel her warm body, she hugged me and called out my name. At that moment, I feel that everything that I have done was all worth it. Ah… my love, Hina, she was still as gentle, beautiful, and caring as when she was still alive.
I was in a dilemma, but I still determined to confess, I told her about what I have done. But she forgave me. She was still the same as before, she smiled and forgave me. At that time, I felt like life was so beautiful, even the sun outside was splendid. I decided to take her away from here and live a normal life. I won't come into contact with evil anymore, nor will I use magic again. We will move to a remote mountain village, get married, have children, and die like ordinary people.
I do not know whether I deserve this happiness, but I will strive to fight, hope Holy Spirit bless me.
The year of Saints, the 3rd of the month of Blasphemy.
That isn't Hina. I have this…feeling… Even though her appearance and memories were all the same, I have the feeling that wasn't her. When I told her about my plan, she just smiled and agreed. It was so strange, while she was a smart girl, she was also assertive. She did not usually listen to me.
I was suspicious. What if there was any problem in the spell?
Why didn't she doubt my words?
I want to test it again, to confirm if my hunch is correct. Holy Spirit, bless me, I hope that I am wrong…
The year of Saints, the 4th of the month of Blasphemy.
Holy spirit above, why did such things happen!
That wasn't Hina! She was just a monster in Hina's body! I told her that I would kill people for her. Whether it was elderly, children, or women. I said that she alone wasn't enough, I need other women besides her. If it truly was her, then she would absolutely disagree! But what surprised me was that she only sat quietly on the bed. She smiled and listened to me then softly said yes!
This is impossible! This is not her! This is not the person of my memories! What is she? What is she? What is she? The writings began to turn messy.
The year of saints, the 9th of the month of Blasphemy.
May the holy spirit forgive my ignorance.
This… perhaps is my punishment for violating the law. Since I wanted to reverse life and death from the soul that was long gone. But I've failed, and this is my punishment. That thing was not Hina. It simply did not have a human soul, it was just an empty shell. It was living by instinct and snooped the depths of my soul… I wanted to kill it, but I could not, it eventually sucked all of my strength…
I'm going to die; I have no power to stop it.
Be it so… Hina, since you could not come to my side, then let me cross the river of darkness to find you…
May the holy spirit be able to accept my sinful soul …
The diary was written until here; the remaining part was left blank. Rhode closed the diary and shook his head.
It seems like this mage was indeed in love just as the rumor said… But if he chose to commit suicide earlier, many people would not have perished…
But something was bothering him. It quickly flashed through his mind without any warning.
What was wrong?
Rhode frowned and deliberated for a long time. But he still did not get the answer. However, he quickly put the matter behind, closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.
This was just a small part of their journey. The three rested for a night in the abandoned church and made their way towards the depths of Fog Ruins once again on the next day.
"Swoosh!"
A dazzling white light flashed, followed by the screams of will-o-wisps.
Compared to before, the evolved Star Mark became more beautiful. A beautiful and delicate hollow pattern engraved itself on the blade of the white sword. The pure white wings on it began to spread. A thin, silver line circled the sword handle. It resembled more like a work of art rather than weaponry. This sword should not appear on the battlefield, but in a museum or treasury instead.
"What a fantastic masterpiece."
Staring at the shining sword on Rhode's hand, Matt couldn't help but praise it.
"Please forgive me, Mr. Rhode. I have been working as a merchant for so many years, but I have never seen such a beautiful weapon …"
Matt said while narrowing his two small eyes.
"Were you possibly…"
Rhode waved his hand suddenly, but it wasn't to answer Matt question. He focused on the path ahead and replied.
"We've almost arrived."
"What?"
Upon hearing this sentence, Matt and Lize immediately glanced upwards, following Rhode's gaze. Soon, they noticed a plaza full of clustered weeds. To the side, two broken giant wooden doors flickered under the shrouded fog.
"As long as we pass through this door, we would reach the entrance of Araga mountain. And after that, we can exit the mountain."
As soon as he said this, Rhode felt slightly relieved. After all, ever since he awoke on this world, he had always been on high tension. Although players found adventures to be a very enjoyable thing, if they were seriously injured and full of pressure, then even the players wouldn't be too motivated.
Not to mention that this wasn't a game. He could not go offline to drink or play mahjong anytime as he pleased.
But before that, there were still difficult challenges that he needed to overcome.
Rhode frowned, carefully scrutinizing the fog in front him. He held his hand up, hinting at the two people behind him to be careful.
"What's the problem, Mr. Rhode?" Noticing Rhode's hand gesture, Lize reacted quickly and walked closer to him.
"Be careful. The battle isn't over. We have yet to conquer the most troublesome BOSS."
"…BOSS?"
"Umm… I mean monster."
Rhode shook his head. He was already accustomed to the gaming terminology, and could not change this habit in a short time. But apparently right now was not the time to care about this little detail. He took a deep breath and turned his head around, looking at Lize and Matt.
"Do you guys know the origins of the Fog Ruins?"
Hearing Rhode's question, both of them were surprised for a moment then shook their heads.
"It was a bustling town before. But after the air passage opened, this place gradually became desolated —— After that, there was a mage that arrived here, trying to find his dead lover. He conjured a forbidden magic experiment but ultimately failed in the end."
Rhode has stopped and scanned the fog that has shrouded the town.
"From that moment on, it became a ghost town."
"Then Mr. Rhode, the monster that you meant was…"
Matt brows furrowed. He thought that the two Gargoyles from before was already the most difficult monster, but there was actually something more terrible than that?
"Shadow."
The word that came from Rhode's mouth sounded insignificant. But the way he spoke that name made the two shiver.
"This monster was born from the mage's failed final experiment. It was the most terrible monster. If we were not careful, then all of us might die here."
"Is it very powerful, Mr. Rhode?"
Even though she was confused as to why Rhode knew about this, but to Lize, the most important thing was the current situation. Unexpectedly, Rhode shook his head.
"Frankly, it isn't strong. Its offense and defense are weak and almost the same as Will-o-wisp."
"Then…"
Hearing Rhode's explanation, Lize was a bit confused. If it was almost the same as Will-o-wisp, how could this thing be dangerous?
"Because the Shadow has a special skill."
Rhode hesitated, but finally decided to say it.
"It can look into the depth of your heart and turn into someone that you're familiar with. If you can't wake up from the nightmare and steel your faith, then you will die."
Rhode wasn't very sure when he explained to the two. In the game, this boss would only appear when all of the adventurer party gathered. It would then pick one of the players' avatar to confuse the other players.
When the players first encountered the boss, they found it very troublesome, and a lot of parties perished. But very quickly, some players managed to find the way to deal with it. They realized that the Shadow's strength was actually low. Other than copying the player appearance, it wasn't particularly dangerous.
This meant that if only one player faced it in battle, then it could simply copy his only opponent. Of course, a one-on-one battle was nothing complicated. So, after the way to defeat Shadow was discovered, many players use it as a training dummy to practice 'solo bossing'… It was such a tragedy.
But…
What was this feeling that hounded him since just now?
Rhode frowned. His instinct told him that things weren't that simple, but he could not figure it out at the moment.
The fog started to thicken.
Even the maximum power of the holy light could not be able to penetrate through this ocean of fog easily.
Rhode stopped abruptly.
He could feel their worried expressions. But this was the most efficient way, and also the only way.
"Swoosh!"
A sharp white edge appeared out of thin air. The clouds churned but soon returning to normal. Then the clouds started swirling around Rhode as it pushed everything out of its area, leaving Rhode alone in the center.
The air became dank and heavy.
It's coming.
Rhode began to restore his spirit by moving his fingers. The Ring of Will that he wore released a cooling sensation that made him calmer. He understood his opponent power, attributes, even its attack pattern and attacking range. Rhode thought it would be nothing difficult…
But perhaps not so.
A silhouette began to appear from inside the fog. Followed by its appearance, the surrounding air also became restless. The constant flowing fog reflected the silhouette that was moving indefinitely. It looked extremely bizarre. Suddenly, a burst fragrance flooded the air, mixed with a peculiar scent.
That was a smell of disinfectant.
Rhode sharpened his gaze. He thought that this smell was somewhat familiar, but he did not have the time to think. The fog in front of him suddenly dispersed, revealing the presence that was hiding inside.
Rhode immediately froze. He stared at the silhouette in front of him with eyes wide open in disbelief. His mind just blanked out. Sealed memories sleeping within him flashed through his mind at this moment and resounded intensely at his heart.
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Chapter 22: Person From the Dream
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Rhode was back in the past again.
The monotonous, crackling voice through the PA announcement 1 , the dreary snow-white ceiling, the nostalgic and revolting scent of disinfectant, the bustling doctors and nurses, the faint sorrowful cries of people all seemed too surreal. A burning, numbing sensation wrapped around his body, causing him unable to move.
Turning his head to the side, he discovered a slim figure quietly laying on the bed with her eyes closed. Her sleeping expression was ever so tranquil as if a beauty from a fairytale. At that moment, it was as if she was completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Slowly, the busy crowd had begun to disperse. Leaving only two figures kneeling on the bed, sobbing.
The PA announcements became sporadic, and his paresthesia gradually faded away. But he couldn't bring himself to be happy. All he could do was to stare at that figure and wait for the inevitable truth to arrive.
Eventually, he heard a loud wail, and then the hospital ward turned deathly quiet.
At that moment, Rhode thought that his heart stopped beating.
It had been ages since he felt this tearing feeling in his heart. Now, he felt it once again.
Standing in front of him, was a young girl.
She had dark and shiny long hair which fell down her shoulders like an angel. A hospital gown wrapped around her thin, and fragile body which made her look like she was going to break at any moment. She had an almost-identical face as Rhode. But contrary to her bleak appearance, her black, bright and round eyes emitted an indomitable personality as she stared as Rhode.
Despite having an identical appearance, their personalities were entirely different. Rhode always sported a serious expression. He was the calm and bold man. But the girl was feminine and perfect in every aspect. No matter who was it, they would think that she was the 'dream girl'. Smart, beautiful, gentle and pleasant.
"Brother…" The young girl stretched out her right hand and a trace of doubt flashed across her face.
"Where is this place? Why are you here?"
Rhode opened his mouth, but no words came out. At the same time, the unconscious self within him started to dissolve his uneasiness in his heart. He didn't know why, but he felt that he did not have to be on guard in front of her. I mean, she is his sister, right?
No. Something is wrong!
Rhode suddenly woke up from his stupor.
His sister was long gone. This woman couldn't be his sister!
It just did not match with his memories!
Rhode felt a chill down to his spine. In the game, he never encountered such a situation. When he thought about deeper into the matter, he realized that his uneasiness might have been born from the game content background description and the subtle contradiction between the player's own experience.
Of course, NPCs in the game could never sneak into a player's memories to use those experiences against other players. But the situation now was different! He was no longer in the virtual world, meaning that there will be changes!
Rhode calmed himself down and he watched the girl in front of him silently.
What should I do?
In the game, the Shadow was supposed to turn into the player's reflection. That was the reason why he could directly cut it down without hesitation. But now? The person that stood in front of him was not his reflection, but his sister's. It made Rhode hesitate. Although his brain told him that the person in front of him was just a virtual image, the girl in front of him was too real; it was too difficult to treat her as an illusion.
"Brother?"
The girl took a step forward and stretched her right hand.
"Why won't you say anything?"
When her shadow moved, Rhode felt his surroundings slowly turn into darkness, and the surrounding air also felt heavier which rendered him panting for air. He opened his mouth, but the oxygen that went into his lungs were as cold as ice.
The darkness spread as quickly as a drop of ink falling into the water. In an instant, a fog wrapped around Rhode.
"Mr. Rhode should be okay right?"
Standing in the distance, Matt observed the swirling fog with a worried expression. He held on to the bag tightly. His eyes kept darted left and right continuously, studying at the fog that turned from white to black. Even Matt could see there was something wrong with it.
Lize did not respond to Matt question. She clenched her hands and put it in front of her chest.
At that moment, she truly wanted to rush in and check Rhode's situation. Since she was a veteran, she knew that something went wrong. But in the end, she bit down the impulse to rush in as Rhode's words rang in her mind.
"No matter what, absolutely do not come near me. Even if you manage to see my shadow, unless I walk to you, both of you are not allowed to move. The Shadow is very cunning and dangerous. I can't afford both of you to encounter any danger. To be honest, it will just endanger me further if any of you take any rash action."
When they heard Rhode speak like that to them with his cold and expressionless face, they felt hurt. Lize's was startled by his sharp words, but as a professional mercenary, she understood the reason why he said so. After all, this was a life and death matter.
Lize sighed and kept her silence, but her hands clenched tight.
Meanwhile, inside the dark fog, the girl stretched out her hands and hugged Rhode's neck.
"Why won't you say anything?"
The girl's smile was still as sweet as before. So many years had passed, but her smile was still as gentle as a spring breeze. She had always been so.
Rhode took a step back unconsciously. He could even feel her body temperature. With her face was so close, he couldn't help but reminisce the memories seven years ago. At that time, she also behaved similarly; she sat on the bed, hugging him while he flustered and told her stories about the things that happened outside.
"Let's talk about the things that happened outside like before okay? How did you come here? What is this place?"
Her voice was gentle and went straight into the Rhode's heart.
Looking at her, Rhode suddenly smiled.
If Lize saw him right now, then she would be stunned silly. Ever since Rhode came into this world, he had never smiled before. But now, he actually laughed.
And after seeing Rhode's expression, the girl's smile became more intense.
"Brother…"
But this time, her words didn't finish.
A white edge had burst through the darkness in a blink of an eye and pierced through her body.
She suddenly screamed. Her body began to twist and quickly retreated. Followed by her movements, the fog started to recede.
"Sigh…"
Rhode took a deep breath and shut his eyes, but the smile on his face did not change. When Rhode raised his hand, he could see the dark ring on his index finger emitting a magic light.
"Thank you very much to let me dream such a happy moment once again."
Staring at the girl in front of him, he switched back to his 'indifferent' tone.
"But I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry," Rhode whispered, but his hands did not stop. In fact, when the girl retreated, he already released his Moonbeams, and it flew directly to its target.
Because of her injury, she simply could not escape this blow. When she tried to dodge to the left, her chest and shoulder got punctured by Rhode's attack. For ordinary people, this kind of injuries would be enough to kill someone or put them in a near-death state. But clearly, this girl in front of him was not an ordinary person.
The girl gave a desperate scream, causing the black fog to swirl and coagulate a fog barrier in front of her. At the same time, Rhode's sword also rushed forward.
"Bang !!"
The black fog barrier shook and became visibly thinner, but it managed to block Rhode's attack. When she noticed this, the girl's eyes revealed a trace of relief ——— But the very next moment, her expression changed from relief to fear.
One, two, three.
The fog barrier that managed to withstand one Moonbeam after another crumbled after the fourth slash. It penetrated the fog barrier with ease and ruthlessly pierced the girl's body. This time, the already gravely injured girl was unable to dodge that attack. She screamed then fell to the ground.
Rhode walked in front of her.
He was very familiar with the monster like the Shadow. Since its strength was not strong, it used its skills to copy the player ability. So it was a bit troublesome.
But since it snooped into Rhode's heart to look for someone to copy, it had indeed made him suffer quite a loss. The Shadow itself also lost the power as it was in the game. Since it was a boss that used by players to practice 'solo bossing,' when it lost its only advantage, it basically turned into nothing but a punching bag.
But Rhode's heart also felt quite heavy. Luckily he activated the Ring of Will on time. Otherwise, he did not know what would happen to him. It was not a strong monster, but the words that it spoke, struck deep into his heart. Every question it asked made his heart waver, it even made him even doubt himself. Fortunately, he encountered such a boss before. As a result, he had a slight immunity to its honey trap. If it was other people, then they truly might fall into the trap.
From this point, it could be seen that the Shadow was indeed a very dangerous monster. But this kind of monster had a big weakness which was their low HP.
At this moment, the shadow that was lying on the floor lost its appearance. The girl's face was twisted and her facial features were blurred. Whenever she opened her mouth only darkness could be seen. Even her limbs had disappeared without a trace. Staring at Rhode who was slowly walking forward, the Shadow shook in fear. Then it opened its mouth again and screamed.
The violent attack which was invisible to the naked eye flew in the air. But it turned into a breeze without any threat before the transparent barrier around Rhode.
The Ring of Will's protection was not something that could be underestimated.
After discovering that its attack was useless, it screamed again. It desperately tried retreat. But before it could get back to the fog, it saw Rhode's sword once again. Rhode's body flashed, in a blink of an eye he appeared beside the Shadow and pierced it again.
A white edge pierced through the Shadow's body. It screamed because of the intense pain. Its mouth was left wide open, and its eyes turned dark and empty. Such a deformed face looked extremely revolting.
But for Rhode, he was relieved. Since it used his sister's appearance previously, he still had some lingering hesitation. However, now that its face reverted back to its twisted figure, all forms hesitation had been lost.
By this time, the Shadow launched its final death throes as it stretched out its right hand and whipped it towards Rhode.
But Rhode had already expected this attack. Just as the Shadow extended its hand, he sidestepped and dodged the attack before activating Shadow Flash to rush forward.
The Shadow did not have time to react. It held its left hand in front of itself in attempt to block, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Star Piercer, activate.
The sword edge emitted a star-shaped light. It pierced through the darkness and brightened the surroundings. In an instant, the fog that encompassed Rhode was divided into two as if a hot knife through butter. When the light reached its peak, the shining blade hacked downwards.
The Shadow split into two and finally stopped struggling. Its body twitched slightly before suddenly shrinking. Then, it converged into a tiny ball of light which danced around in the air, causing the thick fog to recede further. The light then dissipated into the air as though nothing was there in the first place.
It was until he saw this phenomenon did Rhode finally put down his sword.
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The fog dispersed.
The town that had been sealed for years finally appeared under the sun once again. Followed by the death of the Shadow, the will-o-wisp that had been pestering them also disappeared.
Rhode put away his sword. His eyes focused on the pile of white dust on the ground where the body of Shadow used to be. It shone brightly under the sun. He went silent for a moment before lowering down his body to pick up a translucent, milky white gem.
Soul Core.
A Soul Core dropping from a boss-level monster was not at all surprising. After all, boss-level monsters itself had powerful magic. The power that they accumulated over time made condensing a Soul Core simpler for them than a regular demonic beast.
But Rhode did not waste too much time on these things. He just quickly picked it up and turned around. Then with heavy steps, he trudged towards the plaza entrance. Even though he did not consume much soul power in the previous battle, he somehow felt tired mentally. While he did not express it on his face, his heavy steps reflected his fatigue.
Looking at Rhode's figure, Lize and Matt let out deep sighs of relief. They rushed forward and asked about his situation. Unfortunately, Rhode's mood wasn't good, so he merely answered with few words and ended the conversation.
Both Lize and Matt glanced at each other. They realized that he wasn't feeling well and didn't want to chat. Even though they did not know what happened, it was clear that Rhode did not want to talk about it.
Lize was a smart girl, and Matt was a merchant. They did not continue to ask about this matter anymore.
In fact, the fight with the Shadow wasn't their primary concern right now… because soon, they would finally leave this ghostly place!
From the time when the floating ship crashed, until the time they came out from the mountain, only three days had passed. But because of all the hardship they went through, the three days felt like ten days. Dangerous forests, surprise attacks, strange towns, what more could they take?
It was precisely because of this, when they saw the small town on the foot of the mountain, Lize and Matt felt incredibly excited. Even the usually calm Rhode also revealed a relieved expression.
Riverwood Town was situated at the foot of Paphield Mountain. It was a peaceful place because it was located on the border. Back in the game, this place was near the Twilight Forest and was regarded as a newbie gathering place. As such, Rhode spent a lot of time here, so he was quite familiar with the surroundings. He could even casually call out the names of most of the NPCs here. But now, when he walked down the quiet street, discovering the NPCs turning into living people still gave him a weird sensation.
While there were still plenty of things that needed to be done, right now, a soft bed and delicious food was their top priority. After having a meal at the town's local tavern, they immediately dived into bed and went to sleep.
When Rhode opened his eyes, the sun was already high up, signifying that it was noon.
The sun rays were soft and warm. It shone through the wooden windows and the light scattered on the floor.
"Sigh…"
Rhode sighed. He reached out his hand stared at his battle scars. His left chest still had a slight pain. That pain caused him to return to reality.
This isn't a dream.
For the first time, he felt the harsh reality of the world.
The chaotic and dangerous battles felt surreal. Many times when he woke up, he thought that he was only dreaming. Previously, he used his gamer self to repress the reality of the situation; the monsters were simply just illusions to him. But now, when he fought the series of dangerous battles, he slowly started to understand the harsh reality of this world.
What should I do from here on?
*Knock knock*
A soft knock on the door disrupted Rhode's train of thought. He raised his head and spoke in a soft voice, "Come in."
The door opened slowly, revealing a blonde girl who walked in with a clean bandage and a pot of water in her hands. Noticing that Rhode was already up, a lively smile appeared on her face.
"How's your body, Mr. Rhode?"
"It's okay, no issues."
Acknowledging her concern, he nodded politely. Even though his response wasn't too friendly, Lize was already accustomed to it. She smiled gently and did not say anything more. Then she came to Rhode's side and then began to replace his bandage.
Rhode looked at her and smiled bitterly in his heart. The truth was – he truly wanted to be kinder towards her. It wasn't that he was trying to put on a poker face on purpose, doing these kinds of things were just troublesome for someone of his age.
But there was no way for him to change so quickly. His habits were deep into his personality. Back in the past, when he was young, his classmates used to make fun of his face and call him 'sissy' because his face was similar to his sister. As a male, it obviously damaged his ego.
Since then, Rhode had always been very conscious about his appearance. When he entered the Dragon Soul Continent, he did not select the advanced 'scan registration' technology, but instead, he chose to create his avatar manually. At that time, he was still young and immature, so he just sculpted it as he pleased. In the end, he modeled himself with a cold expression to emphasize his masculinity.
This was his ' chuunibyou 1 ' phase that everyone went through before. As he got older, he didn't care about these 'little issues' any longer, but it still shaped into a habit that he found it hard to break away from.
In addition, when he became the strongest guild leader in Dragon Soul Continent, he had to manage his emotions well. This cold and collected personality was already deeply rooted within him.
The stinging pain on his wound brought him back to the present. He observed the girl that gently wiped his chest and remembered something.
"Lize."
"What's the matter, Mr. Rhode?"
"What are you going to do next?"
Hearing Rhode's question, she could not help widen her eyes in surprise. Her hands also stopped.
She sighed and lowered her head helplessly. "Frankly, I am not too sure."
"How about your comrade? Do you have a place to go back to?"
"Even if I go back, I would be the only one left…"
Speaking up to this point, her tone lowered to a whisper.
"…And the mercenary group is going to be disbanded."
So that was it.
Hearing Lize's story, he finally understood her situation.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, mercenary groups were divided into three levels. The lowest level was a small mercenary group consisting mostly five or six adventurers, up to no more than ten people. These kinds of groups mostly consist of non-bonded members. Anybody could create a group, as long as they register themselves legally.
The next level was the large mercenary group. Their member count must be above ten. Large mercenary groups were unable to disband whenever they wanted to, unlike small mercenary groups. They must submit formal copies of their identities and report to the Mercenary Association. They can also receive help from the Mercenary Association or even own their own stronghold.
The highest level was the mercenary guild. It required them to have more than a hundred members. These mercenary guilds were powerful. They owned strongholds and fortresses. Even officials or the merchant association must respect them. Huge, influential mercenary guilds often own their domain and city.
Classification of the mercenary groups was not simply divided by strength and prestige; their missions was also different. A small mercenary group had no way to receive a mercenary guild level of the mission. The Mercenary Association would directly reject the proposal. Even if they manage to complete the mission somehow, it would not be recognized. Of course, realistically, a small mercenary group wouldn't have the resources or the strength to complete a mercenary guild level commission.
Despite having plenty advantages over smaller groups, the larger the group, they had more stress and management issues they had to deal with. Every year, the Mercenary Association would conduct an assessment based on an appropriate mission's danger level. If they did not perform well enough after a year, then even large mercenary guilds would be forced to downgrade its rank while small mercenary groups would be disbanded.
Because of this, Lize was depressed. There were only ten people in her group, so it was considered to be medium-sized. But due to the mission, their group of ten was reduced to one. Even the leader had perished. There was no way to maintain their status as a mercenary group.
Even though she still had some time left before the yearly assessment, she did not have the ability to complete it. Moreover, she was a non-combat class. It was not like she could do it even if she wanted it. Based on this situation, the only choice she had was to disband. As a cleric, a dedicated supportive class, it wouldn't be difficult for her to join other mercenary groups.
But Lize didn't want to leave.
"You don't want to leave?"
She firmly nodded towards Rhode.
"Yes, Mr. Rhode. After all, they were the ones who sheltered me. My relationship with them was akin to family… I-I really don't want this group to disband." Her eyes started to redden as she spoke, but she clenched her teeth and continued, "They all have left. At least…at least I want to prove my gratitude towards them with my actions…"
"But looking at the situation, if you cannot find enough people then your mercenary group will disband in no time."
"…Yes"
Lize did not avoid reality. She knew exactly where the problem lies. But, she did not plan to give up.
"But, I do not want to give up. Just like what you said to me before. Since I am alive, I must do something meaningful. Even though I still do not know to what extent I can achieve. But, I still want to try."
Seeing her firm expression, Rhode suddenly thought of an idea. He went silent for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, I have a suggestion."
"What's your suggestion, Mr. Rhode?"
Lize quickly raised her head and looked at him nervously. Although she only knew him for a few days. But his knowledge and strength left a deep impression on her.
Whether it was the Wind Snake, Silver Wolf, or the will-o-wisp. Those were things that she never saw before. She was certain that most of the mercenaries also never seen such monsters before. But Rhode was familiar with their weaknesses and habits which was simply unimaginable.
She was not like Matt, who was nosy as he tried to guess Rhode's real identity. Between adventurers, these things were not necessary. As long as one was powerful, then it was enough.
Even though Lize already made mental preparations, but the very next thing Rhode said, rendered her speechless.
"If you don't mind, give me your mercenary group."
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Chapter 24: Small Conflict
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Matt swore to the heavens that he had never tasted such a delicious breakfast since he was born.
Although it was just ordinary white bread, beef, and vegetable soup placed on an old wooden table. But compared to dried meat and cold water from a few days ago, the meal they had right now was almost comparable to the sumptuous dishes from the palace.
"Praise the great Holy Spirit, thank the Holy Spirit for giving us food…"
This was maybe one of the most earnest prayers before meals from Matt. But before he finished expressing his gratitude, suddenly a voice called out to him.
"I did not expect that you were a believer."
Matt quickly opened his eyes. He saw Rhode and Lize walking down the stairs and sat in front of him. His face was still as indifferent as before. He not could tell if Rhode was being sarcastic or not. Thus, the fat merchant could only show an embarrassed smile.
"This… I always have a certain gratitude towards food. There is no relation between being a believer or not…"
His voice slowly drifted off. It was obvious that the fat merchant did not intend to prolong this boring topic, so he quickly changed the topic.
"What are you guys planning to do after this?"
However, Rhode did not answer immediately. He ordered two breakfast and asked a question out of nowhere, "How about you, Mr. Matt?"
"Me?"
Matt was caught slightly off guard, and he gloomily shrugged his shoulders.
"For me, I will go to the Deep Stone City to apologize to the recipient. Then I must compensate for their loss. Sigh, what lousy luck! Not only did I lose all the goods, but I also need to pay a large sum of money. My luck is really not so good…"
"So sorry…"
Lize revealed an apologetic face. After all, her mercenary group was responsible for protecting the merchant and his goods. But now the products had been lost. It could be said that they did not do a good job. Although to many people, these matters would be labeled as 'just an accident'. But as a responsible person, Lize did not want to accept it like that.
"No no no! It's not your fault, Ms. Lize. I am also at fault."
Perhaps it was because he had returned to the safety of civilization, Matt subconsciously revealed his merchant side.
"If I knew that such thing would happen, I would never have done it. Sigh, but now it's already too late. It was thanks to both of you that I can sit here and not become the dinner of those terrible beasts in the forest."
He stopped talking and showed a rare sincere smile. He reached out his hand and took out two purses.
"This is the reward for both of you. Ms. Lize, thank you for saving my life for several times. If it was not because of you, I am afraid that I wouldn't be sitting in front of you now."
"No no no. This is what I am supposed to do. After all, we have taken your money…"
Looking at the purse, Lize hurriedly stood up and shook her head vigorously. But Matt was an old slippery fellow. He did not wait for Lize to finish her sentence. Then, he turned around and look at Rhode.
"Mr. Rhode, especially you… Frankly, if not because of you, the both of us would not be able to escape from Twilight Forest. I know that for high noble like you, this amount of money might not mean much, But please take it as a token of our gratitude."
"You don't have to be so polite, Mr. Matt."
Rhode looked at the purse but did not reach out and take it.
"You have also saved my life. If you did not order to stop the boat, I am afraid I'd long be residing inside a beast stomach. So about the money… I think you can take it back.."
"This…"
Matt felt a bit awkward. It was alright if it was just Lize. But against Rhode, he could not merely wave it away. In fact, this money was not only for repayment for service and gratitude. Instead, he wanted to increase their relationship with each other. Even though Matt wanted Rhode to accept, but he did not dare to force him since it might cause Rhode to be dissatisfied with him. As a merchant, he had dealt with a lot of nobles before, so he knew that nobles truly regarded their reputation, dignity, and position – especially the very talented young ones. Their self-esteem was high and some of them were even eccentric. Thus, he did not dare to force him like what he did to Lize. He revealed an embarrassed smile before taking out a small silver badge.
"Since Mr. Rhode said so, then I will no longer force you. But I hope you accept this badge. This is a keepsake from the Silver Libra Merchant Guild. Although our guild is not powerful in the Dragon Soul Continent. But it can be considered quite prominent. If you need my help in the future, please do tell me and I will do my best."
This time, Rhode did not refuse Matt good intention. In fact, he had been waiting for it.
Rhode understood how these merchants usually think. In their opinion, money was above all else. Including their own life. The reason he took out the money was only to repay his life-saving grace. But he knew that after he took the money, they would be on even grounds.
This was not what Rhode wanted to achieve. He had his own goal, and to accomplish this goal, he would need some help. Matt's Merchant Guild was of course not some large organization. But since it was a merchant guild, it had important information between the trade network that Rhode could not acquire by himself. After considering for a moment, it was more beneficial to his future to let them owe something to him right now.
Matt, of course, did not think that Rhode would think like this. His mind was filled with the preconceived notion that Rhode was a high noble with a strong family backing. For people like Rhode, why would he even try to curry favor with a small fry like him? It was Matt that should try to curry favor with Rhode instead.
This was a beautiful misunderstanding.
Of course, Rhode did not mind allowing this misunderstanding continue.
After that, the three people began to chat about some boring topics and then discussed the current plan. What made Matt glad was because Rhode and Lize also planned to travel to Deep Stone City. It wasn't strange for her to go there because her mercenary group establishment's home was in Deep Stone City. This was one of the reasons why Carter took the job to escort Matt because they headed for the same location. But Matt was surprised with Rhode's decision. When he heard that Rhode joined Lize's mercenary group, he was shocked and speechless for a moment.
It was not as if Matt did not understand Lize's situation. Choosing a mercenary group was not his business, but he was still puzzled why would he join a declining group. However, it was not something he should worry about since he had already given enough money to her. As a cleric, she would face no problem with moving to another mercenary group. If she still had nowhere to go, then he would gladly welcome her to his guild. Since her profession was highly sought after, it was not a bad thing for Matt to accept her.
But he never thought that this soft, weak, timid girl actually planned to settle everything by herself!
That would be a challenging and dangerous thing to do.
Matt wanted to give her some advice, but seeing Rhode beside her, he did not dare to say much. In his point of view, Rhode was joining the mercenary group for fun. Since he had the power, money, and status, it was completely different with an ordinary mercenary.
Perhaps…maybe it was also because of Lize? Taking a closer look, she is quite cute and pretty…
Of course, Matt did not dare to voice out his thoughts. Since he was an outsider, he had no reason or position to pry into Rhode's personal matters. That was why he only reminded her to seek him if she encountered any difficulties. If saving her mercenary group was something in his power, he would definitely try to help. After all, many things had happened and he concluded that befriending her wasn't a bad idea.
After having their breakfast, they decided their next goal. Matt and Lize went their separate ways. Matt searched for a carriage to Deep Stone City while Lize prepped the supplies for the three of them. It was different from the time in the Twilight Forest; now they could make proper preparation.
Both of them were busy doing their own things, and only Rhode was idle. Even though Lize told him to have a good rest, but apparently Rhode did not intend to do that. After he finished his meal, he went out for a stroll.
Walking in the quiet town, looking at the scenery before him, Rhode could not help but feel a hint of warmth in his heart. In the game, this place was a newbie gathering ground. The bustling of adventurers could be seen everywhere. They were either shouting for party quests or was selling equipment. Based on Rhode's memories, this town was actually very lively and crowded. But now without the players, all that was left was a quiet and serene town.
But soon, that silence was broken.
The noise came from the corner of the street. Rhode looked up and saw the roadside carriage. Four people were in a fierce quarrel. One of them was a young man wearing beautiful clothes with two swordsman dressing like guards standing in front of him. The other was no one else but Matt. He just left the hotel not long ago.
What happened?
Rhode frowned and then walked towards the four.
"Don't you think that you are something just by having some stinky money. Our Lord was giving you face!"
"That's right; you are just a merchant. Don't be shameless!"
"Bullsh*t. What Lord? Just a third-rate aristocrat, you think us merchants are good to bully?"
"Hey, you dead fatty. I think you are tired of living!!"
The quarrel was getting heated. Rhode did not make a sound, he looked around and patted Matt's shoulder.
"What's the matter? Mr. Matt?"
"Who is it? Even if you look for help… Ah !! Mr. Rhode!"
Matt who was busily swearing finally turned his head around and saw Rhode. His expression immediately changed from the Siberian blizzard into a tropical rainforest sunshine.
"You came in the right moment…"
Indeed, he deserved to be a merchant. After seeing Rhode, Matt's attitude immediately changed 180 degrees. His expression right now was different with that domineering fatty from before. But Matt obviously knew the current problem. He did not wait for Rhode to ask and blurted out everything that happened in a flash.
The matter wasn't complicated. It was just that after leaving the hotel, Matt quickly found a carriage. He successfully negotiated the price and the other side also agreed. When Matt was about to leave, three men suddenly appeared and said that they also wanted to rent the carriage. Because they were very arrogant, it caused Matt to be angry. Originally, Matt would approach the matter peacefully. But because he had bad luck for these days and even lost a shipment of goods, his mood was already awful. Now that someone provoked him, he just flared up.
Riverwood Town was just a small town. It only had one carriage. Matt wanted to leave a good impression on Rhode, so he did not want to give up the transport. But the other side also seemed urgent. They would not give in no matter what. Even the two impatient guards began to resort to force. They thought that by revealing their swords, the merchant would immediately concede. But they never expected that it would make the merchant even angrier.
I have seen wild wolves, wild ghosts, and other scarier monsters in these few days. Why would I be afraid of two small guards?
In the end, both sides were in a stalemate. No one refused to give up.
So that was it.
After listening to Matt about what happened, Rhode nodded, indicating that he understood.
But all of a sudden, one of the guards unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards Rhode.
"Who are you?! You dare to poke in our business?!"
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"Who are you?! You dare to poke in our business?"
The shout echoed through the quiet town. Rhode narrowed his eyes. But Matt who was standing beside him felt weak and fell to the ground.
What a brave fellow!
He knew just how powerful Rhode actually was. He could see the difference between Rhode and the two guards. It was practically heaven and earth. It would only need few minutes to defeat those two. Even though killing people in this small town was impossible, but with Rhode's identity, if someone angered him, killing one or two people wasn't a big deal.
Although the law on Dragon Soul Continent was very strict, the class difference was also equally strict. If a civilian or slave murdered people, it would be a death penalty. But if it was those young nobles, unless it was low-class noble, no one cared if they killed people.
Putting aside the fact whether Rhode was an easygoing man or not, Matt wasn't clear because he rarely smiled and he always displayed a calm and indifferent expression. But whenever he spoke, there was always some kind of pressure. It may seem as if he was joking, but perhaps it was a threat. Generally speaking, he was just a young man in his twenties. No matter how calm and stable he was, he should still be somewhat outgoing. But Rhode was always quiet, and people were not able to figure out what he was thinking. However, one thing that Matt understood clearly about Rhode was, he wasn't a young man that would endure insults with no reason behind it.
As such, Matt was initially surprised because Rhode did not get angry. He just glanced at the two and turned to speak to Matt.
"Mr. Matt, we should get going."
"Okay, Mr. Rhode."
Matt's heart was lifted. Even though he did not see Rhode's ferocious side, but him ignoring the other two insects made his day. He immediately spoke loudly and told the coachman to move the carriage.
"Get ready! We are going."
"Wait."
At this time, the young man that had not said anything until now suddenly spoke.
"This carriage, I want it."
"We have already paid the money, you…"
Matt began to argue but was interrupted by Rhode.
"Mr. Matt, it's getting late."
"Yes, Mr. Rhode. I'll go now."
Rhode was not willing to waste his time in this pointless war of words. Even if there was no reason, somehow people still wanted to fan the flames. They could spread rumors, reverse black and white, exaggerate facts. He'd just waste his time if he entangled himself in useless conflict. In the game, even unfair equipment distribution would waste one to two hours among players. As a guild leader, he'd often encountered things like this. If he personally settled these issues one by one, then he was the big idiot. That was why he always ignored these meaningless wars of words.
But this action of his was seen as cowardice in the eyes of the three men. They did not know what was the relationship between Rhode and the fatty merchant, however, since they walked off without giving them a glance, naturally, they would feel mad. The young man's face sank and he took out a bag of coins before throwing it in front of the coachman.
"Fifty gold coins. I want it this carriage!"
"This…"
The coachman's face showed some difficulty when he saw the gold. Fifty gold coins wasn't a small amount to someone of his caliber. But the problem was that he had already agreed with the other party and taken the fee. The villagers in this town were simple, honest people, so he would not go back on his word so easily. But he also wasn't stupid. Those three men were people he obviously couldn't afford to offend lest he may get beaten to death without even knowing why he died.
"Hey! What are you doing! Quickly get ready and go."
After Rhode appeared, Matt suddenly became confident and took the carriage intending to leave.
The guard's face finally turned cold.
"Stop it!"
After shouting, the two guards raised their sword and tried to attack Matt.
But they did not succeed.
A sudden chirp rang out.
Followed by a breeze, a green bird flapped its wings and flew towards the two guards. When they noticed the strange bird, their face started to change. They attempted to swat the bird away, but the Spirit Bird speed was faster than them. When its wings flapped, a breeze hit the other two and sent them flying away.
"Elemental creature?"
Staring at the Spirit Bird that was sitting on Rhode's shoulder, the young man's face suddenly changed.
He never thought that he would encounter such a troublesome opponent.
Was the opponent actually a mage?
He thought for a moment before suddenly realizing something wrong. He knew how mages summoned monsters, but they usually need to cast a spell. However, the man called Rhode in front of him dressed like a young noble, so how could he be a mage? Not to mention the fact that he didn't even chant.
It seemed like the opponent was not someone ordinary.
After thinking carefully, the man decided to withdraw. After all, he was only accompanying his family's young miss to play around in the mountains. He did not want to anger any important people. He was just a small guard, protecting young miss was his primary concern. If he provoked someone he shouldn't have and ended up implicating young miss in the process then he'd be dead anyway when he went back.
His face began to ease up, and he waved his hand to signal the two guards to stand down.
"Sorry to disturb both of you."
He came forward and shifted to more respectful tone.
"On behalf of my two guards, let me apologize to the two of you. They…they were too reckless and offended you. I hope that the two of you won't mind them."
"It's not a big deal," Rhode answered.
He did not continue to say anything more and turned around, waving his hand, signaling Matt to prepare and leave. When the man watched them leave, he grew increasingly anxious. The young miss promised master and mistress that she would not secretly go out and play anymore. If they could not get back to the town in time and they found out the young miss yet to get back, they were going to be angry. And if the young miss got scolded, she would definitely blame him…He initially thought that in the small suburb town like this, they would not encounter any problem. But he did not expect such a person would suddenly appear…
Still, he could not help try and remedy the situation as much as he could.
"Pl-Please wait. I still have something to ask." the young man asked politely.
"What is it?"
When the prideful guy lowered himself to speak so politely to Rhode, Matt felt somewhat gleeful.
So this was the feeling of being under the protection of a person with power and influence…
At first, he was planning to curse more, but when he saw Rhode not saying anything, he decided to forget about it. The man could also see that Rhode didn't even put them in his sights. If still decided to not going to let the carriage pass, then it would make Rhode unhappy. So he decided not to say anything anymore and directly ask Rhode.
"This…"
The young man looked at the carriage and thought for a while.
"Yes, if the two of you don't mind, I hope we can go together."
Together?
Matt and Rhode could not help but glance at each other.
"Yes. Judging by your looks, your destination it must also be Deep Stone City, right? We also have important things to do there, so we must go back as soon as possible. I apologize if I offended the two of you on impulse. But… It is really urgent, so…"
This time he did not take out his money anymore. He already knew that the fatty's identity was a leader of a Merchant Association. But that wasn't important since it was just a small merchant association, and the nobles don't care much about them.
But Rhode was different. Usually, nobles were not strong, but this young man finished the two guards in one move. Even though the two of them were not considered powerful, but comparing them to the average noble, it was considered to be sufficient. To be able to subtly pressure them using such a strange move…Who knew what his background was?
Moreover, the merchant was so respectful towards him, it was obvious it was a superior-subordinate relationship. He might be a high noble. It was better not to mess with these kinds of people. Luckily, looking at Rhode, he did not seem to bother about his rudeness from before. If he encountered a petty person, then it would be big trouble.
"But our carriage can only fit four people…and we still have one more companion."
Matt furrowed his brows. He was already reluctant to bring these guys along. Just by looking at them made his mood turn sour. But since Rhode did not mind, he could not refuse. Even though this carriage was rented by Matt, since he wanted to get closer to Rhode, he did not mind Rhode making the decision. Moreover, he was supposed to be a man of virtue, Matt could not directly refuse it. Since it appeared like they were nobles, he was already content enough by swearing at them before. He would be labeled as uncivil if he kept pushing on this matter.
"There's no problem. Only one of us will ride this carriage, and the rest will ride a horse."
Upon noticing that the other side was being amiable, he was also pleased. The reason he needed to rent a carriage was because of the young miss. If not because of her, then riding the horse back to the city would be faster.
"This…"
Matt did not answer and glanced at Rhode to make the final call.
But it was clear that he did not bother about small matters like this.
As long as it wasn't troublesome, he did not mind if one more person tagged along. So he just nodded and said."Well, we'll meet at the town entrance in 15 minutes. If you guys do not arrive on time… then it's not my problem anymore."
Since Rhode did not mind, Matt could only nod and agree.
"Please rest assured, we will definitely make it."
15 minutes wasn't that long, and the first one to arrive was Lize.
"Ah, Mr. Rhode, Mr. Matt!"
Holding a travel bag, Lize's face lit up and ran to both of them.
Lize had a gentle aura around her; perhaps it was because she was a half angel, even if she stood quietly by the side, it would still give people a lively and cheerful sensation. The way she spoke also matched with her appearance. Rhode didn't dislike this girl at all. In fact, it wasn't a bad thing having someone like her in the group to liven up the atmosphere. As a former guild leader, Rhode knew how vital a harmonious group was.
From a certain point of view, mercenaries and players were quite similar. Quest, adventure, exploration, battle; it took a lot of time and effort to do all of these. Under constant pressure from fighting, over time, if the group did not communicate well, it might cause internal conflicts.
Whenever he looked at the blonde girl before him, she reminded him of a female mage in his guild, 'Canary.' Not only her skill was top-tier, but as her name suggests, she was a talkative girl. She loved to joke around and gossip about the latest happenings to everyone. The way she articulated her stories was also very exaggerated. She could even turn ordinary, mundane things into something that would make everyone laugh.
At one point in time, when the whole guild was at the Wasteland Cemetery dungeon, they faced continuous physical and psychological pressure. Rhode made use of her talent and asked her about interesting things, and she would gladly whip up a playful story which made everybody laugh. It made the pressure on them lessen a great deal as long she was around. In that dungeon, many players had better equipment and higher levels than them, but they still lost in the end due to the prolonged pressure on them.
Furthermore, online games were still games at its core; and cannot be mistaken for reality. Many people have various problems in real life that gave them stress; thus, they play games to relax instead. Many players in Rhode's guild had stress in real life as well as in the game, but they did not avoid playing games. On the contrary, they would allocate some online time to listen to the female mage's funny antics to relax. They could feel their burden decrease. In the end, they won the control over the Wasteland Cemetery. Though the female mage wasn't the strongest player in the group, from a certain point of view, she was indubitably an irreplaceable part of the team.
The girl in front of him also gave the same 'lively feeling'. But she was not as talkative as the female mage; but instead, she was loyal and calm. Whenever people look at her face, it would make them relax.
"I'm ready. Are we going right now?"
"Wait for a while; someone else is coming with us."
"Heading in the same direction?"
Lize asked curiously. Her ponytail swayed, following her head movement. She did not continue to ask and took out a black cloak from the bag instead.
"That's… Mr. Rhode?"
"What's the matter?"
"This, please accept it."
Lize spoke with a tinge of red on her face. She lowered her head and handed over the cloak.
"This is …"
Looking at cloak, Rhode was surprised for a moment.
"…The wind currents in the mountains are very strong, and the night is cold. Your injury had not healed yet, if you catch a cold… you are going to get sick. It will be very bad for your body. So, I bought a cloak to keep out the cold. It is made from deerskin, breathable and very comfortable. Please accept it… "
Lize lowered her head, causing Rhode to be unable to see her face. But he was aware that her voice was slightly trembling. He did not say anything and took the cloak.
"Thank you for your kindness."
"You're welcome. This is something that should be done."
Looking up, Lize exposed a brilliant smile. Her bright expression made the merchant that has been standing aside quite surprised. He had known this girl far longer than Rhode, but he never saw her smile like this. But…
The fat merchant first looked at Lize, and then he looked at Rhode.
It seemed like something good might happen.
Meanwhile, while Matt was enjoying the sight in front of him, suddenly a high-pitched voice screeched.
"Who is the b*stard that took my carriage?!"
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Chapter 26: Helen
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Everyone turned their attention towards the voice. They noticed a seventeen-year-old girl not far away from the street walking towards them. She was draped in a noble's dress with white gloves. Her short, brown hair fell upon her shoulders. From afar, she resembled a young mistress from a noble family.
Unfortunately, her dress did not accentuate her body line. It could be said that the girl's body was too big for her dress. The dress wrapped tightly around her swollen body which made her looked ridiculous. The most eye-catching part was her fat chin, which wobbled with every step she made.
Beside her was the young man from before. His forehead was covered in sweat as he whispered frantically to her. As for the other two guards, they lowered their heads helplessly as they followed behind the girl and the young man. There was a bright handprint on their faces.
"So, which b*stard dared to covet my carriage?" The girl yelled as she walked towards them.
She panted as she shouted, but she did not wait for a reply and stared directly at the coachman.
"You are not allowed to take these people away! Do you hear me!? This is an order!"
"How can you do this!"
Listening to her outrageous command, Lize couldn't hold it in any longer.
"We've already rented this carriage, how can you…"
"Shut up. Who do you think you are! You dare to speak to me with that tone!?"
The oversized girl was mad and interrupted Lize. Then, she lifted her hand and pointed to the three of them.
"Just you wait! You guys dare to provoke my family, watch and see how I…"
The girl hadn't finished when Rhode suddenly lifted up his arm and snapped his fingers.
There was a sudden silence. The girl's mouth no longer made any sound. She widened her eyes and gripped her neck tightly. The expression on her face turned to horror when she realized she couldn't speak.
On Rhode's shoulder, the Spirit Bird stared at her and emitted a magic light.
"Young miss! Are you okay! Young miss!!"
The man frantically dashed over after noticing the girl was choking. However, when he got closer, he crashed into a transparent wall and fell to the ground.
The girl's body began to tremble. Her limbs spasmed awkwardly, her mouth began to enlarge disproportionately, and her eyes seemed as if it would pop out any moment.
"…M-Mr. Rhode?"
Lize felt somewhat uneasy. Although she did not know what exactly happened, she could guess that this should be related to Rhode.
In fact, Rhode did not do anything at all. Since the Spirit Bird was a wind elemental spirit, it could somehow manipulate the air around it. The only thing Rhode did was seal the air around her. If his opponent was an adventurer, it might be quite tricky to pull this off, but using it on an ordinary person without any power was simple.
Rhode finally signaled the Spirit Bird to stop when the girl almost lost her consciousness.
"Poof!"
The next moment, the girl fell to the ground. She slumped to the ground like a broken puppet, her face was devoid of blood, and she panted non-stop. The expression on her face was of fear and confusion.
"Young miss! Young miss! Are you okay!"
The man got up quickly and rushed to her side. In his heart, he was exhilarated because he made the right choice to not argue with Rhode. If he did something like this to him, he wouldn't even know how he died!
"Cough… cough…" The girl coughed violently.
When she was finally able to catch her breath, she raised her head with difficulty and pointed at Rhode.
"You, what are you doing! Ben, Kill him! Quickly kill him! Qui…"
Unfortunately, she could not finish her sentence. Because at this time, the Spirit Bird that was resting on Rhode's shoulder locked her in its sights again. The girl's face immediately paled, and at the same time, she started rolling on the ground, seemingly unable to speak a word.
"P-Please! Please let her go, Sir! Miss Helen is young and ignorant, please forgive her…"
"I prefer my peace and tranquility."
Rhode only replied one sentence before returning to the carriage. Lize felt sorry for the young girl on the ground. After hesitating for a moment, she followed Rhode to the carriage. Only Matt revealed a gleeful expression, and he leisurely strolled to the carriage while humming.
With a worried expression, Lize glanced at the suffering girl and asked Rhode. "Mr. Rhode, is it alright to leave her like this?"
She wasn't offended by the rude girl at all. After all, it had already been a long time since she'd joined the mercenary life. Throughout her journey, she'd seen many kinds of people. Some people looked down on others, and some people found pleasure in harassing others. In the beginning, she also grew mad when she faced these people, but after becoming a veteran after many years, she learned how to control her emotions.
"I heard that they came from the Deep Stone City. Wouldn't it be troublesome if we provoked these nobles?"
"You're wrong, Miss Lize."
Matt grunted and disagreed.
"Do you know who is Mr. Rhode? Third-rate nobles like them are not even worthy in his eyes. Moreover, that vulgar woman lacked basic courtesy. We can just simply ignore them."
"Hold up."
Rhode gazed at the sky outside the window.
"We will move off at the appointed time. If they do not arrive on time, then it will have nothing to do with me. Since I have already agreed, I will not take back my words."
Matt did not say anything anymore when he heard Rhode's decision. He just merely sat by the side and grumbled to himself. It seemed that his hatred towards them was quite deep.
In a few minutes, someone opened the carriage door. It was the girl from before. Her face was still as pale as snow. She kept glancing at Rhode who was sitting on the chair with lingering fear as she constantly bit her lips. Clearly, she did not want to sit in an enclosed area with her aggressor, especially when her guard's captain, Ben sternly reminded her not to offend that man. He emphasized that Rhode was able to kill all of them without much effort. When she heard that, her heart nearly jumped out. In her eyes, Rhode was a devil, and she wanted to run far, far away as fast as possible…
But when she remembered that her father was arriving in three days, she could only yield. Since this small town had no extra carriage, it would take at least two days to reach Deep Stone City on foot. If she missed this carriage, her family would discover that she snuck out to play and she would be in deep trouble with her father. While Helen was thinking of this, she couldn't help but be reminded of her father's words, who left an overwhelming fear in her heart. Thus, she could only resign to her fate and ride the carriage.
This young miss was too spoiled. She never encountered any kind of hardships like this before. Whenever she intended to voice her thoughts, her mouth would open slightly, but she would close it immediately as she was too afraid to lose face. In the end, she gave up and sat gloomily in the carriage. It was embarrassing, but she had no choice. The expression on her face right now might even cause people to pity her if they didn't know what happened!
However, Matt secretly glanced at her and snickered in his heart. Merchants and nobles were not people of the same path. Even though both sides were cooperating, but they still secretly looked down on one another. Nobles believed that merchants were money faced while merchants thought that nobles were snobs. Now that this foolish noble appeared before him, he could finally vent his frustrations on her mentally. Of course, he would rather be vocal about his thoughts, but since Rhode was beside him, he could not mock her and drive her out of the carriage.
"Hello, My name is Lize Noir. May I ask what's your name?"
Lize thought that the atmosphere in the carriage was becoming awkward, so she attempted to break the ice. In her eyes, compared to other nobles, this fat young miss slightly better.
"…M-My name is Helen Keller." Her voice was almost as loud as a squeak.
She secretly glanced at Rhode in fear of his 'black magic.' Not once in her life was she subjected to such torture. She honestly thought that she was going to die, and not only once, but twice…
Did I hear wrong?
"Helen Keller?"
Lize was surprised for a moment when she heard this name. She paused briefly, and suddenly she recalled something important.
"…Keller? Do you belong to that Keller family who owns the Nalander Mine?"
"Yes, yes! Do you know us?"
Helen immediately became excited when she found out that someone recognized her family. She wanted to say more, but once she was aware of Rhode's presence again, she quickly lowered her voice.
"Yes. Our mercenary group is located in the Deep Stone City. We had heard about the famous Keller family before. I remembered that your family began its ascent with ore mining, and finally flourished into one of the famous big families in the Deep Stone City within mere decades."
"Of course! My Dad is amazing."
A woman's mood changes as fast as the weather. Once the topic shifted to her father, Helen immediately chatted endlessly with Lize. The constraints and tension from before disappeared completely. Although she still faced a slight apprehension due to Rhode's presence, it was still a lot better compared to before. Previously, it was as if she was trafficking illegal goods.
Of course, Rhode and Matt weren't interested in the topics they discussed. But they were still slightly surprised.
It wasn't because of the story; rather, they were surprised that Lize could actually manage to chat with Helen.
Even if chatting seemed easy and anyone could do it, in fact, conversation in itself had its own techniques. Firstly, the topic must catch the other's interest. Secondly, the other must speak out of their own accord. Thirdly, the conversation must continue to flow. These three things were not easy. Rhode had met plenty of women, even if the woman was as beautiful as a goddess, but if the moment they opened their mouth and it turns people off, in the end, having a pretty face would be useless. If both parties had different interests, there would be nothing to talk about.
In this world, there were plenty of mercenaries that could hold a conversation with nobles. But no matter what, nobles would still display their overbearing attitude. This was because most of the things that the mercenaries experienced were things that nobles never experienced before. An example would be a boss of a company speaking with his staff about a discounted product for their customers. The truth was, the employees simply do not care! It wasn't as if they would get the discounted products anyway.
The gap between them was too large. A topic that is interesting to mercenaries will not necessarily be exciting to nobles.
But now, Lize could actually converse with Helen freely about the daily life of nobles. As a mercenary, this can be said to be something new and exciting to Lize. In her life, she would never have the chance to participate in those noblewomen activities such as dancing, afternoon tea, and other things of etiquette.
They can even discuss about the 'Rose Tea'…
Rhode creased his brows. Was Lize's identity not simple?
Most of the angels from Dragon Soul Continent belong to the upper class, and half-angels wasn't too far from it.
But if she was someone of the upper class, how could she become a mercenary? Strange…
As he mused to himself, he observed Lize who was beside him. At this moment, he suddenly had the urge to find out the truth.
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Chapter 27: Behind The Balance
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
A thick aroma wafted from the black tea, filling the luxurious room with a calming scent. However, it could not diffuse the icy cold atmosphere inside the room.
"Mr. Claytor, I can't agree to your condition."
The middle-aged man firmly disagreed as he placed down the cup on the table.
"The situation within the mines are stable. Increasing the price by a substantial amount right now is an irrational endeavor. As a member of the Association, I, without a doubt, seek to do my very best for the benefit of the Association. But regarding this matter, I won't be of much help. I hope you can understand ."
"Please relax, Mr. Keller." The soignée man who sat leisurely on the couch curled his lips coldly.
"The 30% increment in ore prices had already been approved by the Association. As a member of the Association, you must abide by the rules."
"But that isn't reasonable!"
Keller frowned.
"Right now, there isn't any shortage of minerals. We cannot arbitrarily raise the price without giving a rational answer. And as such, Mr. Claytor, from the start of our discussion up until now, I have not received a satisfactory reason to increase the price from your mouth. You can't expect me to agree to this outrageous request by merely invoking the Association's authority. At the very least, give me an adequate reason for me to do it. Moreover, if the Golden City were to discover such a thing…"
"… Even if 'that person' realized what was happening, she wouldn't be able to do anything to us."
The moment he mentioned the Golden City, Claytor's face darkened.
"Mr. Keller… the reason I, the vice leader of the Association, directly addressed you regarding this matter was because you controlled 85% of the mines in Deep Stone City. But I hope you can visualize the bigger picture, Mr. Keller. What you think you have right now, is a drop in the ocean when compared to the entire Paphield Region."
"No matter what you say, if you cannot give me a reasonable explanation, then I cannot accept the Association's proposal." Keller then stood up and continued, "Since that's the case, then I'm sorry. I don't think we have anything else to discuss."
Having said what he wanted to say, Keller gave a slight bow and turned away.
"Please wait, Mr. Keller." Claytor's face darkened once again.
"Seeing that I have no way of changing your mind, then you've left me with no further choice. The truth is, I don't want to do this, but since we came to this point, you can't really blame me…"
"What are you going to do?"
The moment he heard Claytor's subtle threat, Keller's face hardened.
"If you refuse this proposal, then the Association has the right to revoke your ownership over all your mines to ensure that they can operate stably and normally."
"The Association does not have this authority!"
Keller smashed his fist on the table.
"The Deep Stone City's mine is the property of OUR Keller family. It has no any relation to the Association. Surely you don't mean to steal it openly, right?!"
"Of course we will not -openly steal- it."
Claytor narrowed his eyes and revealed a sinister smile.
"Of course, the Association will pay for the acquisition of the Keller Family's mines for five thousand gold coins… What do you think about the price?"
Five thousand?
Keller almost fainted when he heard the preposterous offer. Keller family owned four mines, and their total revenue was in the hundreds of thousands.This b*stard actually intended to purchase all of his mines with a meager five thousand gold coins? That amount couldn't even buy a pit! Were they idiots?! Or did they have other intentions?
As the head of the family, Keller naturally did not think that the Association was a fool. A trace of doubt flashed across his face as he stared at the Association's vice president. The fact that he could become the Merchant Association's vice president demonstrates that he had the ability.
When the Association headquarters summoned him, Keller already felt that something was amiss. The ore market had been stable throughout the year, and the surrounding countries did not encounter any disasters recently. If they were to raise the prices by 30% suddenly, not only would the Keller family cause a predicament for themselves, but it would adversely affect the market in the surrounding countries as well. This was a delicate situation. Ore trade was one of the most important sources of income for them.
If it was another person, he might have taken those words as a joke. But Keller was unquestionably certain if 'that person' in the Golden City were to discover this matter, every merchant was going to die. 'That person' wasn't a kind-hearted being. Although everyone had to die someday, but perishing by her hand was the worst kind of death.
What is this? The Merchant Association suddenly intend to inflate the price of ores? Do they think that they can escape from 'that person's' detection?
When he thought of the consequences, Keller's back felt cold. He immediately recollected his memories of the horrors five years ago. An entire country was massacred, all because of the nobles who refused to sign 'that person's' proposal. In the end, 30% of the nobles lost their lives.
Keller would consider himself as a hardcore merchant by blood, but even someone like him who'd loved money so much, felt utterly terrified when faced with her wrath. To make matters even worse, when he thought that her massacre would cause public unrest and create turmoil throughout the country, never could he have imagined that after two months, everything would be back to normal as though nothing happened.
Rhode did not sleep. On the contrary, he secretly organized his stats. Back then, because everything was in a rush, he had forgotten to organize it. Keeping track of one's stats was a necessity, thus, when he was finally able to settle down, he could peacefully do what he wished to do.
In the previous battle, he began to realize that even though this body was his own, but his ability was completely different from before. This was because, in real life, he wouldn't be able to dodge and parry as quickly when compared to before.
Strength was the first major difference. Based on the previous battle, he understood that his strength was higher than the average man in this world. Back in the Dragon Soul Continent, the strength value of NPCs were roughly 4~5. This number could be considered high for ordinary people. If their strength stat hovered around 6~8, they would have the ability to wield a heavy sword single-handedly. Rhode's strength was between 6~8. While he did not attempt to wield a heavy sword, judging from the previous battle, it shouldn't be a problem to do so.
Next was his vitality. It was something that he did not worry at all. Ordinary humans had around 5~8, elves were 4~6, dwarves and orcs were mostly between 7~10, and the highest vitality belonged to the angels and demons, which hovered around 15~20 points. While evaluating his injuries from previous battles, Rhode concluded that his vitality should be between 10~15. This kind of absurd distribution of stats does not belong to a human's body. It was practically monstrous. After all, he'd been assaulted by the Void Dragon before, but he still managed to survive until now.
As for his agility, he was unmistakably faster than an average person, but his agility was still lacking when compared to the elves. In the Dragon Soul Continent, elves boasted the highest agility, which was between 10~15 points. Rhode's agility was higher than an ordinary human who had around 5~6 points; thus, his agility should be 7~10.
The intelligence stat was the most difficult stat to judge. After the battle with the Shadow, he could finally grasp the basis of this stat. He recalled the game information regarding the Shadow's attack level and how much Intelligence he needed to resist it. Based on his speculations, his stat should have barely passed the requirements, which would mean that he had around 8~9. Comparing to an ordinary person, he would still be slightly higher, but he was definitely lower than those powerful NPCs. Rhode knew that his stats would continue to increase in the future, so he did not worry about it.
Last was the senses. The stat seemed to work completely different from the game. Previously in the Dragon Soul Continent, when one increases their senses stat, it would enhance their hearing ability, and it also provides a radar which could pinpoint dangerous entities ahead with a red dot. However, in this current world, senses worked in a totally different manner. When Rhode closed his eyes, he could still 'see' his surroundings, as though he had a pair of invisible eyes. With a thought, he could alter the distance by zooming in and out, just like a black and white infra-red camera. Rhode used his battle with the silver wolf to calculate his senses stat and concluded that it should be at 6~7, it was lower than elves which were roughly 9~10 but still higher than ordinary people at 3~4.
After analyzing all these information, he could estimate his overall stats:
Strength: 6~8
Vitality: 10~15
Agility: 7~10
Intelligence: 8~9
Senses: 6~7
If an ordinary human were to look at these stats, they would be shocked silly. Overall, all of his stats were higher than a default human character. Never in his life had he seen any characters with such high stats at level 10. One had to be reminded that Rhode's nickname was the 'walking library'; thus, he knew the starting stats of every profession at the back of his hand.
That was the exact reason why Rhode felt puzzled over his stats. He clearly surpassed the human race's stats but was still slightly lower than other races. Even after he organized his stats, he still could not figure out what kind of mixed blood he possessed.
Typically, a mixed race would inherit both of their parent's blood. Take Lize for example; her stats were similar to an ordinary human except for her Intelligence and agility. Even her soul power was of the angel-tier.
Right now, Rhode's level was low. Except for his enormous strength, his other stats were obviously beyond ordinary humans but was still below the initial stats of other races. When he realized that his initial stats were already so high, then what would happen when he awakened his other bloodline? That would mean that his stats would at least double! Moreover, his stats would still rise as he leveled up!
If such a monstrous race existed in this world, wouldn't the players have abused it long ago?
Rhode attempted to deduce his own race.
Could it be a vampire? Or was it an angel or demon?
These races faced the same kind of restriction. Although they could increase their stats drastically, the condition to trigger these effects were reliant on their surrounding environment. Furthermore, the stat gain was a temporary thing. For example, a vampire would gain an enormous amount of stats during a full moon, but the stats would drop back to its initial number once the full moon ended. Rhode's stats were always stable and would never fluctuate; thus, these races were out of the question.
So, what race was it exactly?
Rhode fell into contemplation for a while, but even after racking his brain, he still did not acquire any logical conclusion. He shook his head helplessly and sighed.
In any case, this race should be stable. If he found out that it was half angel of half demon, he'd be doomed if he visited an area which would cut his stats in half.
After he decided to stop mulling over this matter, he chose to get some shut-eye. But the moment before he closed his eyes, he caught a strange movement.
*Rustle!*
From the bushes, a tiny, rustling sound could be heard.
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Chapter 28: The Trouble Comes
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Under the thicket, Orlando frowned when he noticed that the guards had their heads lowered down.
"Are you certain that's the carriage?" He whispered to the person beside him.
"Yes, my lord. We had been following them since their arrival in Riverwood Town. You can rest assured that Ms. Helen of the Keller family is indeed in this carriage."
"Then explain to me why does the number of people in the carriage seem to be inconsistent with your initial report?"
"My lord, the other three are travelers on the carriage. Although we aren't clear on their identities, they should be unrelated to the Keller family, and their strength isn't anything spectacular."
"Very well then. Remind the rest to be on guard and ready to attack. Failure is unacceptable."
Orlando did not continue speaking after that. Once he received intel about Helen's departure from the city, he was overjoyed. They finally had the opportunity to capture her alive. To Orlando, this task wasn't difficult at all.
"Yes, my lord."
The man turned around and quickly disappeared into the foliage. Occasionally, Orlando would raise his head out from the bush and peek at the carriage, but this time, the carriage door swung open and a young man emerged from the carriage.
That's him?
Orlando furrowed his brows. He couldn't understand why he felt that something bad was going to happen.
Rhode walked out from the carriage.
Under the light, the distant forest appeared darker than usual. He glanced in the direction of the noise, and his face turned serious.
Some people are hiding there.
Truth to be told, when he discovered that he was being spied on, the first suspects that came to his mind were those people in the Twilight Forest. But after thinking carefully, if it were those people, then he wouldn't be able to detect them this easily. After all, the spy was an advanced profession. No matter how high his initial attributes were, it can't be compared to an advanced profession. The only possibility he could think of was that they were careless.
After walking out of the carriage, Rhode confirmed his speculation. Since his senses could lock on their location without any difficulty, it revealed that the ambush wasn't orchestrated by a spy – or another high-level profession at the very least.
Nevertheless, it was still a bizarre situation. Ever since Rhode appeared in this world, he had not provoked anyone on purpose. Perhaps the target wasn't him?
"What happened, Mr.Rhode?"
The moment Rhode stepped out of the carriage, Lize opened her eyes. As a veteran mercenary, she had developed an inherent nature to upkeep a certain level of vigilance.
"Just some rats," replied Rhode coolly.
Lize was faintly surprised at Rhode's calm voice.
"Was it those people that chased after us before?"
Rhode shook his head. "No, these people don't appear to be targeting us."
Lize was surprised, but before she could reply Rhode, a guard came up to both of them and asked,
"Hello, Sir. What's the matter?"
After traveling for a day, Rhode naturally recognized the guard captain of Ms. Helen's garrison, which was Ben. Even though a skilled individual should hold the appointment of guard captain, it was clear that Ben wasn't very skilled. According to the standards of this world, he would be rated as a Level 7 swordsman who had just ranked up from apprentice swordsman. The reason why he managed to grasp this position was because of his family, which had served the Keller family loyally for many years. As such, rather than fulfilling the role as a guard to the young miss, it could be said that he was her follower instead.
To Ben, Rhode was a figure of respect. Although his first impression of Rhode was negative because of his beautiful face, which led him to the conclusion that he was a playboy, Rhode's display of strength left him utterly speechless. At his age, it was common knowledge that most young nobles couldn't even wield a sword, not to mention fighting with it. However, Rhode sent two guards flying through the air empty-handedly. It didn't matter how he did it, but this young man's power was beyond his imagination. Even after living in Deep Stone City for 20 years, apart from the young heir from the Felix family, he had never seen such a skilled person like Rhode.
Deep in their hearts, every man dreamed of being strong and powerful. And Ben, without a doubt, was no exception to this. In the Dragon Soul Continent, only the strong were respected. Thus, although he wasn't happy because of the dispute with Rhode, after experiencing Rhode's overwhelming power, his attitude immediately changed and became respectful.
Facing Ben's courteous behavior, Rhode just waved his hand to beckon him to stop talking. Within the thick foliage, he could sense seven people lurking around in the vicinity.
Two on the left, right, and front. One at the rear.
Rhode easily revealed their ambush positions. However, he had some difficulty tracking the movements of the person at the rear. His movements were somewhat erratic, as though he might disappear any moment. As for the others, he could effortlessly pinpoint their locations when they were on the move.
It seems like that person at the rear is the strongest among the seven.
Rhode pondered for a moment, and suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Get your people to retreat."
"Pardon?"
Ben heard Rhode's words loud and clear, but he could not react in time before Rhode unsheathed his sword.
The Star Mark appeared.
A divine, white light pierced through the dark sky and an attack formed as a crescent moon, descended from the light. Ben felt a beam of light passing through him before permeating the depths of the dark forest. In a split of a second, the leaves from the surrounding trees churned violently as though a whirlwind swept past the area.
The two poor men clothed in a black cloak didn't anticipate the enemy to launch a pre-emptive attack. When they regained their clarity, it was already too late as the Moonbeams swept past their frozen bodies.
Like the gentleness of a spring's breeze, the Moonbeams passed through them noiselessly and disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Two shadows fell back into the bushes like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
A deafening silence fell over the forest. Orlando, who was lurking at the rear, was stunned speechless by the attack.
Their opponent was an advanced swordsman!?
Someone who was able to condensate sword energy to launch an attack was not easy to deal with. Usually, people who used this kind of skill were someone of high standing – someone powerful enough to enter the advanced stage. An example was the nobles from those large families. It didn't matter which one was it, no matter what, it wasn't someone that they could afford to provoke.
Multiple scenarios flashed through Orlando's mind as he racked his brain to find the best solution to this problem. He really wanted to slaughter the man who gave him the false intel. That man even dared to tell him that their strength was 'nothing spectacular.'
What the heck? Nothing spectacular?! My *ss is spectacular. Telling me that an advanced swordsman isn't anything I should be concerned with?
It wasn't that Orlando was exaggerating, after all, in the Dragon Soul Continent, NPCs and players were fundamentally different. When an NPC hits Level 10, they would unlock their Level 10 skills. But players were different. They could use skill points to improve their skill proficiency. If a Level 10 player worked extremely hard, they could attain advanced proficiency. There were even some hardcore players who had achieved advanced proficiency and master level skills altogether. Now, it was widely known that the higher the level of the skill, the more power it would consume. That was why, when people managed to obtain a master level skill but did not have enough power to use it, they would make an absolute fool out of themselves.
The sudden deviation of the situation caused Orlando's original plan to crumble. His original plan was to send his people to kill the three weak guards and kidnap Ms. Helen before leaving without a trace. However now, even before he was able to make a move, he had already lost two of his men. To make matters worse, his opponent was an advanced swordsman. Despite not being weak himself, but he had yet to reach the advanced level threshold. Thus, his opponent's actions made him break out in cold sweat.
But…
"Ahh, whatever! I'm going to fight!!"
Orlando bit his lip and put two fingers in his mouth, blowing a long, whistling sound.
Immediately after that, various shadows jumped out from the bushes and dashed past the carriage!
"Protect the young miss!" Ben shouted at his men.
Though he was taken aback by Rhode's odd command, after realizing what was happening, Ben acted at once. He yelled orders while unsheathing his sword and the two other guards rushed towards the carriage at full speed. Lize didn't hesitate as she responded quickly by casting a shield to protect those three guards.
*Swoosh*
Lize's protective shield enveloped the three men. Not long after she cast the shield, five to six arrows flew from the bushes and struck the defenseless guards. However, before the arrows could penetrate their bodies, once it touched the golden protective shield, the projectile immediately lost its acceleration and fell to the ground.
"En Garde! Be careful of the hidden archers!"
Ben was nervous even though he shouted loudly. This was the first time Ben had encountered an enemy ambush in the wilderness. Most of the time, Ms. Helen was always at the Deep Stone City, so he was never afraid that something like this might happen. At the moment he traveled outside the city, he unexpectedly encountered this kind of situation. Such bad luck!
However, complaining about his current plight was a meaningless act. He glared at the black-cloaked assailants who was rushing towards him.
Ben clenched his teeth and yelled as he charged towards them as well.
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The situation turned chaotic in an instant.
As they say, an idiot comrade does you more harm than a powerful enemy.
From Rhode's perspective, these attackers were akin to cannon fodder. Even if was a 1vs4 battle, he would still have the confidence to win. But as for Ben and his guards, they neither had the experience nor the ability to deal with the surprise attack. The two other guards yelled as they waved their swords at the black-cloaked men, entangling with them in a melee faceoff. Frankly, the presence of the guards made the situation slightly more challenging for Rhode.
But, in the end, it still wasn't a problem for him.
*Swoosh!*
His white sword flashed across the night sky. Rhode activated his Shadow Flash and slashed at a black-cloaked man nearby. He flipped his sword and hacked in a downward arc. A fountain of blood sprayed from the black cloaked man's neck, and the body soon fell to the ground silently.
By the time the corpse's body touched the ground, Rhode had already withdrawn and left. He stretched out his left hand and a green card appeared on his palm. Rhode then clenched his fist and shattered the card.
A chirping sound echoed through the forest, followed by streaks of green light flashing in the night sky. It transformed into a beam and rushed forward.
The men didn't expect that Rhode would kill them without hesitation. When the beam of light flashed past them, they were subconsciously stunned for a moment, but before they could react, a violent storm engulfed them, followed by the whistling sound.
"Whoa!!"
"Ahhh!"
The four victims that were caught in the storm screamed in horror. They staggered and were forced to separate into two sides. Rhode didn't waste any time. He transformed into a shadow and swooped in for the kill.
Compared to professional thieves, rangers or spies, Rhode's stealth ability can't be considered top notch, but it was more than sufficient to deal with enemies of this level. His victims weren't fortunate though. By the time the raging storm ceased, three black-cloaked men had already collapsed to the ground, dead. Without confirming his kills, Rhode's shadow suddenly flashed and appeared before the guards.
Rhode waved his hand.
"Don't waste time here. Go protect the carriage."
"Ah, yes!!"
After being reminded by Rhode, Ben suddenly recalled his purpose here on this trip and quickly signaled his men to run back to the carriage.
Once the guards ran off, Rhode finally felt the movement of the shadow at the rear.
This was the best opportunity for Orlando.
After sending his subordinates out, Orlando had prepared to make a move, but never did he expect Rhode's strength to exceed his expectations once again. Even four Level 10 swordsmen could not endure his attacks. Fortunately, they still played their role, and now, it was time for him to take the stage!
When Rhode killed the three men, Orlando had already emerged from the bushes and ran past the carriage. After observing the battle from before, he could finally grasp his opponent's strength. Other than the young swordsman, the other three guards were all useless as he expected. The Cleric wasn't inexperienced, but ultimately it was still a non-combat profession. As long he was quick enough, he could kidnap Ms. Helen and use her as a hostage to turn the tables on them.
"Who's there!"
As a thief that was almost at the advanced level, Orlando's speed wasn't slow. Apart from Rhode's keen senses, the only other person who noticed him was Lize. She quickly cast a shield on herself in reflex, but Orlando's target wasn't her, so he dashed past her and closed in on the carriage.
"Help!!!"
In an instant, Helen's scream rang out from the carriage.
Helen had already woken up long ago when the battle started, but she wasn't clear of the situation outside. Lize had merely reminded her to lock the door and hide inside without making a sound. That was why Helen crouched down at a corner of the carriage and covered her ears. Once the battle commenced, the sounds of weapons clashing, deathly throes and voices of rage, all scared her out of her wits. One had to realize that this was her first time facing this kind of situation, and her being locked in a carriage without any way of checking on the surroundings only further intensified her confusion, which eventually added to her fear.
Suddenly, without any warning, a shadow appeared in the carriage, and she couldn't help but scream in terror. Yet, before she could react, the man had already covered her mouth and carried her out from the carriage.
At this time, Rhode had already led the others to surround him.
"Don't come near me!" Orlando spoke in a low voice as he took out his dagger and placed it against Helen's neck.
His left arm grabbed onto Helen's waist tightly and stared at Rhode with vigilance in his eyes. After realizing that she'd been taken as a hostage, Helen's fear slowly caused her go into shock, so she could only stand rigidly like a statue.
"Let go of the young miss!!"
Once they saw her being taken captive, Ben and the other two guards understood that they had made a grave mistake. If they had not foolishly rushed forward, how could the young miss be taken as a hostage that easily? Now that Helen's life was at the mercy of the enemy, what should they do?
"Hmph."
When he found out that the crowd finally stopped advancing, the pressure within Orlando's heart lifted slightly. Next, he would move to the next step of his plan. As long he had Helen as a hostage, he could easily escape into the forest and throw these guys off his trail. However…
There was a problem.
Damn this fatty. She's so goddamn heavy. How many pounds does she actually weigh? Weren't rich, noble ladies supposed to be slim and light?
They're supposed to look like that cleric over there. How can this Helen appear like a pig! It is really tough to drag her around. Is she even the daughter of the Keller family?
After dragging her a distance, Orlando had some thoughts of giving up. He'd never expected her to be so fat. When he received his mission to capture the daughter of the Keller family, he didn't think much of it. It was assumed that it would be another weak noble daughter of a wealthy family.
However, in the end, things always didn't go as planned. In fact, when he dragged her out from the carriage, he already felt something was amiss. The thing on his arm that he had been grabbing… wasn't a human!
It was a f*cking brick!
"S-S-Save me!! Ben!!! You b*st*rd, what are you doing over there! Quick come and save me!"
At that moment, Helen suddenly broke out of her stupor and started to react as she cried for help. But before she could finish her sentence, she could feel a cold, steel dagger on her neck.
"Shut up, fatty! Otherwise, I will take your life!!" Orlando snapped angrily.
Helen instantly shut her mouth in panic once she heard those threatening words. All her pressure and stress seemed to rise up to her puffed up face and watching her round eyes starting to water, it somehow appeared quite interesting.
"D-d-dear Sir!"
Ben was extremely tense. He hurriedly strode to Rhode side and begged him to help.
"Please help me out… Please rescue the young miss from him! Miss Helen is the last descendant of the Keller family, if she died…"
Rhode waved his hand and gestured for him to stop. As for Ben's next words, Rhode was already clear what he was implying.
Ben saw this as a negative sign, and he tried to rack his brain while begging Rhode.
Orlando did not understand the meaning behind Rhode's gesture, but at the very next moment, a green light flashed through him.
This is bad!
Orlando's first thought was to dodge, but the very next second, he felt an invisible force crashing into Helen who was standing beside him. In reflex, she bent her body downwards in pain.
"Ahh!!"
Under Rhode's command, the Spirit Bird collided with Helen. Even though the blow wasn't too heavy, it was definitely not light either. Right now, she was suffering terrible pain, and at this point in time, she did not think about the dagger as she subconsciously bent down her body.
Orlando's eyes were quick to follow her movement and it caused him to be startled for a moment. After all, his contract wasn't to kill her. The order from above was to capture her alive. What made him doubly shocked was that Rhode did not hesitate to do so, as if he did not worry about her death at all.
He reacted to Helen's subconscious reflex by shifting his dagger, so that the blade wouldn't kill her. After that, he made another action to position his dagger to her neck once again.
But he wasn't able to achieve his goal.
A faint, golden barrier appeared suddenly and blocked Orlando's action.
Protection Shield?!
Orlando grimaced as he raised his head and glanced towards the cleric. His forehead was filled with sweat because he knew that he was in trouble.
And at this moment, Rhode made his move.
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The party only caught a glimpse of Rhode raising his hand, and in the next moment, his body immediately disappeared. The unsheathing of the white sword broke the silence, piercing through Orlando's right hand.
Such speed!
Facing Rhode's surprise attack, Orlando was shocked. He thought that he had mentally prepared to receive the attack, but experiencing the attack himself was a completely different feeling from observing it. He could feel his vision was starting to blur when the sword pierced through his hand.
Due to this sudden attack, he could only retreat and temporarily forget about kidnapping Helen. As for his mission, he had no expectations of completing it now. The gap between him and Rhode was too far apart, so he could only attempt to escape. Thus, Orlando immediately twisted his body and jumped into the bushes.
But Rhode did not intend to let him off.
Upon noticing Orlando's retreating figure, a grin flashed across his face as he rushed forward.
A brilliant light erupted from his sword and spilled towards Orlando as if it was ready to attack from the start.
However, there was something different with Rhode's attack. His Blade of Destruction did not directly chase toward his target, but it shifted slightly upward. It appeared as though he missed and Ben, Lize, and Matt revealed a puzzled look on their faces.
However, what happened the next moment surprised all of them.
Because at this time, Orlando suddenly jumped into the path towards the Blade of Destruction.
In truth, when he decided to jump, he already had a bad premonition. For thieves, these movements were akin to their bread and butter. Usually, when they retreated, they would instinctively execute an escape technique. That was why Rhode could exploit his knowledge to predict which direction Orlando would escape to. On the other hand, Orlando had jumped out from the frying pan, into the fire.
When Orlando finally figured out Rhode's attack trajectory, it was already too late. He tried to alter his direction in mid-air, but it was to no avail.
Due to his 'generous and selfless cooperation,' the Blade of Destruction managed to puncture his right shoulder successfully. The disheveled thief only had the time to emit a crisp scream before being flung towards the nearby bushes because of the impact.
Rhode shifted his sword downwards and walked towards Orlando.
"Ugh… Ah…"
Lying in the bushes, he could only grit his teeth while enduring the pain from his shoulder and back. When he heard the approaching footsteps, he attempted to escape but did not have the time to recover before a sword pierced through his wounded right hand.
"Ahhhh!!!" Orlando screamed.
Rhode was still calm as usual as if it was nothing which doubly assured everyone that this young man wasn't ordinary.
However, Rhode did not think himself as a mindless, cruel being. He did not deliberately try to torture Orlando; it was just that it was an of his old habit in the game. Back in the game, some players used despicable and shameless ways of attacking. The more professional they were, the more vicious their attacks. Furthermore, they were not afraid of getting hurt in the game. Thus, the only way to prevent them from escaping or logging out was to keep them in constant combat mode. Because of this, Rhode instinctively employed the same exact tactic to an escaping individual by nailing his sword into the opponent's hand, preventing them from logging out.
But the moment he heard Orlando's shrill voice, he was reminded again that this wasn't a game ——— However, it did not matter anyway.
Rhode walked to the side of the black-cloaked man and stretched out his hand, slowly retracting the sword out from Orlando's hand.
"Aaa… Aaa!!!!!"
At this moment, Orlando was in extreme pain. The burning sensation on his right hand went past his pain tolerance level and began to twitch. His left hand wasn't able to stop Rhode, and could only slam it continuously on the ground to alleviate the pain. Looking at this scene, the others couldn't help but shiver. Even though they were not the ones facing this torture, but watching Orlando suffer made them terrified.
Lize stood from afar, silently observing the indifferent Rhode. A trace of complex emotions flashed in her eyes. She once again recalled the words that he said to her at the hotel.
I did not say this to repay your live-saving grace. Since I have brought you guys back safely, I already do not owe anything, and you too. I can only tell you I have my own purpose and it was not to repay you. I need strength, that was the reason I made this proposal. I can assure you that in less than two years, I can transform your mercenary group into a strong mercenary guild. But I would also like to remind you that I will use some means that you might find difficult to accept. So I hope that you can consider clearly. If you are willing to accept my proposal, then you must mentally prepare for what is to come. Because I will not allow anyone to hinder me or block me from achieving my goal. I have my own reason, but you do not need to know it now… I can understand your feelings, so I will not force you to agree, but I will still remind you the consequences of your promise —— Since it would most likely exceed the range you could accept.
At that time, Lize could not fully understand what Rhode was trying to say, but she was still shocked by his words. Ultimately, she was still relieved that Rhode decided to speak to her about his future methods. Although it might sound rather unacceptable, it was more convincing than if he would merely assure her that everything would be alright. At least she knew that there was something for Rhode, after all, everyone is driven by their own motives. However, she still did not understand what he saw in her mercenary group which was almost disbanded, but since he didn't want to explain, then she would not take the initiative to ask.
At this moment, after observing the scene, Lize's heart began to loosen up. Previously when Rhode attacked Helen, she was still quite uncertain. Not mentioning about herself, even Ben and the others did not see it coming. The reason why she cast protection shield over Helen was purely based on her instincts, not because she was trying to cooperate with Rhode. But from this battle, she could finally understand what Rhode was trying to do.
In her mind, as long she recruited members and finish the mission, then she would be able to maintain the mercenary group. But was it really that simple? Lize was already a veteran mercenary, she understood how merciless the world was, and everybody would do anything to survive. The Crescent Bow mercenary group was once considered to be a medium-sized group, but now it had turned into this. Moreover, she was the only one who personally witnessed how this guild declined.
Can I do it? Rebuilding the mercenary group?
Lize immediately answered her own question.
I can't.
Even the previous leader, Carter, who was usually easy-going, had his cold and firm side. It wasn't that she was unable to do it, rather, she just did not want to force herself to become what she wasn't.
Her sight once again fell upon Rhode.
He did not tell her what he wanted to achieve. But his expression was firm, without a trace of confusion or doubt.
How about herself? For her own dreams and goals, what would she do?
While Lize was deciding her future, Rhode leisurely removed his sword and flicked it to a side, removing the blood stains on his sword. As for the black-cloaked man, he was busy rolling on the floor in pain.
"I think you should have anticipated what I want to ask, but just in case you forgot, it's still better for me to remind you." Rhode said with a nonchalant look on his face,"So… who are you? And what are you trying to achieve?"
"Ugh…ugh…"
Orlando's body curled up, the pain from his right hand made it difficult to complete a sentence. With much difficulty, he looked up and watched the young man in front of him. How could he have such bad luck to provoke this kind of person?
"I… I… I am…"
The fear of his enemy combined with his physical pain had already worn out his caution. Right now, he already lost the power to resist and could only answer Rhode's question. As much as he tried, he couldn't finish his sentence because of the searing pain from his right hand. But Rhode took this action of his in another perspective.
"Oh… you do not wish to say? Nevermind then, I'm not really interested anyway."
Orlando immediately panicked, and a sudden surge of adrenaline overtook his sense of pain.
"I, I work for vice president Claytor!!"
If he chose to die unyieldingly, then he could still accept it, but if he was killed because he wasn't able to finish a sentence then it was totally unfair… He did not want to die so fast.
"Vice president Claytor?"
Hearing this name, Rhode's sword stopped its descent.
"Merchant Association?"
"Yes, it is."
"What is your purpose?"
"Kid, kidnap Miss Helen. I only know these…"
The Star Mark was on Orlando's face, and the cold blade on his skin made him subconsciously swallow his saliva. Now, he had completely lost all hope, and he could only wish that the young man would show some leniency.
At that moment, when he saw Rhode nodded his head and said, "I know."
Orlando suddenly felt a cold sensation on his neck. His vision began to spin and darkness completely engulfed his world.
After unsheathing his sword, he turned around and returned to the carriage. Due to his seemingly cold and heartless actions, the stares from the party were completely different from before. Helen sat beside her guards and stared at Rhode with a complex expression. After a while, Ben coughed and walked forward to address Rhode.
"This… thank you for helping, Sir."
Although Rhode's actions and the word 'help' weren't too similar, the end result was good for him after all.
"No worries, it's nothing difficult."
Rhode nodded and did not say anything more. On the contrary, Ben was hesitating, but after a moment he opened his mouth and asked.
"Excuse me… if I may ask, what was their identity?"
"They said they were sent by the Vice President, Mr. Claytor to kidnap Miss Helen."
"What?!"
Ben was shocked. He had been working as a family guard for so long, so he understood this kind of things.
"You mean that the Merchant Association sent these people?"
"He said so. But I don't really care if it was a lie."
Rhode waved his hand and turned away.
"I was just asking him casually."
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Chapter 31: Deep Stone City
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
As one of the busiest cities in the Northern Paphield, the Deep Stone City had a distinct characteristic that differs from the other cities. Owing to the deep pit under the town, Deep Stone City was originally a small town, but after a number of natural resources were discovered and excavated from the pit, it was converted to a bustling mining town. As such, the entire Deep Stone City was built above the pit.
If one observed the layout of Deep Stone City from above, the town was like an obverse wall decoration on top of the conical pit; it looked small and inconspicuous. But the interior of the town made it an impressive city. The road's width fits at least four carriages, and those small holes from afar that people assumed were caves, were actually big caverns that housed people. In Deep Stone City, every house, shape, and object complemented each other to form a visual experience that each visitor would remember distinctly.
Similarly to other cities, Deep Stone City also had its own public segregation, which was divided from the top to the bottommost of the town. The noble district was located at the top, where the nobles could enjoy the sun and bathe in the cool, fresh river and generally live a comfortable life. Next was the commercial district and the residential district, which occupied the three layers below the noble's district. Lastly, the lowest layer was the slums; not only the people there lived in perpetual darkness, but there was also a shortage of basic necessities. There were even rumors that the devils could casually make a meal out of someone in the depths of the dark pits. Only desperate people or specialized miners would enter the dark pits of the town.
"Deep Stone City…"
As Matt walked down from the carriage, his expression tensed up. He stood on the roadside while staring at the darkness not too far in front of him. A vast, colossal pit stretched from end to end, and Matt couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Although I have visited many times, every time I see the city, I just can't help but gasp. Holy Spirit bless me, I really cannot believe that someone could actually dig out such a huge and bottomless pit."
Matt licked his lips in awe and turned towards Rhode who was standing beside him before continuing, "Mr. Rhode, have you heard that in this city, even the oldest miners don't know what's inside this huge pit. It is truly a mysterious and wonderful thing. I mean, after all, it was them who dug the pit, right? But in the end, even they do not know what was inside. Hard to imagine, isn't it?"
"Indeed so."
Rhode nodded, but he did not continue to say anything. Unlike Matt, of course, he knew what was at the bottom. It was one of the Top 10 Secrets of the Dragon Soul Continent. For ordinary people, perhaps they would not dare to take the risk to find out. But players did not care about death. If they could solve the mystery, then it won't matter even if they died a hundred times.
However, sometimes the price isn't worth the trouble.
After entering the city, the first impression the party received was silence. Contrary to their expectations of a bustling mining hub, every inch of the town around them was quiet, and the only thing that broke the silence was clinking of iron when the carriage rolled forward.
Unlike Matt, Rhode wasn't fascinated by the magnificence of this mining town. He only looked up towards the blue sky, his eyes gazing at the mountains in the distance. As though his vision could pierce through the rocks, he saw the Golden City Castle resting on Fairy Lake and also the person who lived inside… It was 'that person,'…that slender, charming, yet strong figure.
Suddenly, Rhode seemed to have returned to the time where the last rays of sunlight crept on the blood-stained hills. Under the dimming evening sun, a person donned in a gorgeous armor was kneeling on the ground with a hundred thousand army standing at the front of her.
The blood-stained, crimson sunset traced her silhouette. When she lowered her head, her usual gleaming, well-groomed golden hair had lost its grandeur as it swept in the wind messily, and the breeze caused the broken feathers on her pure, white wings to lightly sway. However, there was no hesitation in her eyes as she turned towards Rhode. Her pale lips slightly parted, revealing a brilliant smile.
"Is that so… very well…"
She whispered to herself, and then closed her eyes.
Suddenly, everything was shrouded in darkness.
For a second time in his life, Rhode found his goal. And at that moment, he firmly decided to give up his free player identity and create a guild. With that shift in mindset, he began to change the entire game world. Eventually, he succeeded in altering the three eras using his own two hands. But he wasn't satisfied because, in the depths of his heart, there was a trace of regret.
He thought he had lost all hope to make up for it.
But now, a new chance to make amends had appeared.
Rhode knew what would happen to this continent. It would be an unprecedented catastrophe for all living beings. Even now, as everything appeared to be quiet and serene, he knew that this was just the calm before the storm. Short and fragile, like treading on thin ice, this peace might be destroyed at any time, and only chaos awaits.
However, Rhode wasn't in a hurry. He knew that it was useless to be anxious. From this point in time, if everything went according to the history he knew, then there would still be roughly one to two years of stability. It was enough time to complete his preparations. After that, he had to consider how to survive in the calamity.
If he could, he wouldn't use this risky method, but he understood how terrible the calamity was, and the whole Dragon Soul Continent would not be able to escape the catastrophe. It would be better if he made some measures in advance before facing it.
Returning to the present, Rhode pulled his cloak and hid his face. No matter if it was the real or virtual world, his facial appearance would easily stir up trouble. Thus, it was better if he avoided it completely.
"Mr. Rhode."
At this time, Ben brought his two men and the fatty young miss to his side. Perhaps, it was because he returned to his territory, his attitude was more confident than before.
"It's all thanks to you that we could arrive back in time."
Rhode's eyes then swept across the people behind Ben.
"She should be okay, right?"
He casually noticed the paleness on her face.
Upon hearing Rhode's inquiry, Ben could only reveal a helpless smile.
"The young miss is alright. It's just that she's still in shock. Ms. Lize had already healed her, so there's no problem physically."
Ben then hesitated for a moment, but he still raised his head and continued, "That… Do you have time right now? The young miss would like you to visit her house to repay your life-saving grace…"
"I still have something to do, so I won't trouble you any further."
Rhode shook his head as he turned down Ben's invitation.
"It's not a big deal."
"It's that so…"
Hearing Rhode answer in this manner, Ben felt awkward. Helen, who was standing behind him also felt disappointed, but no one caught sight of her expression.
Although his might wasn't something noteworthy, as a guard captain, his skill with words was decent. Since Rhode had clearly drawn the line, he did not try to force it any further and eventually revealed a relaxed expression. Despite not having spent much time with Rhode, the pressure he felt wasn't light whenever he was with him. He trembled all day, afraid that he might say something wrong. Now that the source of his pressure was on the verge of leaving, of course, he wouldn't dig his own grave by forcing Rhode to stay.
"Since that's the case, then I wish you a pleasant journey. When I return, I will report this matter to Master. I believe that Master will certainly be thankful for your help."
After finishing his sentence, Ben and the fatty young miss quickly departed. It wasn't until the distance between them were quite far would Helen then once again turn her head to look at Rhode. Then she showed an angered expression out of nowhere.
"You stupid man. Didn't you say that you will bring him back home and tell Dad to punish him?!"
"Young miss, now is not the time to speak such nonsense."
Facing this stubborn girl, Ben could only force himself to smile.
"You and I certainly know just how strong that man is. What if something happened to us if we annoy him?"
"But he dared to hit me!"
Helen stomped her feet furiously and clenched her teeth. She did not dare to get angry in front of Rhode, but now after he left, she could not keep it in anymore.
"Even my father had never hit me before!"
Ben could only helplessly shake his head at Helen's words. He did not want to be involved with Rhode anymore. Even though he wasn't clear about the difference in strength between Rhode and the Keller family, he did not want to create any trouble intentionally. Even if the young miss was unhappy, he wouldn't do anything about it.
"Well, I'll make sure that I will finish him next time."
She stared fiercely at Rhode while announcing her displeasure. At the same time, it was as though Rhode heard what she said, and he turned his head to stare back at her. Helen's face immediately paled and subconsciously cover her mouth. Ben also quickly turned around and walked forward.
"It's time to go, young miss. If we aren't back before Master arrives home, then there will be more trouble."
"Ah, uh, yes, yes."
Hearing this statement, Helen also nodded in agreement. She still had a lingering fear towards Rhode. Once she noticed that he had turned away, she slowly calmed down and quickly walked away.
"Mr. Rhode, we have arrived."
Upon hearing Lize's reminder, Rhode immediately turned around and saw Lize nervously standing in front of him. After a moment, he opened his mouth and asked, "This is your last chance, Lize. You can choose to refuse."
"No, Mr. Rhode."
However, Lize firmly shook her head and returned his gaze with a complicated emotion.
"I have been thinking for a long time. I know that I am not a suitable candidate, and I understand that I am very naive regarding this aspect. I realize that I have no experience, nor do I know what to do. But what I know is that without virtue, courage, and faith, I won't be able to achieve my goal. If you can help me achieve my dream, then I will not refuse your offer."
Her eyes were firm and clear, without a trace of hesitation. But Rhode did not back down.
"I think you've already seen my way of handling things and I want to know what do you think."
"Eh?"
Lize was caught off-guard facing Rhode's unexpected question and she immediately lower her head.
"I…"
"Just be frank."
Although it appeared that Rhode was a few years older than Lize, at the moment, Lize could feel an intense pressure while standing in front of Rhode. It was just like the pressure that she had felt from the mercenary leader and her father.
"I… I do not know."
Eventually, Lize shook her head.
"I really do not know, Mr. Rhode. I can tell you very sincerely that your method is totally different than what I have imagined. But… at least I don't hate it."
"I understand."
When he heard Lize's answer, Rhode nodded his head in satisfaction. He stretched out his right hand and placed it on Lize's shoulder.
"I will not let you down," Rhode said coolly.
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Chapter 32: Mercenary Association
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Matt parted with the duo after bidding a quick farewell. When Matt finally distanced himself away from Rhode, his smiling face slowly warped into a grimace. He appeared as if he'd just suffered a great deal and was looking for revenge. After all, he was going to meet with his creditors after he had lost much of his cargo.
However, Rhode still reminded him not to reveal the truth about how the cargo ship had crashed. Since they were secretly tracked, and if the enemy was still seeking them out, it wouldn't be a good choice to look for trouble. But Rhode kept this a secret from Matt because he felt that it was unnecessary to inform him. Moreover, it wouldn't help the situation even if he revealed the matter to Matt. So in the end, Matt agreed to keep silent about this matter. Having been in the merchant industry for many years, he knew the pros and cons of doing so. Even if Rhode didn't remind him, he would still choose not to talk about this matter anywhere.
After parting with Matt, Rhode made his way to the Mercenary Association branch in Deep Stone City with Lize as his guide.
As a cross-continental organization, the Mercenary Association had branches in every major city. They were responsible for issuing missions to mercenaries, recording the completion of the missions, and also even responsible for the recruitment and employment of mercenaries. They were also the ones who had the authority to upgrade or downgrade mercenary groups.
The Deep Stone City Mercenary Association was located in the first layer of the pit. A distinct, engraved symbol on the wall that represented the Mercenary Association can be seen from afar. Even the rough marble door frame and the flag just outside the branch were unusually eye-catching. However, the thick, heavy wooden door which was carved with intricate patterns could not contain the rowdy sounds from inside.
When Rhode and Lize entered the Mercenary Association building, the very first thing they noticed was a wide, dome-shaped hall. Sunlight permeated from the holes above, illuminating the white, stone floor. Many mercenaries were sitting around round, wooden tables, whispering and chatting to themselves. There were also some who hid in the corners who chose to stay silent.
The appearance of the duo did not cause much attention. Among the people that noticed, many of them just raised their head for a glance before resuming whatever they were doing. However, not all of them were like that. Not long after entering, a woman equipped with a leather armor raised her arm and waved to them, while her longbow in her other hand swayed from side to side.
"Hey, Lize. Long time no see!"
"Sister Shauna!"
A look of delight flashed across Lize's face as she exposed a smile. She quickly walked towards to the woman's side.
"It has been a long time! How are you?"
"I'm alright. Recently, we acquired plenty of loot after killing the gnolls. Now we're discussing how to distribute it." Shauna replied with a bright smile.
After Lize greeted her, more and more people turned and nodded towards them with smiles on their faces. It appeared as though the mercenaries here were quite familiar with Shauna.
"Congratulations…"
Lize's heart couldn't help but beat faster, but her smile was also stiff. She was no stranger to this scene. Every time she completed a commission with Carter and everyone else, they would sit together and bicker with each other. That was once her everyday life, but now those people had already left her forever.
"What happened? Lize? You don't seem to be happy?"
Although Shauna appeared to be a happy-go-lucky person, it was clear that she had a woman's attentive side as well. Upon noticing a change in Lize's emotion, she instantly knew that something was wrong. She knit her brows in puzzlement and looked towards Rhode who was standing her behind Lize.
"What happened to you? Who is the guy behind you? I never saw him before?"
"Leader… he…"
When Lize mentioned Carter, her face paled. Words couldn't seem to exit her mouth. It was only after a few seconds later when Lize seemed to be able to gather the determination to speak about it.
"We… we have failed the mission. Except for me… Everyone else is gone."
The moment she said this, silence suddenly fell upon the group. Even the smile on Shauna's face also disappeared.
"Failed?"
"Yes, we encountered a little accident…"
Lize shook her head. Apparently, she did not want to say much regarding this matter. So he quickly changed the topic and introduced Rhode to everyone.
"This is Mr. Rhode Alander. He is my life-saver. Otherwise, I am afraid that you'll not be seeing me here today."
"Ah, is that so…"
Once Lize finished introducing Rhode, Shauna couldn't help but glance at Rhode curiously, whose body was wrapped up in a cloak. After that, she reached out her hand.
"Hello, I am Shauna, the leader of the Red Hawk mercenary group. Thank you for saving my friend."
Rhode stretched out his hand and returned the gesture. And then he replied in low voice.
"No worries. I was just passing by."
This made Shauna even more curious, and she started to stare intently at Rhode, non-verbally implying that she wanted to see his real appearance. But alas, Rhode had no intention to bring down his hood, and she didn't want to force it as well, so she could only turn her attention back to Lize.
"So, this time you came to…"
"Yes, I came to the Association to report the failure, and also… the things that happened to leader…"
"I understand."
Shauna sighed as she rubbed Lize's head.
"Don't blame yourself too much. This is our job. Sooner or later, such a day will come for all of us. The fact that you are alive would be their greatest consolation. Remember, if you encounter any difficulty, you can always come visit us. Even though we, the Red Hawk mercenary group is just a small group, but as long as it is something we can help, we will never decline."
"Thank you…"
Hearing Shauna's consoling words, Lize finally revealed a smile. However, a young swordsman that was sitting near Shauna suddenly jumped up and shattered the emotional mood.
"Yes, Lize. Don't be too sad. Ah, how about you join our mercenary group? We are missing a…"
"Barney!"
Shauna shouted coldly, interrupting the young swordsman's words.
"What are you saying, is now the time to say such kind of things? Shut up and sit down!"
"But big sis…."
"Shut up!"
Because of Shauna's seriousness in her tone, the young swordsman unwillingly retreated and sat back down. Shauna turned around once again towards Lize.
"Lize, please do not mind what Barney said. You are free to choose your own path."
"It's okay, sister Shauna."
Lize did not put the young swordsman's words to heart.
"I have already decided that I will not disband the mercenary group."
"Lize?"
Shauna was stunned for a moment. When she finally came through, Rhode and Lize had already made their way towards the depths of the hall. It made Shauna slightly awkward when she watched the two of them leave. After a while, she sat down and sighed for a moment, but suddenly without notice, she turned and stared fiercely at the young swordsman beside her.
"Don't speak nonsense! If you still dare to talk nonsense, be careful if I tear off your mouth!!"
In the center of the hall, people were standing next to the huge stone. The majority of the constant, clamorous chatter also came from this area. In order to receive a mission, mercenaries had to shout loudly to get attention from people. There were also plenty of mercenaries who were discussing their remuneration and conditions with the employer.
Under the Lize's lead, Rhode arrived at a counter. A 50-year-old man lay sleepily on the table. It was unknown how he could even manage to get a bit of shut-eye with this banter surrounding him.
"Uncle Hank?"
Lize spoke in a low voice while walking towards the front of the man. But apparently her voice could not rival the noise, so Lize had to raise her voice while knocking on the counter.
When he heard the knock, the man finally awoke. He rubbed his eyes drowsily and glanced at his visitors.
"Who is it? Can't you see that I was sleeping so comfortably… Such a shame… I just found a good woman in my dream…"
Having not finished his sentence yet, the man eventually noticed that it was Lize who was standing in front of him. He immediately closed his mouth and exposed an embarrassing smile.
"Ah, I thought who was it, so it's actually Lize! Why have you come to see me today?"
"Yes, I have something to talk with the president, it is about our mercenary group…"
"Mercenary group?"
Hank was dumbfounded when he heard Lize's answer.
"What about the mercenary group? Where is Carter?"
Lize did not answer Hank's question directly and went silent for a moment. Then, she slowly revealed a silver badge from her hand. After seeing the badge, Hank's sleepy expression immediately vanished and was replaced by a serious and tense expression.
"I will immediately inform the president."
Hank immediately broke into a run.
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