Read Summoning the Holy Sword - Chapter 33 online free - Novel Full
Chapter 33: Mercenary Assessment
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Rhode sat on a chair, observing the old man behind the desk. He knew who he was. Moby Daimler, Deep Stone City's Mercenary Association president. Back in the game, almost every player would somehow be acquainted with this man if they wanted mercenary licenses from him. Furthermore, he would be responsible for teaching the players' practical skills.
If a player had high reputation points, he would hand out certain rewards to them. So, to the players, this old man was quite a popular NPC.
However, Moby Daimler's character was obstinate, and also sometimes quite a blockhead. Of course, in this world, the people view him as someone who adhered to his belief, but to the player, he was just a stubborn old man.
But whether he was stubborn or not, it did not matter to Rhode.
"Lize, you have my deepest condolence about the matter…"
The old man then looked down at his desk, and said with his unique calm and slow tone, "Carter is a good kid. I watched him grow up, and I'm very sad about his loss," the old man shook his head and paused for a moment to sigh, "but this is a mercenary's life; we work for money, and we all know that we might die. From the moment we accepted this way of life, we had acknowledged the risks involved… Now, tell me, what have you truly come to me for?"
"I… I want the mercenary group to carry on, Sir."
Lize shivered in nervousness. Both her hands slowly turned pale as she clutched the hem of her dress tightly.
"I know it will be difficult, but I have made the decision… Mr. Rhode will be appointed as the new leader, and I believe that under his leadership, this mercenary group can continue to prosper."
"… a wonderful idea, Lize."
The old man sighed.
"But you do understand that this will be a gamble. Will you hang the fate of the entire mercenary group on an unfamiliar person? Can you afford to shoulder the consequences of that venture?"
"I certainly understand the risks involved, Mr. President, sir. But… I choose to believe in my judgment. My only wish is to watch my mercenary group prosper, but I know that I do not have the ability to do so. Therefore, I can only choose to believe in someone who can bring me hope."
Lize gracefully lifted up her head and gazed firmly into the old man's eyes. The old man slightly narrowed his eyes and returned Lize's gaze. After a while, he said, "In any case, I hope that you can consider the risks involved. After all…"
The old man was unable to finish his sentence before being suddenly interrupted by Rhode.
"Perhaps, you should ask my opinion, Sir."
Upon hearing Rhode's bold words, the old man's eyes revealed a trace of uncertainty. His eyes started to scan this man carefully whose body was fully wrapped in a cloak.
"Kid, when an elder speaks, you should be polite."
"If you put it that way, then I think it is quite rude to ignore the existence of others deliberately."
Rhode retaliated without hesitation nor fear. In the game, the president NPC was an extremely resolute and steadfast character. He despised spineless cowards. That was why Rhode spoke so straightforwardly as he wanted to compare the difference between the old man from the game and this old man in front of him.
"Let's not dwell on unrelated matters. Moving on to the main point, I understand that the mercenary group quota is limited, and every mercenary group that can hit the quota is required to experience some kind of hardship."
"Am I right, Mr. President?" Rhode said coolly.
"Moreover… I also understand that if this information spreads out to the people, not only will the Mercenary Association's reputation be damaged, but you'll also trigger the combined dissatisfaction and ridicule from other mercenaries. You needn't waste your time beating around the bush about these matters, Mr. President."
"Good lad!" The old man couldn't help but express his shock.
Almost immediately, the lazy demeanor expressed by the old man vanished without a trace.
"Since you understand what I meant, I'll just be frank with you. As you've said earlier, every mercenary group has their own quota, and it is through their own perseverance and effort that they manage to clear the tasks required of them. No matter who you are, it is impossible for you to change the way of how the Mercenary Association operates. I'm incredibly saddened by the loss of Carter and the rest of his team, but I cannot break the Mercenary Association's regulation."
Rhode leisurely leaned back against the chair as he slowly picked up the teacup.
"But you also do not hold the power to disband the mercenary group either," said Rhode casually as he stirred the black tea in the teacup, which was already cold.
Without waiting for a reply, Rhode continued, "According to the Mercenary Association's regulation: Only within the winter recess period, those mercenary groups who did not reach the specified level would be forced to disband. Also, the Association has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of the group."
Upon hearing Rhode's well-thought rebuttal, the old president frowned in silence.
"I did not expect that you were that familiar with our regulations…" the old president voice trailed off, but the next moment, his taut expression suddenly relaxed.
"Indeed, we do not have this power. But, as the president of the Mercenary Association of the Deep Stone City branch, I am responsible for every mercenary. And the most crucial aspect here… is your identity as an adventurer. We cannot possibly allow a person who has yet to be assessed by mercenaries to lead a mercenary group. "
"Mr. President!"
Lize couldn't sit still any longer when she heard this. She immediately shot up and opened her mouth to say something. But to her surprise, Rhode shook his head, stretched out his arm and held her shoulder. Then he slowly stood up with a calm expression.
"This means that if I pass the assessment, you'll agree?
"That goes without saying, lad."
The old president also stood up.
"Do not forget, this is the Mercenary Association's territory. People who are qualified to stand on these grounds are only mercenaries."
"Very well." Rhode nodded. His heart relaxed a lot. Until now, the old president's reactions were not beyond his expectations.
"So, if I asked to be assessed right now, there shouldn't be any issues, right?"
The room turned silent.
Both of the old president's eyes widened as he studied this young man in front of him carefully. Even he could sense the self-confidence from the young man's tone, but he did not know where that confidence came from.
This kid… does he even know what is he getting himself into? Since he understood the regulations well, I'm certain that he knows the standard of the test. While it isn't particularly difficult, it isn't a cakewalk either.
Is this kid being reckless? Or does he truly have the strength?
In his heart, the president shook his head. From his appearance, the young lad who was fully wrapped in a cloak didn't appear to emit any signs of power. However, since the lad was willing to take on the assessment, he couldn't say no. It would be the best if he could pressure him to quit, but if that didn't work… then he'll think about it later.
Once he made up his decision in his mind, the old president didn't speak any further, and he gave a smile to Rhode. He reached out and picked up a small hammer which he gently swung it against a bell on the desk. Soon, an attendant entered the room.
"What's the matter, Mr. President?"
"Is the training field empty right now?" he questioned the attendant while maintaining the smile on his face.
"Yes, Sir."
"Very well. Inform Sereck that someone is here to take on the mercenary assessment."
"… Yessir."
When Sereck's name was mentioned, a trace of surprise flashed in the attendant's eyes. However, the expression in his eyes didn't linger, and he quickly lowered his head before leaving the room in a hurry.
Lize, on the other hand, openly expressed her shock and she quickly made her way towards the president.
"Mr. President! You can't…! Mr. Sereck is…"
"Kid, this isn't something you should worry yourself with." The old president waved his hand and interrupted Lize. Then he turned his head slightly, glanced towards Rhode and said, "Since this young gentleman volunteered to take on the mercenary assessment, naturally, I will grant him the opportunity."
"But…"
Lize wanted to say something, but this time, it was Rhode who interrupted her.
"Do not worry, Lize. There will be no problem."
Rhode reached out to grab a loose end of his hood and pulled it across his face, utilizing the shadow to cover his mouth. Under the hood, Rhode's lips curved into a smile.
"After all, this is a rare opportunity to duel with the 'Light Swordsman'."
When the old president heard Sereck's nickname, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock. However, since things had already turned out this way, it was unnecessary for him to say anything more. Although he found this young man's attitude peculiar, as a veteran with decades of experience, his confidence wouldn't be shaken that easily.
"Good… since you have the courage, I'd like to see how you will pass this assessment!" The old president snorted coldly.
"I assure that you'll not be disappointed. But before that, I hope you can give me 10 minutes to prepare myself."
"Of course, that's not a problem."
The old president didn't find anything odd with Rhode's request; rather, it'll be odd if he didn't ask for preparation time as it was such an impromptu decision.
Once again, he gently swung the tiny hammer on the bell and summoned several attendants. 1
"Escort the gentleman and the lady to the waiting room. Start the mercenary assessment in 10 minutes."
The attendants glanced towards Rhode in surprise.
"Is 10 minutes enough?"
"It's enough."
The Mercenary Association waiting room wasn't anything luxurious; instead, it was slightly chilly. Other than the wooden furniture, there were wall decorations made up of swords and shields. Suits of armor were lined up neatly in the corner as well.
Rhode waved his hand, gesturing the attendant to excuse himself before entering the room and locking it.
"Mr. Rhode, this is too risky!"
Lize finally voiced out her concerns to Rhode.
"Mr. Sereck is a famous warrior in Deep Stone City. The president is deliberately making it difficult for you. This…"
"You don't have to worry, Lize. I have already expected this outcome."
Rhode shook his head. He had already guessed it from the start. After all, in the game, that old man would always make it difficult for the players when they wanted to create a mercenary group. Not only would they have to gather reputation points, they would also need to undergo many difficult quests. As for right now, since he wanted to take a shortcut, of course, that old geezer wouldn't make it easy for him.
Furthermore, Sereck wasn't a stranger to Rhode. He was a powerful warrior in Deep Stone City, and he was also a master swordsman that inherited 'Light Swordsmanship'. What made this 'Light Swordsmanship' so special was that it had light magic interweaved into sword skills. By itself, the level of swordsmanship was merely average, and it was just considered to be middle-classed to players. During this period, if Rhode's memory wasn't wrong, Sereck's level should be at 40.
With such a vast difference in level, it was practically impossible for Rhode to win.
However, this was only assessment, not a life and death battle.
Rhode decided to conclude his thoughts and took out the Soul Core he obtained from the Shadow.
Its appearance was different from the Wind Serpent Lord's Soul Core. The Shadow's Soul Core was pure white, and a layer of fog surrounded it. If one stared at it closely, it would resemble a carefully crafted artwork. Rhode glanced at his surroundings before making his way towards a brazier.
Upon reaching, he closed his eyes and stretched out his right hand.
Once again, the summoning circle appeared on his palm, followed by the system prompt which also emerged before him clearly.
[The Soul Core has been contaminated, Do you want it to be purified?]
"Purify."
Followed by Rhode's voice, the fog surrounding the Soul Core began to thicken as it swirled rapidly around the core.
This mystical scene left Lize stupefied. But she still managed to close her mouth and not make a sound. Despite not knowing what he was doing, she knew that he wasn't to be disturbed at this moment.
As the fog around the Soul Core became increasingly thick, it created a billow of clouds which rolled in the center of his palm. This phenomenon continued as it spun faster and faster, forming a whirlpool of fog. Slowly, red streaks of light appeared within the eye of the storm, and it gradually snowballed, consuming the remaining fog, turning the entire spectacle into a bright, red cloud. The fiery cloud then started to congeal, and it finally transformed into a crimson card which levitated on top of Rhode's palm.
[The Flame Killer (Fire Attribute): Ground Unit, Available for Fusion, Attack 10% chance to trigger burning effect, Special Skill ——— Fire Breath (Born from the flame and die in flame. Bring its enemies eternal pain and destruction)
[1/10 of Red Lotus Deck collected, The Flame Killer]
But it wasn't done yet, because, at this very moment, Rhode took out the Gargoyle's Heart from his pocket.
Use the Gargoyle's Heart.
[Target? ]
The Flame Killer.
Rhode spoke in his head.
[Target – The Flame Killer – Forced Evolution]
[Level upgrade finished]
[Evolve? ]
Yes.
The bright, crimson card started rotating once again. A resplendent flame crept around the card, and then it slowly faded.
Rhode then grabbed the card and studied the information written on it.
A picture of a fiery hound was painted on the front side of the card. At the top corner, a red circle with the letters "VI" were printed on it. As for the bottom corners of the card, two numbers, 5 and 3 represented the summoning spirit's attack and defense respectively.
When he flipped over the card, it displayed the card details.
[The Flame Killer (Fire Attribute): Ground Unit, Available for Fusion, Attack: 10% chance to trigger burning effect, Special Skill ——— Fire Breath (Born forth from flame, and perishes in flames. Inflicts a calamity by delivering catastrophic destruction to lay them in eternal rest.) LV 10
Received the flame baptism: the Flame Guardian.
Fire Breath: Hot enough to melt steel, and no one will be able to get in its way,
Born forth from flame; perishes in flames. Explosive Type.]
Pretty good.
Comparing it to the Spirit Bird's meager attack and defense power, which was at the level of ordinary creatures, the Flame Killer's attack was much better and it even reached Giant Beast level. Still, though its defense was low, Rhode believed that with the innate fire element, the card still had its uses.
After analyzing, Rhode kept the card, turned around and faced towards a dazed Lize.
"I'm ready, let's go."
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Chapter 34: Test
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Currently, the Mercenary Association's training field was filled with people. When they heard that there was someone who wanted to challenge Sereck, they all came flocking in droves. It wasn't always the case though, as normally, people wouldn't be very interested in the usual mercenary assessment.
'Light Swordsman' Sereck, was one of the legendary figures of Deep Stone City. Every mercenary held him in high regard. Though he rarely conducts assessments personally, this time, upon the order of the president, he had to do it. This event sparked the curiosity of the mercenaries as they gathered in the corner of the training field.
Naturally, as mercenaries, all of them had already completed their mercenary assessment, which was in actuality, a very straightforward process. The Association would appoint a recognized mercenary to assess the newbie, and as long he or she received the recognition of the veteran, then they would pass. But as for someone as distinguished as Sereck? Even many of these veterans had never seen Sereck conduct an assessment personally. Thus, they were incredibly curious about the 'newbie' that had the qualifications to receive Sereck's personal evaluation.
The first one who entered the training field was the 'Light Swordsman', Sereck.
Clad in a white, leather armor with a golden lion mark imprinted on the chestguard, he appeared out of the shadows in his signature golden hair, which was combed backward neatly. When he displayed his gentle, yet confident smile on his face, an astounding wave of cheers echoed among the surrounding mercenaries. It really wasn't surprising because Sereck had a high reputation within Deep Stone City.
"I'll leave it to you, old buddy."
The Mercenary Association's president came to Sereck's side and smiled as he patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry Moby." Sereck returned the president's friendly gesture with an elegant smile. But still, he couldn't help but inquire about his opponent.
"It's a rare occurrence seeing you this agitated, which youngster had done it?"
"An ungrateful little devil."
The old president grunted coldly.
"I see. Very well then. Then I will make him understand that our mercenaries aren't easy to mess with!"
Meanwhile, Rhode and Lize finally arrived at the training field after being guided by the attendant. When the crowd noticed them, they gave the duo a puzzled look. Compared to Sereck's entrance, the difference in reception was glaringly apparent.
"Big sister, Isn't that Lize?
At that moment, Barney who was within the crowd suddenly exclaimed. Shauna, who was standing beside him, frowned when she noticed Rhode and Lize but she still kept her silence.
"Isn't it that guy from before? Is he the one to be assessed today?"
The mercenaries who saw the duo from before started gossiping to one another.
"Where did that guy came from? He could actually force the President to summon Sereck?"
"He even tries to maintain the air of mystery around him with that cloak. From a glance, I can tell that he's not a good person."
"What is he? Looking at his appearance, is he a mage?"
"No way. He didn't even bring a wand. Can you see what he is holding…. eh? EH!!?? Isn't that our usual sparring sword!?"
Even both the president and Sereck was somewhat surprised when they noticed Rhode's choice of weapon. The sparring sword was a piece of common equipment provided by the Association, and certainly not a weapon that mercenaries would use in an assessment of this caliber. Most mercenaries would prefer to use their own weapons just for the fact that they were more familiar with it. Even if they wanted to use a common sword, they would still use something more comfortable, and not this sparring sword which had no modification at all.
Did he intend to wield this sword to fight Sereck?
When everyone was busy discussing that matter, Rhode had already walked up to the Sereck and the old president. He briefly paid his respects to both of them and pulled his hood.
"I'm ready. The two of you can start anytime."
"Are you going to use this sword to challenge me?" Sereck frowned and said.
Since it was rare for him to conduct an assessment, he didn't particularly have any ill feelings about Rhode. But if the opponent used ordinary weapons to fight, then it would be meaningless even if he won.
"Young man, don't be pressured, do what you need to do. It is only a sparring match and we hope to assess your real strength and level. The outcome is not important."
"We think alike, Mr. Sereck."
Rhode was still calmly holding the sword in his hand.
"So, please don't mind about my choice of weapon… Since I also wish to experience the might of the Light Swordsman."
"Very well then."
Since Rhode had made his decision, Sereck's face also turned serious. In the beginning, he thought that it would be unfair if he used a magic sword against an ordinary weapon, but since Rhode took the initiative to affirm him of his own choice, then he had no more qualms about etiquette.
Sereck nodded lightly and glanced towards the president. It wasn't until now that he finally understood why his old buddy got mad with this kid.
But who is he?
Sereck didn't think much, he shook his head and unsheathed his sword.
"Bring it on!" His low voice echoed throughout the training grounds.
Rhode didn't say anything as he pulled out his sword slowly while carefully observing the Light Sword on Sereck's hand. In an instant, Rhode leaned his body forward and disappeared as he activated his shadow flash.
Swordsmanship skill?
When Sereck analyzed Rhode's skill, he was slightly surprised, but he quickly calmed himself down and activated his own skill. The sword in his hand suddenly shattered into countless shards of light which rained down towards Rhode.
Since it was only an assessment, Sereck did not use the full power of his attack. No matter how skilled Rhode was, he assumed that Rhode wouldn't be able to withstand this attack. Light Swordsmanship's skills were very fast, and to escape from the myriad of light shards wasn't an easy feat.
However, Rhode totally destroyed his expectations. Jumping and dashing from side to side, Rhode nimbly dodged the shards as he slowly closed the distance.
This isn't possible!
It was as though Rhode recognized that this attack was used to confuse the enemy.
Now, Rhode's decisiveness and comprehension made Sereck's facial expression change visibly. He was utterly shocked.
But what he did not know was that Rhode was familiar with his skills. Even though there was a vast difference between Rhode and Sereck's level, Rhode was completely aware of the Light Swordsmanship's attack range. While this move might work against those newer mercenaries, but to him, it was still somewhat lacking.
While Sereck was being surprised continuously, Rhode managed to close in, and he lunged forward with his Moon Shadow Swordsmanship. The Light and Moon Shadow Swordsmanship were total opposites, the former was akin to sunlight, shining brilliantly and forcing those nearby to yield, while the latter was more of a shadow, lurking in the dark, waiting for the prime opportunity to strike.
So fast!
Noticing the shadow that suddenly appeared beside him, Sereck's eyes widened and hastily changed the direction of his attacks. His magic sword revealed a glorious light, drowning the shadow which attacked him.
Naturally, Rhode failed to penetrate his defenses. That goes without saying because, with a 30 level gap, it would be akin to defeating an elephant as an ant. If Sereck used his full power, Rhode would be sent flying out of the training grounds long ago. That was why, when facing Sereck's counter-attack, Rhode immediately retreated and stabilized himself with his sword.
Dodging once would be considered as luck, but twice…? Sereck started to doubt this young man who was draped in a cloak. Was he someone he knew? If not, how could someone be so familiar with his swordsmanship?
However, as an experienced veteran, Sereck soon discovered that Rhode tried to avoid direct contact with him. Since that was the case, he retracted all the light shards back into his sword and began to attack him head-on.
Once again, Sereck miscalculated. Although he was pretty confident in his speed, Rhode still managed to slip out of his fingers constantly and retreat when they fought.
After clashing for three to four times, the surrounding dumbstruck mercenaries began to murmur to each other.
"Big sister, Mr. Sereck sword is so fast, but why it can't it hit that guy?" Barney subconsciously asked with a shocked expression.
He had simulated in his mind that if he was in Rhode's position, he wouldn't even be able to escape from the first attack and would immediately surrender after that. But this odd young man could escape Sereck's attack three times and he didn't even receive a single injury! Does it mean that this guy is also a sword master?
It wasn't only Barney who thought this way, the rest of the other mercenaries were equally dumbfounded. They simply did not understand how could that guy dodge Mr. Sereck's astonishingly fast attacks.
The old president's expression turned grim because he knew what was wrong.
While Sereck's Light Swordsmanship was indubitably fast as the word 'light' suggests, but the crux of the problem was that only the sword skills were fast, and not the person. To a common person, as long as one witnessed fast swordsmanship, they would assume that the person using it would be equally as fast. However, the fact was that these two were completely different.
The old president also realized that the young man was using his own speed to dodge Sereck's attacks. It was also apparent that he understood the characteristics of Light Swordsmanship. This made him furrow his brows as he tried to guess about Rhode's origin. Sereck had never left Deep Stone City in 30 years, and the people that fought with him were only a handful. So where did this strange young man originate from?
Meanwhile, both Sereck and Rhode had already clashed numerous times. Rhode was still maintaining his strategy of avoiding direct contact while Sereck's facial expression finally began to relax, but not to the point of losing its seriousness.
"You're really fast. You'll become a promising thief one day." Sereck smiled and said in a depressed tone when Rhode dodged his attack once again.
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm a swordsman."
Rhode's voice was indifferent; his face was hidden behind the hood so no one could see his expression.
"Then show me some swordsmanship, lad."
Sereck raised his sword and pointed towards Rhode. He had decided to take it up a notch. Not because Rhode managed dodged his attacks countless of times, but it was because he was curious. He wanted to see if this young man in front of him still had something up his sleeve.
"As you wish."
Just at this time, Rhode finally moved.
A faint light started to congeal at the tip of his sword. And in an instant, followed by an eruption of light, a beam shaped as a crescent moon emerged from the sword.
Sword energy condensation?
Looking at this, Sereck's face became tense. Then he shouted, "Very good!" and rushed forward while holding his sword.
A barrier of light emerged as it welcomed the crescent moon which came towards it. At this moment, Sereck the sword master, displayed his full power. A violent wave exploded out from his sword. Even the mercenaries watching from the sidelines had to take a few steps back. And when Rhode's silver crescent moon finally clashed with Sereck's sword light, it disappeared without a trace.
Not bad.
Although it made Rhode's attack seem like child's play, Sereck was pleasantly surprised as he nodded his head in satisfaction. This man in front of him is so young, yet he is able to condensate sword energy. Also, from the previous clashes, he knew that this kid could fight wisely. Sereck even thought that it'd be a pity to have such a young promising talent to become a mercenary. He glanced towards the old man on the sidelines, thinking whether to make this young man his disciple. After all, a rare talent such as this man doesn't grow on trees.
Suddenly a chirping sound could be heard, and he saw the surrounding mercenaries displaying a surprised expression.
What happened?!
He quickly turned his attention back towards Rhode. But at this time, Sereck was shocked to find a green figure passing through his light barrier towards him!
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Chapter 35: The Assessment Result
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
What the…
Sereck's heart skipped a beat. When he repeatedly questioned himself whether if there was anything wrong with the barrier, he finally realized that the only possibility the green light could enter unhindered was if it exploited that small gap. Sereck sighed and raised his sword to receive the blow, and when the Spirit Bird finally collided, a raging storm arose.
"Boom!!!"
Violent winds shook the ground, and the surrounding mercenaries who were unable to withstand the intense storm began to retreat. Even though the Spirit Bird's attack power wasn't high, its wind attribute shouldn't be underestimated. Sereck narrowed his eyes and swung his sword, tearing apart the violent wind with a brilliant light. However, what he saw next wasn't Rhode.
Rhode flipped his left hand and a red card materialized out of thin air which fell to his palm. In a swift motion, he gripped the card and threw it forward.
Followed by a tearing sound, the red card tore apart. An intense, raging fire immediately swept the ground with a violent pressure emitting in all directions, causing the surrounding temperature to ascend abruptly. At that very moment, a ferocious roar rang out as a fiery hound appeared before Rhode. It immediately unveiled its claws and fangs as it dashed towards Sereck, and Rhode, as though in harmony with the Flame Killer, immediately activated his Shadow Flash before slashing forward with his sword.
"What the heck is that!"
Observing the unbelievable scene that was unfolding, all of the surrounding mercenaries rushed to the front to get a firsthand view of this spectacle and they couldn't help but feel surprised. Even those veterans that had experienced countless of battles felt their blood rushing towards their head at this astonishing scene.
Sereck was no different.
But unlike those mercenaries on the sidelines, time was a luxury that Sereck didn't have. When an unknown factor appeared in mid-battle, he can only put all his attention on the crisis unfolding in front of him. While he had a feeling that the appearance of the hound wouldn't be life-threatening, but as a sword master, being forced into a corner with a large number of spectators looking at him would be a shameful act. Because of that reasoning, he chose to take the attack head-on. Sereck snorted coldly and took on a defensive stance, fully welcoming Rhode's attack.
A brilliant barrier of light appeared once again, abruptly parrying the hound's direct attack. However, this act of deterrence wouldn't be able to stop the Flame Killer. Sereck's attack only merely slowed down its advance, and it suddenly jumped to the side before lunging towards Sereck with its mouth wide open.
"Boom!!!!"
The hound cast a Fire Breath, causing a wave of scorching flames to envelop Sereck, burning everything nearby to cinders. Sereck didn't hesitate any longer, as someone with a high status such as himself, his public image was as important as his life. If he was defeated right now by a random stranger whose face was hidden, then he might as well drop his decades of prestige into the mud. Thus, starting from this moment, Sereck finally treated Rhode as a true opponent.
Akin to a dying brilliance of a setting sun, in a blink of an eye, orange flames lit up the skies, and as quick as its emergence, the last of the embers came and went in a flash.
But it was enough…
The flame finally disappeared.
No signs of flames could be seen on the scorched ground. The spectators only managed to catch a glimpse of a flash of light, and then in the very next moment, it instantly disappeared. With the exception of the ashes and smoke that lingered in the air, everything else completely disappeared.
It's coming!
Rhode furrowed his brows. He knew that Sereck was serious now.
But that was his intention since the beginning.
Even though Sereck was able to defend against the Flame Killer's attack, but he wasn't able to dodge Rhode and the Spirit Bird. Rhode also didn't plan to retreat as he lunged forward with his sword.
Blade of Destruction, ACTIVATE!
A splendorous light emerged from the ashes, rushing towards Sereck. Under the orders of Rhode, the Spirit Bird curved in an arc and flanked towards Sereck's right while the hound who had failed to penetrate his defense, retreated towards the left and prepared a collaborative attack with the Spirit Bird.
The Flame Killer then launched a Fire Breath once again, followed by a deadly swipe from its claw.
The scene was almost magical, like a fantasy.
The mercenaries along the sidelines had their jaws agape, unable to speak a word. Not one of them had seen such a way of fighting, nor have they ever seen the Light Swordsman fight at full force.
If it were any other ordinary mercenary, Rhode's tri-pronged attack would undoubtedly render them helpless if they didn't rush towards Rhode first, but Sereck's choice was different.
The first thing he attacked wasn't Rhode.
When Sereck raised his sword, it was as if time slowed down, and when he swung down his sword towards the hound, his sword appeared to fall incredibly gently, but seemingly impossible to dodge.
The Flame Killer roared in agony as he felt as though a heavy hammer smashed into its head. The sword in Sereck's hand fluidly changed its direction again and sealed the Spirit Bird's attack. And when the Spirit Bird fell to the ground, Sereck had already changed the course of his sword once again to face the oncoming Blade of Destruction.
Each moment was somehow very short, but it was also very long. Almost everyone saw what happened, but they were also unable to see it clearly. It was as if the scene before them was just a dream.
However, Rhode did not stop.
Within the tempest of light, he could feel a massive impact on the sword he was holding. In an instant, his body shook as though his internal organs shifted, and his HP bar plunged to orange from a healthy green. At this moment, his sword could no longer withstand the overwhelming impact and shattered into pieces.
Sereck immediately attacked, and a light appeared on his sword, rushing towards Rhode's chest.
However, Rhode didn't panic. He held up his right hand and paused for a moment before suddenly making a gripping gesture.
"Woo———!!!"
The black hound howled and rushed forward. Its whole body immolated in flames as it unhesitatingly made its way towards Sereck. In retaliation, Sereck snorted and swiped his hand. Following that gesture, a brilliant light split the black hound into two.
But it wasn't the end yet.
Born forth from the flame, and perishes in flames.
Sereck felt a huge energy emitting from the tip of his sword. His eyes widened, but it was already too late for him to react.
The hound which split into two pieces, began to turn bright red. It continued roaring and rolled towards Sereck, and finally, its flame resistant body couldn't contain the fiery energy within and imploded.
At this very moment, a red card materialized on Rhode's palm and he gripped it without hesitation.
"Clang!!!!"
A pair of white wings appeared out of thin air, shielding Rhode and blocking the flames.
When the fire and ashes finally scattered, it revealed two silhouettes close to one another.
Sereck stopped moving, the gap between his sword and Rhode's chest was only a few inches, but there was a thin barrier of angelic wings in between his sword and Rhode's body. At the same time, Rhode's sword stopped next to Sereck's neck.
"Elemental creatures, magic weapon, and swordsmanship mastery."
After a long time, Sereck finally broke the silence.
"Not bad, young man. You did great."
"Thank you for your compliment."
Rhode nodded slightly and removed the sword from Sereck's neck. Then he made a hand gesture to recall the Spirit Bird, which soon arrived and perched on his shoulder quietly.
"You're welcome. It had been a long time since I had so much fun."
Sereck revealed a rare soft smile as he expertly sheathed his sword.
"What is your name?"
"Rhode. Rhode Alander."
Rhode replied Sereck calmly.
"Rhode! What a great name! I like you, boy! In the Deep Stone City, you're the first one to make me suffer a loss!"
Sereck patted Rhode's shoulder and laughed.
In response to Sereck's hearty reply, Rhode only slightly nodded to express his thanks. Then he turned towards the old man who was standing on the sidelines with an ugly expression.
"So, old man, did I pass the mercenary assessment?"
"This…"
Moby revealed a rather ugly expression. In fact, when he saw Rhode's skill, he already expected this outcome. However, this little devil still chose to ask him about the assessment directly. He could not accept this result and helplessly looked towards Sereck, non-verbally indicating for his assistance.
Facing the old president's gaze, Sereck smiled cunningly and winked.
"Frankly, with your talent, being a mercenary is a waste… However, since this is your choice, it's not my place to say anything else. However, with regards to the assessment, in my opinion, you've passed!"
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Chapter 36: Mercenary Group System Unlocked
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
As for the mercenaries, this battle had been an eye-opener for them.
While Rhode's method of winning wasn't ethical, it wasn't a fair fight from the beginning anyway, since their level gap was like the sky and the ocean. Moreover, mercenaries weren't chivalrous knights; the winners always reign supreme over the losers.
From that day onwards, Rhode and Sereck's intense battle became a hot topic. Sereck's name had been famous for many years, but few witnessed his true power. Therefore, over time the mercenaries started to think that it was just a facade. However, after this battle, those thoughts were erased from their minds.
Apart from Sereck, Rhode's mysteriousness went up another notch. How can he, as a swordsman, summon two odd elemental spirits? Supposedly, only mages were able to that, but without a single chant? That was way too absurd. Therefore, the talk of the town was how Rhode managed to do what he did. Some people said it was a unique summoning spell, while some others insisted that he made use of a magic item. After all, this young man managed to use such a powerful magic weapon at the end of the battle, which implied that his identity was something extraordinary.
What made them even happier was that this powerful young man wanted to join in the ranks of mercenaries. From that day onwards, it meant that he would be a full-fledged mercenary. And at this moment, many mercenary groups were discussing on how could they recruit this young and powerful talent. While the results of the battle tilted towards Rhode's side at the end, but they knew of the level gap between both of them, and if it were a life-or-death battle, who knew who would emerge victorious? But since Rhode was able to push the usually calm Sereck to a corner, it was enough to prove his ability. Furthermore, he was still very young, and his future will be promising.
Meanwhile, Rhode and Lize had already returned to the president's room. A smiling man stood beside the old president, facing towards Rhode and Lize.
"Since you've already passed the assessment, from this day on, you are a mercenary. Congratulations."
Even though he was congratulating Rhode, the old president's smile was stiff and fake, obviously displaying his displeasure about this matter.
"As for the mercenary rules and regulations, I think you already understood it clearly, so I won't waste my breath on it." The old president said unhappily.
Rhode did not say anything since he knew Moby's personality. Anyway, since he had achieved his goal, he didn't care what the old president said as it had nothing to do with himself. Letting the elders vent their anger wasn't a big deal.
When the old president finally calmed down, he reached out his hand and fished out a scroll from a drawer. Moby glanced towards Lize who was sitting behind Rhode and noticed a calm look on her face. However, he still could spot a trace of slight displeasure from her expression. It wasn't because she had lingering worries about Rhode and Sereck's battle, but rather, it was because that the cloak she made for Rhode was torn and tattered after the fight. He had only worn it once, and yet it was already in this state. This made Lize's heart quite distressed.
A woman's mind is mysterious indeed.
"Lize… I admit that this kid is strong… but I still have to inform you that your decision is reckless. Individual strength is different from a whole mercenary group. Take a look at Sereck and Marl. No doubt that they're strong, but they are still part of a mercenary group because strength in numbers is far greater than a lone ranger." The old president sighed and glanced towards Rhode. "There's no problem with this lad's strength, but a mercenary group is not something that can be sustained by two people. Even though there's some time till the winter assessment, but I'm not certain if you'll be able to solve this problem by that time."
"I understand, Mr. President, sir."
Lize nodded. As a member of a mercenary group, she knew the difficulty of what was to come. But she didn't have the capabilities to do what needs to be done. If they wanted to survive, the most important issue to settle was the lack of members, which meant that she had to recruit more people. However, reliable new members were not easy to find, and the commander's position might be shaken if the management was not done right.
Even if Lize was a veteran of mercenary life, but she was still far too young, and she held a non-combat profession. It would be difficult to suppress anyone if they tried to overthrow her authority. On the other hand, Rhode was very strong, and a lot of mercenaries had observed his overwhelming might. However, he was a new mercenary and him being the leader would only create turbulence rather than stability.
Since it was her own mercenary group, Lize had her own values and ideals of how the group should develop. Many mercenary groups performed well in the beginning, but they fell to the temptation of underhanded means to gain funds, such as assassination. There were even more groups that lowered their heads and worked directly under nobility to collect taxes. These were no longer mercenaries, but thugs instead.
Of course, Lize didn't want her mercenary group to become like those vile and cowardly groups. But she was weak. Even with Rhode's support, if everyone refused to work under both of them, then everything would just become a fantasy.
"But it is pointless to say such things now."
Discovering the determination in her eyes, the old president no longer said anything and picked up the brush before staring at Rhode.
"Well, you've achieved your goal. According to the rules, when a group leader is replaced, the new leader is qualified to change the group name. Do you want to change it now?"
"Starlight." Rhode responded almost immediately without hesitation.
After hearing the answer, the old president nodded his head. He bent down, wrote the name on the scroll, lifted the seal stamp next to him and pushed down hard. Next, he spun the scroll around towards Rhode.
"Press your fingerprint on it or sign your name."
"No problem."
When Rhode looked at the scroll, he couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia rushing up his head. The scroll was somewhat familiar, but wasn't identical. Back in the game, it appeared as an application form, but now, the old parchment felt slightly more immersive and had a historical feel to it. Rhode glanced towards Lize, and after receiving her approval, he took a deep breath before signing his name on the scroll.
"Ding!"
Suddenly, a sound rang in Rhode's head and soon, a system prompt appeared before him.
[Mercenary group leader position obtained; Mercenary Group System unlocked]
Rhode glanced at it for a moment before shifting his gaze away. Slowly, he was getting accustomed to the weird, unscientific system prompts. Since these things already happened, thinking about it further would be meaningless. Therefore, his expression did not change much and he pushed the scroll back after signing.
After taking the scroll, the old man face revealed a smile, but faded soon after.
"Well, I'd hope to see your exploits in the future, lad."
"I don't think you will be disappointed."
"I hope so…"
"But… there is one thing I want to remind both of you. Some spies from the Country of Light had arrived in the city. Although I do not know what they're after, I suggest that you do not to mess with these people. "
"I understand."
After hearing the old president's reminder, Rhode knitted his brows and frowned.
It's coming.
After the two people left the room, the old president gave a bitter smile. He sat down and turned towards to his old buddy beside him.
"Old thing, what do you think about this kid? I doubt that he was sent by above."
"You mean the Golden City?"
Sereck exposed a helpless smile.
"I don't think so. If Lize was speaking the truth, then she and this lad should have met accidentally."
"But if it's not an accident, then this kid wanted to form a mercenary group…"
"Of course, I know."
This time, Sereck did not deny the old president's judgment.
"Not only he possesses a magical weapon, but his strength is also good. And his appearance is quite… beautiful? Frankly, his features did match with 'that person's' aesthetic taste, so I can understand your thought. But if there really was such a person, then there would be news from the Golden City."
"After all, you and I know 'that person's' personality, if he was her subordinate, then she would absolutely not hide him until now. And… that unusual way of fighting, I've never seen it before." Sereck sighed.
"It wasn't a summoning skill?"
The old president expression immediately became serious after hearing his sigh.
"Of course not. Both of us have experience with mages, and I'm pretty sure you had seen summoners before, right?"
"Definitely. But I had never really understood those deeper issues about mages."
"That's why you are a mercenary, old friend. Go read some books."
"Well, let's not talk about this topic anymore."
When he heard Sereck's friendly mocking tone, the old president face turned red.
"I leave this lad to you, Sereck. Pay some attention to him. A few days ago those b*stards from the Country of Light secretly came to this city; I think they are up to something. At this time, such a strange kid also appeared all of sudden… We do not want to get involved in whatever trouble that is brewing… at the very least, the Mercenary Association doesn't want to."
"Don't worry."
Sereck nodded with a serious expression.
"I'll not let them give us trouble."
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Chapter 37: Cyril's Haunted House
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Name: Starlight
Size: Small
Leader: Rhode Alander
Members: 1
Stronghold: None
Level: 1
Reputation: Obscure
Room Facilities: Training Room (Unbuildable), Bedroom (Unbuildable), Hall (Unbuildable), Towers (Locked), Library (Locked), Alchemy Room (Locked), Smithing Room (Locked)…
Looking at the system prompt before him, Rhode felt helpless. It was much lower than the starting point back in the game. When a player formed a guild, the system would determine whether the players would have reached the qualification through the application request, and then gift a stronghold to them at the same time. However, the stronghold wasn't even mentioned here.
After thinking about it, naturally, it was because, in the game, the players were required to complete many tasks to be qualified to apply for a group. And right now, he only paid a small price in return for this mercenary group. To make himself feel better, Rhode recalled that in the original Dragon Soul Continent, NPC mercenary groups owned very few strongholds, so it wasn't too surprising…
But because it was urgent, Rhode needed to purchase a stronghold for his mercenary group as a base.
Of course, this meant that he needed money. But fortunately, this was not something entirely impossible for him.
A knocking sound rang from the door, and Lize walked into the room. After resting for a night with clean clothes, she felt more energized. Once her eyes locked with Rhode's, she greeted him with a sweet smile on her face.
"Mr. Rhode, I'm ready."
"Well okay then, let's go," Rhode said calmly, and he stood up, walking out of the door.
Lize stared at him, puzzled. Then she hurriedly followed behind him.
Lize could not understand Rhode's decision. Although she did not agree, she did not object it either. Because before talking about that problem , they still have one more thing to deal with Li Jie for the idea of Rod is completely ignorant, although she did not agree, there is no objection. Because before the practical problems, there is a more practical problem to deal with, which was they lack money.
(To Winnie: Please check this paragraph above and change it when you go through the chapters. I have no idea who is Rod and Li Jie.)
After pooling the total amount of money acquired from the Fog Ruins and Matt's remuneration, they had at least a thousand gold coins. Furthermore, Rhode had her sell some gems and crystals to the shops in Deep Stone City for two thousand five hundred gold coins, but she knew that it was still not enough to buy a house in the noble district. Even the houses at the corners of the noble district had an astronomical price. Who could even earn that amount of money to buy it?
However, right now, Rhode was walking towards the noble districts with a confident expression. This piqued Lize's curiosity.
How can Rhode use this measly sum of coins to buy a house here in this district? It can't be that he is trying to rob right?
Recalling Rhode's past actions, this possibility didn't seem too far-fetched.
Top area, southwest corner.
Compared to the elegant, well-maintained villas along the way, the mansion in front of them was a total disaster. The bricks that formed the structure of the mansion were thoroughly corroded, and long, thick weeds crept along the outer walls. Apparently, this mansion had seen its better days. The once magnificent courtyard was now littered with garbage and feces of wild animals. Even the skies surrounding the mansion seemed rather gloomy.
And as if that wasn't enough, out of a sudden, a cold wind blew, accompanied by a complementary howl from wild dogs. Lize couldn't help but shiver at this scene.
The moment they entered the courtyard, she could sense the distinct change in atmosphere when compared to the exterior of the mansion. Just outside the mansion, the streets were clean and maintained, but the courtyard… was unnaturally cold, messy and dead. If one could measure the change of scenery in meters, then, perhaps it would be comparable to the distance from heaven to hell.
"Mr.. Mr. Rhode… are you really planning to buy t-this house?"
Lize subconsciously wrapped her arms around her body and stuttered in a low voice.
Rhode shook his head.
"It isn't a just plan."
"Because I have already bought it."
Suddenly, an awkward silence fell upon the duo as they stared at each other.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
"What?!!"
Lize broke the silence. Her mind reeled in shock and her eyes snapped wide open as she subconsciously rejected what she heard. If it were any other person, she would've thought that they'd be joking. But this was Rhode, and she knew that she heard his words correctly.
"You… you said that you've already bought it?"
"Yes, they only asked me for 500 gold coins, it was really a good deal."
"500 gold coins!"
Hearing this insane deal, Lize paused for a moment, then, as though she understood something surprising, she immediately covered her mouth in shock.
"This is Cyril's Haunted House!?"
In Deep Stone City, the infamous Cyril's Haunted House was a name that almost no one would want to speak of. Everybody knew it, but no one wanted to speak of it.
The Cyril family used to be a third-rate noble family in Deep Stone City. Unlike other families, the Cyril family's humble beginning began from art sculptures. The family head was Martin Cyril. He had an unimaginable talent in sculpting, especially sculpting the human body. All of his artworks were all lifelike and vivid. And him being recognized as the master sculptor in Deep Stone City wasn't any myth.
But it all changed because of a mysterious rock.
When Martin was 29 years old, he acquired a piece of white rock that he discovered from Deep Stone City's mine. While the details were not known, the master sculptor brought back this rock to his house to create his newest masterpiece.
At first, the people didn't care much about it. After all, as a master sculptor, he had his own pursuits in life. However, after some time, nobles began to be curious about what kind of art he could create from that rock. In the beginning, Martin's work cycle wasn't anything odd, and he would often lock himself in the room for a week, busying himself with the rock. This was when people started becoming excited about his next masterpiece.
But then, from that point on, strange things started to happen.
Cyril family maids began to disappear one after another, and no one knew what happened As a noble family, the Cyril family could afford to send a lot of people to find the missing people, but surprisingly, those people too, disappeared.
As time passed, not only the maids disappeared, other nearby people started disappearing too. It caused the nobles to panic. And not long after, a huge, major event befell the Cyril family. Martin Cyril's wife and daughter disappeared.
At this point, the people forgot about the masterpiece that Martin was working on and burst into his workroom, hoping that he had a solution to this problem. But alas, a horrific scene greeted them. They saw broken limbs scattered everywhere, and Martin's wife and daughter weren't spared either. Their remains were hanging from the ceiling while the master sculptor sat in the middle of the room, stroking a sculpture of a woman beside him.
The next thing that happened was very simple.
Martin was promptly apprehended, and he admitted that he had killed all those missing women. But he believed that their death was justified because it was for the perfection of art. By sacrificing their lives, they had performed a noble act, and it was worthy of respect.
Any sane person wouldn't be satisfied with his explanation and Deep Stone City sentenced him to death. But what happened next was incredibly surprising. After receiving his sentence, he somehow escaped the prison and turned mad. In order to catch him, the Deep Stone City garrison, mercenary association, and some nobles sent people to hunt him down. However, they did not anticipate that the weak master sculptor could actually slaughter dozens of advanced warriors and hundreds of soldiers. In the end, Martin succumbed to death after overextending his stamina in his workroom.
This tragedy shocked the entire Deep Stone City. Many people believed that the rock contained magic and tempted the master sculptor into becoming a murderous devil. And that very rock, which was carefully guarded by the city guards, mysteriously disappeared on the second day of Martin's death.
For a period, the whole Deep Stone City became unstable. A large number of Cyril family sculptures were smashed and destroyed. After that, the matter was gradually forgotten as time passed. But it was a pity that even after his death, he still attracted the attention of others.
The first victim was a noble family that had a good relationship with the Cyril family, and they came to take care of the property. However, after a month, all of them were found dead in the dining room, and in front of the corpses were decaying food that hadn't been touched by anyone for a long time.
Two years later, a second victim was struck. A wealthy merchant moved out from the city and migrated here. To assimilate into the upper society in the quickest way possible, he disregarded advice from others and bought this property. His ending was no better than the people from before. Half a month later, the wealthy merchant and all of his servants were found dead, hanging themselves from the ceiling. It was just as though they were happy going to heaven together.
The connection between these two terrible events caused people to avoid this haunted house. Even the Deep Stone City was helpless about this. And because of that, they had put the lowest price for it. Needless to say, 500 gold coins for such a large house was a terrific bargain, so, some people still gathered the courage to purchase it.
This time, the house owner was smarter, not only did he spend money to refurbish the house, but he also spent money to hire a team of strong mercenaries to guard the house.
But this time, it was even more unfortunate. The house owner didn't even last until the second day. Not a glimpse of light shone out of the house ever since then.
Of course, no one was even going to confirm the result since it was already clear as day.
Naturally, Lize had heard this since she was a resident of Deep Stone City for many years. So now that Rhode actually bought this house, she couldn't help but shiver in fright.
"M-Mr. Rhode, do you know what this place is? This place is h-…"
"Of course I know." Rhode waved his hand and interrupted her.
Not only did he know what happened before, but he also knew what would happen after. This was a place where the hidden boss was located. Back in the game, Cyril's Haunted House was one of his first few hidden quests. Therefore, he could still remember the questline vividly. However, now, it was different from before as he had enough preparation to beat this hidden boss.
"Don't worry; it's just a house. Moreover… I have made enough preparations for what is to come."
Rhode and Lize walked through the disordered courtyard and reached the entrance of the house. Through the slits of the decaying door, the darkness inside could be seen clearly. Rhode stretched out his hand and placed it on the door, then he turned his head and looked at Lize who had a nervous expression on her face.
"Are you ready?"
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Chapter 38: Shadow In The Haunted House
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"What did you say?!"
The old president stood up abruptly.
"That little devil brought Lize to Cyril's Haunted House??"
"I, too, just received the news, old buddy."
Sereck made a withered smile and said, "At first, I wanted to look for them and ask about their plans. But they're long gone by then. Not long after then I learned that they went to the City Hall to buy Cyril's property."
"Needless to say, after seeing his courageous move, I was very optimistic about his future."
"Nonsense! Simply nonsense!"
The old president slammed the table.
"That place isn't some casual area that they can visit. Immediately pull them back!"
Sereck shook his head. "It's too late. They're already inside."
But soon, a smile emerged from his face.
"But thinking about it, old friend, why are you so anxious? Didn't you hate people who broke mercenary rules? Isn't it for the better now if both of them disappeared. Their mercenary group would be immediately disbanded and you'll gain one more slot. Why bother with them now?"
"That is that, and this is this!"
The old president frowned. Apparently, he was very dissatisfied.
"That kid had just been appointed as a guild leader, but the first action he took didn't have the responsibility of his members in mind. Sereck, hurry to the haunted house. Perhaps it isn't too late to salvage the situation."
"Do not be so nervous, old friend, maybe things are not as bad as you think," Sereck said calmly.
The old president revealed a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean?"
After so many years with Sereck, the old president understood that he wasn't a ruthless character. Since he said those words, he must have realized something.
"…Nothing."
After neglecting the president's curiosity on purpose, Sereck shrugged and spread out his hands, revealing an elegant smile.
"You had never fought him before, so you might not understand him. But I'm different… Perhaps… this young man may even create a miracle. Since he dared to buy the mansion, he definitely had a plan to resolve that haunted house issue. As for us, we just have to watch quietly on the sidelines."
"Also, what did you say to Lize…? That this is a gamble? Yes. This is a gamble, so we also have to gamble on him. If Rhode could solve this mystery curse, then it is a good thing for us. I believe that he has the ability to do so."
"Hmph. It's just the pride of young people." The old president snorted in disdain.
"Just because he revealed his extraordinary power and now he thinks he is invincible. There are many of such fools, and he isn't any different."
But Sereck merely grinned and countered, "But there are also many geniuses."
"Whether this kid is a fool or a genius, we currently don't know, but I think that it will all be revealed soon."
The old president rolled his eyes. "I just think that it is too… exaggerated."
"Frankly… if it weren't for the fact that you'd never left Deep Stone City for decades, I would really doubt that you didn't have any relation to this kid since you care for him so much."
"…And I'd love to have anything to do with him." Sereck sighed.
"I'm getting old… Although I did not feel like this yesterday, but after those events… sigh…"
Sereck shifted his gaze upwards and sighed once more.
"Thinking back, what did I do when I was at his age? Now, look at this group of children… Don't you feel that we can't keep up with the time anymore?"
"But history will still have our place."
The old president played with his pen in his hand as he spoke.
"Young people have their own glory, and we also have our own pride. And now is not the time for you to feel old… Alright, since you believe in him so much, then I won't interfere anymore. But, if there's still no movement in three days, then you must be ready to take people to collect their corpses."
In the gloomy corridor, the rotting wooden planks creaked under heavy pressure.
Although right now, the current state of the house was in total chaos, but once upon a time, it was an elegant and gorgeous estate with dark red velvet carpets, intricate sculptures, and brilliant crystalline chandeliers.
However, as the saying goes: time washes away everything. In this case, time slowly destroyed the splendor of the house.
The cold wind sifted through the fractures in the glass windows and ruffled the curtains. A huge chandelier sprawled on the floor, with its crystals strewn all over the room. And on the walls, the once beautiful paintings were covered in blemishes and cobwebs.
While the scene looked aesthetically unpleasing, it certainly checked all the boxes of a haunted house theme.
Crash.
Rhode smacked his hands together to rid the residue dust on his sleeve after he threw a rotted wooden table at his feet, to the side.
Like a frightened rabbit, Lize jumped once she heard the noise and turned around to stare at Rhode with a pale face.
"W-What are you doing, Mr. Rhode?"
"Cleaning up."
He made a hand gesture and signaled the Spirit Bird to conjure a strong wind to sweep the dust that had been accumulating throughout the years.
Rhode then faced towards Lize with his usual indifferent expression and said, "After all, no one had lived in this ghostly place for a few years. It's time to throw away these things… As a mercenary group stronghold, we don't require a decor like those noble houses; it's so much trouble, just a simple decor would do. Ah, but this carpet quality is not bad, we can keep it, what do you think?"
"Si, sir!"
Lize almost cried when she saw Rhode acting like he just bought a new house and came to decorate the layout.
The pressure on Lize wasn't little. After all, she heard nasty rumors about this haunted house. This house had claimed the lives of many young women and soldiers, and as a result, her inner danger perception was constantly on high alert. Even a slight rustle of the curtain could startle her. This couldn't be blamed on her though. Despite facing death multiple times in the face, she hadn't fought against an enemy that couldn't be seen.
Rhode obviously noticed her alarmed expression, but he did not say anything. He recalled that the first time he came here, he also acted like her, carefully examining every corner of the house since he was afraid that a monster would suddenly appear out of nowhere. But at that time, even Rhode did not expect that the danger would come at the most unexpected moment. But now, he was familiar with the quest process and was quite disappointed that he'd once felt terribly afraid of it. After all, it was his first time being that dreadfully frightened.
Even though he said he was 'cleaning', but it was nothing more than a facade. Although he had already received the deed of the land from the city hall, his mercenary group system didn't recognize the stronghold. This meant that they had not completed the requirements, which was to clear this haunted house. That was why he brought Lize here to help him as she was the best candidate with her holy skills. And since his only subordinate was Lize, he had to somehow find a way to train her to keep up with his speed. However, Lize wasn't a player, and thus, he couldn't blatantly say things like: 'C'mere, let's complete this quest together and level up.' One must realize that NPCs in the game leveled up differently from the player. As such, Rhode had no choice but to trick this poor girl to come here with him.
The sun finally went down.
Darkness crept in and shrouded the skies. Now, the already-dark house was even darker. Only the fireplace in the center of the hall emitted a source of light.
"Mr. Rhode, I think we should go back. We can still clean up tomorrow."
Lize felt increasingly uncomfortable the darker the house became. It wasn't a physical feeling, but rather it was an instinctive sense of danger.
"No need. Let us just take a break here, since this is our stronghold."
He was very clear about her uncomfortable feeling right now. When he entered this area he received a system prompt —— Entered the evil domain.
To the beings belonging to the light, evil and darkness was their biggest foe. The eternal opposition between good and evil clearly drawn the line between the two sides. This means that if one entered the domain of the opposition, an absolute pressure would bear down upon them. And right now, since Lize was in the evil domain, she would feel oppressed by the surroundings and would feel uneasy. After all, she was a half angel, half human, so at least she was still able to maintain this state.
It's almost time.
Once he confirmed the quest trigger from his memories, he reached out his hand and summoned a bright red card quietly.
Clang…!
And finally, at this time, a loud cry rang out.
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Clang… Clang… Clang…
It was a bell sound.
The sound echoed in the dark. It was as though it rang deeply in the hearts of people. Rhode stood up and scanned his surroundings meticulously, and at the same time, he clenched the card on his palm.
"Lize."
"Ah, yes!"
"Do you still remember what we did in that town before?"
"I remember!"
Once she recalled her previous encounter, Lize immediately remembered what she was supposed to do. Her body posture was firm as she illuminated the air around them with a warm, light ball. And as though something reacted to the holy light, a strong wind suddenly blew, causing the embers to scatter in all directions.
"Mr. Rhode, is this enemy something similar to what we fought back then?"
"Its characteristics are somewhat similar."
Hearing Rhode's indifferent reply, Lize's heart finally became a lot calmer. If it were in the past, she would undoubtedly be unable to keep her composure. However, after gaining experience from the battle in the Fog Ruins, she was elated that she found out that her ability could gain the upper hand with those terrifying monsters. After all, ever since forever, her role was to stand behind the frontlines, unable to help directly.
But now, it was all different. Under special circumstances, she could participate in battles as well and not just rely on the protection of her team. This gave Lize a staggering amount of confidence. Thus, once she heard Rhode mention about Fog Ruins, her fear of this haunted house reduced somewhat.
Since Rhode mentioned about it, then he must have a way !
Subconsciously, Lize began to trust and rely on Rhode who she had just known not too long ago.
The battle already started.
Rhode raised his vigilance. He swept his gaze carefully at his surroundings, but without any warning, in a quick motion, he flipped his right hand. The Star Mark appeared on Rhode's hand, and he immediately sliced towards the darkness without any hesitation. In a fluid motion, he followed up by throwing out his sword. Suddenly, a scorching wave of flames formed at the position of his sword, which soon unveiled a black hound covered in flames.
The Flame Killer.
The fire hound immediately went into its battle stance. It arched its body towards the back and gripped the ground tightly with its claws. The Flame Killer then gave a low roar. As an elemental creature, it had a keen sense of danger, which in turn, responded with a growl instinctively.
"Lize, cast a shield over yourself. Remember, if you encounter any danger, the first thing you must do is to use a healing spell… I think you know how to do that."
"Yes, sir."
After being reassured with his confidence, Lize quickly calmed down. Rhode nodded his head slightly with satisfaction. With his keen observation, he felt that this girl was almost perfect in her meticulous nature, but it was a pity that she had no definite goal. So when he issued a command to Lize, her personality immediately changed, and she wasn't the scared and frightened girl from before.
"Follow me."
Rhode turned around and walked towards the hall.
There was a deathly silence along the exterior corridor.
A chilling wind blew continuously through the broken windows. The frame kept slamming against the window sill, causing eerie echoes throughout the house.
At the first glance, nothing seemed to be different.
However, some nasty beings were already in motion.
Rhode noticed a shadow moving, and it finally hid in a corner. The Flame Killer also growled in excitement. From behind its razor-sharp canine teeth, an intense light gathered in its throat, and tiny licks of flame flickered around its mouth.
Suddenly, a human sculpture that was missing half of its body appeared out of the darkness and flew towards him, as if something hurled it.
It's coming!
Facing this attack, Rhode flicked his sword towards the incoming sculpture, slicing it cleanly into two.
Boom!
The sculpture broke apart when it landed on the floor. At the same time, Lize felt a shiver down her spine.
She subconsciously turned around and discovered a bluish human figure on the steps of the stairs.
These were evil spirits that existed on this continent. A tragic soul that couldn't leave the world because an evil source of power had tainted them. They were nothing more than a former husk of its previous self, possessing no sentience, but only deep hatred towards the living. And of course, as a Spirit Master, Lize certainly had considerable knowledge of them.
Now that she had been through the Fog Ruins, she had even more confidence to deal with this evil spirit. Thus, she formed her own strategy in her mind before attacking the evil spirit unhesitantly.
However, just before she could take action, Rhode stretched out his arm towards Lize's shoulder.
"Mr. Rhode?"
Sensing Rhode's odd behavior, she turned around with surprise in her eyes.
"There is a better way, Lize."
Facing Lize's doubtful gaze, Rhode's expression maintained its tranquility. He lowered his head and whispered something to Lize. When she heard what he said, slowly, her expression turned from doubt, to surprise, and finally to joy.
"I will try my best Mr. Rhode.
"Very good, then leave the rest to me."
More than a dozen of evil spirits appeared and surrounded the duo. Their ethereal forms floated in the air as they stretched out their arms and screamed. They rushed over with the intention to tear apart their living bodies.
However, their rash actions were futile.
To the side, the black hound that had been dying for battle, leaped and launched a sea of flames from its terrifying jaws towards the evil spirits.
The ultimate weakness of undead creatures was the holy element, but closely following that was the fire element. In this battle, Rhode possessed both of them. That was the reason why he wasn't afraid of challenging this quest. If it was only by himself, he would surely not play with his life with a measly 500 gold coins.
When faced with Fire Breath, the evil spirits screamed in agony. Their ethereal bodies were immune to physical attacks, but it was useless against magical attacks. Soon, two to three spirits disappeared as they died to the fire elemental attack. Fire Breath had no way to discern its targets and resulted in the furniture being caught in the flames as well.
The evil spirits formation began to weaken, and at this time, Rhode activated Shadow Flash.
In a flash, as though he was a swallow flying over the fence, a dull shadow passed through the wall of flames unhindered. Before the evil spirits could even react, a white sword had already penetrated through their cores. One by one, they fell like flies.
Swoosh.
An evil spirit that attempted to block the attack was sliced into two like a hot knife through butter. Soon, the rest of the evil spirits somehow managed to comprehend that he wasn't a foe to be trifled with and they retreated with great haste. They flew towards the wall and disappeared.
The stairs then began to shake.
A rusty armor suddenly made a creaking sound. It slowly raised a gigantic sword over its head and smashed down towards Rhode.
But before it could even pull the attack off, the black hound noticed and preemptively sprayed its flame towards the armor.
[EXP 360/2500]
Not enough.
Rhode glanced at the prompt with the side of his eyes and found that his experience gain was too slow. It was far below the time at Twilight Forest. But it was no mystery why. Since these evil spirits weren't elite monsters, he could easily kill a dozen of them. Thus, naturally the experience wouldn't be worth much. But to Rhode, there was more important things to be done.
Rhode saw his system prompt and found that his experience increased too slow, it was far beyond the time at the Twilight Forest. But it was no wonder. After all, these evil spirits were not elite monsters and he could easily kill a dozen, so naturally, the experience wasn't worth that much… But to Rhode, there were more important things that he needed to do.
He turned his head and stared at the girl on the stairs.
Rhode could hear the screams of the evil spirits clearly.
Observing the cold and dead figure, Lize raised her right hand as she recalled Rhode's words from before.
"The healing light's usage isn't only for healing wounds. Remember: Condense, overlap, and compress. Then cast it. I believe that you can do it."
Condense…
She could sense the sacred power coalescing by her own will and slowly reaching its peak. According to the process, she could already cast the healing light, but she did not do so.
Overlap…
The sacred power continued to condense and fluctuate. She realized that after reaching a certain point, the concentration gradually became effortless.
Compress…
Once the two types of sacred powers began to merge, Lize's spirit power was already hitting the limit. Her palms were trembling and her expression was as though she couldn't keep it in any longer.
At this time, some evil spirits managed to use the delayed casting time to rush to her side.
When Lize regained consciousness, an evil spirit with hollow eyes brimming with deep hatred suddenly appeared before her. She subconsciously took half a step back and the energy on her hands vanished because of her fear. At that moment, a sword emerged from behind and pierced through the evil spirit.
"Again," Rhode said with a calm tone.
"Yes."
Lize bit her lips and raised her hand once again. Learning from her failed experience, she quickly condensed the energy between her hands. Staring at the evil spirit from afar, Lize clenched her teeth and reached forward with her right hand.
Swoosh!
A brilliant light appeared from thin air. The beam that was as thick as a pillar, engulfed the evil spirits in an area of attack and before those spirits could react, they turned to ashes.
"Eh?"
Lize retracted her hand and watched what happened before her with surprise. Of course, she knew that the healing spell could damage undead creatures, but she didn't expect that it was THAT powerful.
Holy soul bless me…
Can this even be called a healing spell? The power completely overwhelms the temple bishop's Hammer of Trial.
However, before she could even switch her expression from shock to joy, Rhode's calm words was like a cold bucket of water splashed across her face as he pulled her back to reality
"Keep up the work. This is just the beginning."
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This battle was somewhat odd. It was dark and silent, yet intense.
From the exterior, no one could tell that an intense battle was raging within. The indication that a battle was happening were the sporadic flashes of light leaking out the windows.
The Star Mark curved in an arc.
Whoosh
Countless of decaying wood flew in all directions whenever the white sword hacked down. And after every slash, a bright, red flame would soon follow as it incinerated the evil spirits. As much as they tried to escape through the walls, they still couldn't outrun the sea of flames and were eventually swallowed. Besides the leftover burn marks, not even a piece of slag was left behind.
Rhode and the Flame Killer's teamwork steadily improved as they battled the evil spirits. He used this quest not only to temper Lize's skill, but also to build his teamwork with his summoning spirit. After all, the summoning spirit that he possessed had various variations, and the three cards in his deck right now were cards that he had never obtained before in the game. While he did have experience with similar cards, ultimately, the characteristics were still different, so he still had to do trial and error to find out the most efficient way. The battle with Sereck was a good example. If he was familiar with the Flame Killer's personality and character, the match probably wouldn't have ended as a draw, but a win instead.
However, although there weren't any 'ifs' in this world, it didn't mean that there was no way to make up for it either.
Rhode retrieved his sword and retreated. This sudden change in behavior caused the evil spirits to swarm over. However, how can it be that easy to overcome Rhode? The moment he retreated, the black hound switched positions with him and launched a breath of fire towards the evil spirits.
One covered while one retreated. Their timing was impeccable.
And once again, the flame swept over and engulfed the evil spirits. These low-level evil spirits who were even weaker than the will-o-wisps were ideal opponents for practice.
Lize's face was tense. Her right arm was constantly in motion as she cast light beams one after another. Whenever the holy rays poured from the heavens, multiple evil spirits would wither and perish. Indeed, this Spirit Master was a fast learner. Within less than an hour, she was already able to master it. Now, she even attempted to alter the strength and speed of the skill…
Rhode knew that this method of casting was somewhat unorthodox. Although the skill itself didn't differentiate between good or evil, but the element still had to correspond with the spell used. For example, just like a stone, as long it has the title 'stone' in it, it will be a meaning object that existed in the world. Spells were the same, while it had its own mysterious definition and letters, water spells were still water spells, and ice spells were ice spells. If one treated water and ice as one, or vice versa, then the result wouldn't be favorable.
Lize was at such a stage. Since she wasn't at level 10 yet, she didn't have the means to learn the holy spell 'Sword of Judgment'. However, that didn't mean that it was impossible to cast. Since she had an half-angel bloodline, it could make up for her other half which would weaken her holy power. And furthermore, it was beneficial for her to adapt to the attack rhythm as soon as possible.
"Keep focusing on the rhythm of the spell. The enemy's speed isn't fast, but you still have to pay attention to your own safety. Some undead monsters possess long-range abilities…" Rhode said calmly without looking at Lize, and suddenly, his eyes flashed to the side, "For example… the one on the left!"
He tugged Lize's collar abruptly and pulled her to safety. Less than a second later, a fiendish green light sped by her previous position and smashed into the wall nearby. After confirming that she didn't sustain any injuries, she looked towards the source of the attack and discovered a few skeletons holding bows and arrows aiming towards them.
The eerie and desolate, empty eye sockets lit up in the darkness like fireflies in the night.
As expected, it's coming.
Rhode clenched his sword tightly. If it were just mere evil spirits that dwelled in this haunted mansion, it would be impossible for them to last so long. Deep Stone City didn't lack any strong warriors. Even the 'Light Swordsman' could singlehandedly slaughter these mindless monsters. Thus, this mansion undoubtedly housed something much more mysterious, and terrifying. Now, the actual battle had just begun.
"Lize, cast your shield above now!" Rhode shouted suddenly. He raised his sword above his head and pointed his left hand towards the front. Upon receiving Rhode's command, the Flame Killer rushed forward immediately and broke past the barricade of evil spirits before landing right in the middle of the skeleton archers.
Fwee…
The greenish arrow shot out once again. But it was deflected off the protective shield that Lize cast.
Rhode shifted his stance and used his sword to parry the evil spirits circling them.
Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed Lize's hand and said, "Let's move. Don't forget to re-cast your shield over yourself." Before she could even reply, he immediately pulled her out of the encirclement and ran out towards the left side of the stairs.
The skeleton archers didn't possess much threat in melee attacks. Before they could launch a counterattack, the black hound had already rushed towards their flanks and tore their formation apart with its ferocious claws. Those fortunate ones who managed to escape the first wave of attacks immediately suffered from a sea of flames.
Third floor.
When Rhode reached the third floor, he could faintly hear the clashes between the skeleton archers and his black hound. Occasionally, a roar would shake the entire mansion. Rhode knew that the black hound wouldn't last much longer against the myriad of archers. However, since it didn't matter because he could quickly resummon it after its death as long he had enough soul power, he didn't worry too much.
"S-sir, it can't be that you're thinking of burning down this place, right?" Lize asked with a worried expression.
Rhode glanced at her oddly, "No, I'm not planning to tear down this place. After all, this is our stronghold…"
After saying that, he raised his sword and swung it in a downward arc.
Clang! His sword collided with something tremendously heavy, causing Rhode's sword to bend at an awkward angle before being forcibly rammed into the wall. Although the thin, wooden wall cushioned the impact, Rhode still lost his balance.
"Now!" Rhode shouted to Lize who was hiding behind him and she immediately stretched out her hand, casting another light beam.
The beam swiftly landed on the new undead monsters, but compared to the evil spirits from before, the vitality of these undead were clearly superior. After receiving the full brunt of the attack from Lize, they merely took a few steps back. At the same time, the area surrounding them was lit up by the attack.
Finally, they could make out the features of their foes.
A decaying skeleton that had a gaping hole in its abdomen appeared before them. The undead towered almost at two meters high; rotting flesh hung at the edges. It wore a damaged armor while wielding a sword that was severely chipped. Although it was stronger than the evil spirits, it still couldn't help but retreat several steps. After all, the holy element was not something an undead could resist.
"This is…" Lize stared at the monster with a disgusted face.
"This is a zombie… I will initiate the attack. Pay attention to both sides."
Rhode arched his body downwards and jumped nimbly towards the nearest handrail. While in the air, he twisted his body and dipped his sword downwards, generating the momentum which caused his body to spin, violently slashing towards the giant zombie's chest.
When Rhode's attack was about to reach the zombie, a sword suddenly appeared from the darkness and parried it. The zombie didn't waste time and used the opportunity to launch a crazed attack towards Rhode. It opened both of its palms and rushed forward. A normal human definitely wouldn't use this kind of self-harming move, but for an undead, it didn't feel any pain so these sort of attacks were terrifyingly dangerous.
However, Rhode's demeanor didn't change the slightest. He flipped over his right palm and a ripple effect formed by rays of light emerged from the sword.
Sharp Edge Technique, activate!
Just when the zombie was about to grab Rhode, his sword gleamed and split the left shoulder of the zombie cleanly. With the buff on his sword, his strikes became even more deadly. It didn't matter if it was dry skin or thick bones, his sword would slice through all of them easily. Another slash came in quick succession and sliced the entire left arm off as easily as though it was paper.
The sword appeared once again as it hacked down towards Rhode.
At the rear, Lize's expression tensed up. When the zombie attempted its first sword attack on Rhode, she had detected this malicious intention lingering in the shadows. Before she could speak to him, the sword was already beside Rhode and in a few seconds, that sword would cut Rhode's head off.
But Rhode pulled off an unexpected move.
Instead of dodging the sword by retreating, he leaned his body towards the source of the attack as though he lost his balance. The sword which followed its intended trajectory, missed its target and slashed at empty space.
The body emitted a putrid stench, and Rhode couldn't help but gag slightly. But soon, he managed to regain his composure and rammed his shoulder into the decaying body before raising his sword to his front.
A brilliant light emerged from the tip of his sword, and he drew a beautiful crescent moon as he swung his sword gracefully downwards. However, while it may seem harmless, the attack was nothing less than fatal.
The undead body finally stopped moving. Dark lines slowly appeared on the body where Rhode had cut.
"Sigh…"
Rhode stood on the top of the giant undead carcass as he patted the dust and decaying matter off his shoulder. Back in the game, he couldn't experience – nor did he want to experience this foul stench. But since this was the real world now, he could finally understand why the description of the zombie was 'zombies had a strong stench.' He was even thinking of discarding this set of clothes that he wore today.
"Let's continue to move on."
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The situation wasn't good.
The evil spirits on the first floor were low-level monsters, but the undead was on another level altogether. Although they were dead, they still retained their fighting instinct. On the exterior, their rotting, decaying bodies might seem fragile, but it still could withstand a full blast of holy energy. This forced Rhode and Lize to utilize the most common formation: Two at the front and one at the back. Rhode and the Flame Killer acted as the vanguard while Lize stayed at the back to cast supportive skills. At this point of time, Lize no longer retained selfish thoughts about taking part in the battle anymore.
Rhode had almost arrived at his destination.
He scrutinized the patterns on the wall and compared it to his memories. At the same time, he waved his sword and tore through the undead's defense. As an intense light spread out, it pierced through the decaying bodies mercilessly, pinning their bodies to the wall on the side.
While he continued to move forward, at the back, Lize creased her brows together in annoyance.
The undead who blocked their path did not only consist of mercenary corpses, but there were also undead servants and even undead children! All of these were the previous victims of this cursed house, and because they were under an evil spell, they were reanimated and forced to do evil acts.
"What kind of horrible being would do something terrible like this?" Lize clenched her teeth in anger as she muttered under her breath.
"Every vile being is capable of doing something evil. This is no exception," Rhode answered without looking at her. He concentrated on cutting down the undead in front of him while his other hand resummoned the Flame Killer.
"But this is too much!"
Suddenly, an undead wearing a maid uniform that appeared out of nowhere, it opened its horrifying mouth and rushed towards Rhode.
Slash!
"The original source of power came from humans," Rhode said while piercing the undead's forehead with Star Mark. Then he swung his sword to his side and continued, "No matter what's the motives, the result won't change."
"And that's why, when you made a decision, you also have to face the consequences."
"Eh?"
Lize was stunned for a moment. She never thought that Rhode would say such a thing. But before she could reply, something cold and heavy fell suddenly latched onto her shoulders.
"Ah!!"
The pain caused her to scream loudly. When she turned around, her entire body immediately stiffened.
Her terror-filled eyes locked with the empty sockets of an undead child on her back. The grey, decaying undead being opened its mouth, releasing a putrid stench of rotting meat. Its two tiny hands had clamped on her shoulders like a cat.
When it realized that Lize had discovered its presence, it quickly climbed up and targeted Lize's neck. At this time, a white flash of light streaked past the undead child, causing it to pause for a moment before falling to the floor, headless. The body that lost its head swiftly disintegrated into dust and disappeared in a crack on the floor.
Lize stared at the ground blankly for a few seconds. She didn't arouse until Rhode called out to her.
"Be careful."
"Ah, yes!"
After the sudden adrenaline rush, Lize felt a stinging pain on her shoulder. She hastily removed the poison from her body and recast a shield over herself once again. However, she still felt that something was off.
No more enemies?
Staring at her front, she realized that the zombies surrounding them had already turned into dust, and the scene was eerily quiet.
"What happened…?"
"It seems like that the enemy is thinking of another strategy to deal with us."
Rhode flicked his sword to the side and turned to Lize. When he spotted the wound, he frowned a little.
"How is it?"
"I-it's okay. It's nothing much…"
Lize stood up and replied in a low voice. The scene from before had caused some shock to her, and she had yet to recover from it.
"Let me see." Rhode insisted as he eyed the edges of the wound before lowering himself towards her. However, he did not forget that he was in enemy territory, so he signaled the Flame Killer to be alert for any movement.
"No.. really…! It's nothing…!"
Lize started to panic. She subconsciously wrapped her arms around her shoulder and shook her head vigorously.
"Let. Me. See."
Rhode was indifferent to her rejection and repeated himself again.
Lize went silent for a moment before deciding to put down her hand.
The wounded areas were easily spotted as there were ten blood stained holes on her back which contrasted against her white robe. Dark, red blood slowly oozed out from the wound and trickled downwards.
Rhode then wasted no time as he tore off her outer garments surrounding the wound.
"Have you removed the poison?"
"Yes, there should be no problem."
"That's good."
Rhode nodded and did not continue to say anything. He took out a bottle on his waist and began to dress the wound.
A sharp sensation came over her and Lize bit her lower lip in an attempt to alleviate the pain. When she looked up and saw Rhode focusing on bandaging her wound, her heart felt extremely complex.
"Mr. Rhode…"
"Yes?"
"This… I'm very sorry about before… I didn't pay attention…"
"Do not apologize to me. It's not like I was the one injured."
"Uh…"
Lize was speechless before she suddenly burst out laughing.
"So, sorry, I…"
"As I said, do not apologize to me."
"Ah, yes, right…" Lize said with a gentle laugh.
She finally found out the problem. She smiled and did not continue to say anything as she quietly observed at the man before her.
What kind of person is he?
Lize had questioned this herself countless of times. Before she became a mercenary, she had seen a lot of people. And after becoming a mercenary, she had met even more. But after so long, she had not discovered one that was similar to Rhode. He was just a little bit older than herself, but he was full of confidence and never doubted his own words. Sometimes, he was even overbearing, but how did she trust him so much? Of course, this man isn't even romantic; he rarely smiled, which made him very boring…
"Alright."
Rhode's words cause Lize to recover from her surprise and to her surprise, she realized that her injury was already cleanly dressed.
"Try to move your shoulder. Is there any problem?"
"It's okay if I don't move it too much…"
As a Spirit Master, naturally, she knew how to take care of herself. If it weren't because that the wound was located in a difficult place, she wouldn't need to bother Rhode to help her.
"Very good."
Rhode nodded and stood up.
"Be prepared. We will continue to move soon. We don't have much time to waste."
From the previous battle, the undead realized that Rhode was very strong and no longer appeared needlessly. Everything was quiet, but the two of them knew that this was the calm before the storm. He calculated based on his experience on clearing quests, and Lize relied on her experience as a mercenary as well as her angel instinct. Soon, they arrived at a door; it was the only object that was still clean and intact in the house. And in a dilapidated house with cobwebs and debris all over, without a doubt, there was something strange about this door. However, Rhode easily recognized this place. It was Cyril's sculpting room, the beginning of everything.
"There's something inside…"
Lize swallowed her saliva nervously. She felt her shoulder stiffen. A dense and suffocating aura of evil escaped from the gap beneath the door. This was her first time experiencing such a thick aura that could almost be felt physically.
Rhode opened the door slowly.
And what they saw next, rendered them entirely speechless.
If they wanted to use a single word to describe this… scene, what could they use?
Evil? Filthy? Dirty?
That wasn't it.
The feeling that came from this room was ——— holy.
A white world appeared before them. Everything was clean and seemingly sanctified. Gorgeous, white pillars supported the domed shape interior, and rays of moonlight shone through the hole in the ceiling. And under that moonlight, a statue stood in tranquility.
It was a woman.
She was naked, her hand was covering her body, and her hair was long. It had a beautiful unworldly face; its meticulously crafted facial features, a touch of playfulness in its beautiful smile, anyone who saw her at first glance would not hesitate to think that this was the most beautiful work of art.
"So beautiful…"
Even Lize could not help but praise it. At this moment, the evil atmosphere, the strange undead, all seemed to be unimportant and what only matters was the existence of the statue. She had an uncontrollable impulse to walk forward and admire the statue close-up, but Rhode quickly grabbed her shoulder.
"Ah."
When she was pulled suddenly, she felt surprised and slightly annoyed, but it also managed to bring back her clarity. At the same time, Rhode whistled and gestured forward. The Flame Killer rushed towards the statue immediately without hesitation, and when it got close, it unleashed its terrifying claws and teeth.
But alas, it wasn't enough.
"Swoosh!!"
Multiple slender arms suddenly appeared from the walls and floor and wrapped around the Flame Killer's body and limbs.
"Woo!!"
The black hound struggled with all its might. It even tried to bite the arm that wrapped around its front paw, but the slender arms did not wait for the black hound to retaliate before quickly tearing apart its trapped foe. Upon death, the black hound's explosive characteristics activated once again.
"Boom!!!"
A massive pillar of fire filled in the room, and at the same time, a sharp cry resounded from the sky!
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"AHH———!!!"
The whole room shook violently when a terrifying screech pierced the air. It was as though a hundred of people screamed at the same time. The white tiles on the floor began to tear apart because of the explosion. It was until then that Lize realized why the room was entirely white — the 'tiles' were made out of bones that compressed against each other till no gaps could be seen!
A chill ran down Lize's spine. If not for Rhode's timely reminder, she could imagine herself entering this horrifying room and who knew what would happen to her after that?
Lize subconsciously turned towards Rhode who was standing beside her, his arms folded and his face indifferent as usual.
How did he know…?
Rhode felt her surprised gaze, but he eventually chose not to explain himself. Telling her that he had died here once, and resurrected again wouldn't be a wise choice… right?
Now wasn't the time to think about such things.
"Lize, get ready to attack."
Once the sea of white bones retreated, the black and dirty stone floor revealed itself. The atmosphere of the room changed drastically, and the previous dream-like beautiful ambiance disappeared. However, the statue still stood beautifully, its holiness and purity weren't affected at all even after all that happened.
But there was no time to appreciate this beautiful disaster. He gave Lize specific instructions and rushed headfirst into the room. While he was running towards the center of the room, he thrust his arm forward, and in his palm, a bright red card materialized once again, turning into a sea of flames which enveloped his whole body.
Countless of bony arms shot towards Rhode, but before it could reach him, the flames surrounding him lashed out and deflected all of the arms. The Flame Killer's anger was apparent. Even though summoned spirits do not experience true death, but the pain they felt was still genuine.
While each individual bone arm didn't carry a high attack power, they made up for their shortcoming with sheer numbers. Rhode didn't have any ranged area of attack spells, and Lize's spells just didn't have enough power to cause significant damage. Even though they could still eventually wear this foe down by attacking and retreating carefully, but they wouldn't be able to sustain their consumption of soul power.
Thus, Rhode had no choice but to utilize a rather odd and unorthodox strategy — throwing the Flame Killer like a grenade and resurrecting it! Then he would just rinse and repeat the process.
The poor black hound. Its pitiful, heartwrenching whimpers fell on deaf ears and could only helplessly obey its master.
Clang!
Rhode helped block an attack that was heading for the black hound. But it wasn't because he had good intentions, but instead, he wanted to inch closer so he could throw the black hound deeper.
Sure enough, once he got closer, the massive number of bone arms quickly forced Rhode to take a defensive stance. Facing the countless arms head-on wasn't a smart choice, thus, Rhode retreated decisively and 'intentionally' left his summoned spirit behind.
Any idiot would realize that this was a trap. Fortunately, these bone arms appeared to be boneheaded as well. They foolishly grabbed at the pitiful hound and dragged it back with them.
Boom!!!
Without hesitation, the arms tore the black hound apart and it blew up once again. This time, the sea of bones fell to the floor due to the impact. The white bones now were charred black, and some were even broken into thousands of fragments.
Rhode flipped his palm again and summoned the red card.
Luckily there was no way for the spirit to reject him. When the black hound appeared, it stared at Rhode with dead eyes. A great resentment filled its heart, and it lost its vicious demeanor from before. If not for the soulbound contract between the both of them, this poor 'living grenade' would immediately turn around and dash off without hesitation.
The 'cool' Rhode was yet again indifferent towards the black hound's apparent resentment, and he just whistled, indicating it to continue moving forward.
And so, the battle started again.
Surely, if the undead had brains, it would've already decayed. Thus, it didn't question why did something that was supposed to be dead, didn't stay dead. Facing the black hound that rushed towards them again, they just tore it apart like before without hesitation and tasted the explosion repeatedly. The Flame Killer's explosion on death wasn't something that can be blocked easily. After multiple explosions, the sea of bones decreased by a good 30%. It was up to this point when they decided to fill this sudden gap, but little did they expect that Rhode had already quietly crept near them.
Since Rhode had completed this quest before, naturally, he knew where the problem was. The sea of bones was just a distraction and the real enemy was the holy statue at the center.
"Lize, shield!" Rhode shouted towards Lize who was standing further back.
Soon, a golden light wrapped around Rhode's body. This action caused the bone arms to target him, but Rhode was ready as he welcomed them with the sword in his hand.
Slash!
With a flash, Rhode tore the bones apart. Then, as a follow-up, Rhode activated his Shadow Flash and leaped to the sky.
While Rhode's speed multiplied several times after activating Shadow Flash, it still could not totally negate the danger he was facing. When they came in a large number, speed wasn't a problem for them. Soon, many arms trailed behind Rhode, most of them missed him, but some still managed hit the shield which resulted in their fingertips being injured.
Lize then made her move.
Raising both of her hands, pillars of holy light fell from the skies and crushed the bone arms that tried to block Rhode's path. Bits and pieces of bone matter fell onto the floor.
Although it wasn't a genuine spell, since Lize had a faint bloodline of an angel, it still could be cast. As though burned by fire, the sea of bones began to tremble and screamed in a fury. Soon, these bones formed into a 'stream' and speared towards the entrance where Lize was standing.
Meanwhile, Rhode began to lose speed.
After all, he wasn't an angel. Even though Shadow Flash was able to increase his speed, it still had a time limit. Moreover, gravity was a constant, and it bore down on him continually, limiting his movement. Clearly, uncle Newton was not satisfied with him wanted to use him as an example to give a memorable lesson.
The bone arms were beneath him, and Rhode who had lost the momentum to cross the barrier of bones to reach the statue was in dire straits. If he fell into the sea of bones, it would be the end of his life.
But Rhode had another plan up his sleeve.
He reached out his arm and grasp onto a green card which materialized on his palm.
The Spirit Bird.
After appearing, the bird immediately circled Rhode, generating a wind current that prevented him from falling. Then he clenched his teeth and continued to push forward.
This one move grasped the victory. When he jumped again, he managed to reach the top of the sculpture. Looking at the white and smooth statue before him, he felt pity. Then he shook his head and split the statue down from the middle.
But things did not go as smooth as he had expected.
Swoosh!!
When the sword was about to land on the statue, countless of bones suddenly shot towards him from below. However, in an instant, a pair of wings appeared in front of him and blocked the attack.
Clang clang clang!!!
The wings began to glow, and the shining bright feathers slowly fell off one by one as they floated off in the air. Now, the gap between Rhode's sword and the statue was less than a meter.
Swoosh!!!
A gust of wind suddenly swept past.
Rhode only saw a black shadow passing through him, and the next thing he felt was a massive impact on his flank. He could not maintain his balance anymore as he flew towards the wall at the side. Lize was momentarily dazed, she tried to move forward to help Rhode but she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder, forcing her to step back.
"Mr. Rhode!"
"Hmph.."
Rhode snorted and pressed his body against the wall to stand up. He could feel pain all over his body. But at this time, the unknown wind once again swept past him.
Relying on his seven years of gaming experience, Rhode turned his head and saw what had hit him previously.
It was an extended tailbone, lifted high, like a snake coiling the statue. After being attacked twice, the bones became cautious and combined into a sharp tail.
Five meters…
Rhode calculated in his mind for a moment and came up with an idea.
At this time, the undead seemed to have lost its patience. Once again, the bones gathered and speared towards Rhode who was still leaning on the wall. In an instant, Rhode's position was filled with bones and Rhode was nowhere to be seen in the sea of white.
"Mr. Rhode!"
Lize almost fainted and her mind blanked out. She didn't know what to do next. Rhode's confidence brought her this far, even if she knew that it was dangerous, but Rhode seemed to defy all kind of common sense. However, when Rhode's position was compromised, she realized that the gap between their abilities was simply too far apart. Even right now, as she fell into thought, she didn't even realize that the bones were approaching her rapidly.
The sea of bones surged forward towards Lize and would reach her in a few seconds. However, deep in the midst of all the bones, a dim light shone.
Surrounded by a solid cage of bones, Rhode slashed frantically in all directions, causing the cage to tremble and crack. The sea of bones gathered and rushed forward again in an attempt to crush the enemy once and for all.
But this time, they failed.
The sea of bones was split into two. The turbulent waves caused by the impact blew the bone matter in all directions. However, the undead didn't give up and kept roaring. At this moment, Rhode raised his sword, and a brilliant light shone at the tip of his sword like a dazzling star.
Rhode took a half step forward, with his right hand thrusting forward.
As though the undead was aware of the danger, the sea of bones formed a wall and rushed towards Rhode. The tail of bones moved as well, piercing towards Rhode's head.
He put his hands down and dodged.
Swoosh.
The cold and sharp bones once again passed through him. But this time, there was no impact.
Because at the same time, the sea of bones had crashed to the floor. The wall of bones skidded for about two meters before finally stopping at Rhode's feet.
Rhode looked up towards the statue. The formerly beautiful statue now had a sword protruding from its head.
Soon, cracks began to spread throughout the statue. At the same time, a system prompt appeared before him.
[Stronghold unlocked]
Snap!
Followed by a loud, cracking sound, the sea of bones tore apart.
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It was finally over.
Rhode sighed. Right now, his legs felt weak and could no longer stand stably. In the end, all the continuous summoning and darting around consumed a lot of his soul power and stamina which left him extremely drained. He leaned on the wall for a moment before walking over to the remains of the statue which had turned into a pile wrecked marble and cement. Then, he reached out and picked up his sword and an odd rock from the rubble. It was an egg-like oval-shaped rock with a murky grey color. If one didn't observe carefully, it would seem no different than those roadside pebbles. But Rhode knew that this stone was the primary cause of the tragedy here.
Soul Binding Stone. An extremely rare mineral that was found in hell. It had the ability to absorb the soul of the living and influence their mind. Usually, it was utilized by the devils to manipulate humans and was considered to be quite valuable, even to the devils. Under normal circumstances, the chances of discovering this rock was almost zero. Even for a master level mage, finding it was an extremely difficult, arduous task.
To Rhode, this rock still had a significant role – Soul Imprison.
That was the main factor why the stone was sold at an astronomical price back in the game. It could imprison the soul of a creature that had been killed by the player, and return it to its the original state. In other words, this was a treasure that could create a Soul Core.
The Soul Binding Stone was even rarer than the Soul Core, which was the reason why it wasn't as well known as the Soul Core. Only after the invasion of hell event would the players discover the existence of the Soul Binding Stone Soon, this gem became very popular in the continent and became a necessity for mages and summoning swordsmen.
Now, thinking back to the event, Deep Stone City was indeed one of the few frontline bases which were occupied by devil army. At that time, it seemed that there was nothing odd about it, but now, as he held the Soul Binding Stone in his hand, he could not help but muse over this matter. Apparently, this rock that was 'accidentally dug out', ultimately hinted towards the players that the mine in Deep Stone City had some kind of connection to hell.
But now wasn't the time to think of this matter yet. The invasion of hell event was triggered by the destruction of the Dragon Soul Continent. Right now, the continent was still peaceful, and the dragon soul power did not seem to have any problem. Thinking about that world-altering event right now was pointless. Thus, Rhode stopped his train of thoughts and picked the rock up before stuffing it into his bag. Then he went on looking for more loot.
However, it was a pity that Rhode's luck wasn't at its best. As much as he searched, he couldn't locate the Master Sculptor Cyril's dagger, 'Sorrowful Lament.' It was a half-legendary magic weapon. Not only was its attack high, but it had a passive chance of imbuing poison and curse in every attack. For a swordsman or a thief, this magic artifact was a good choice, but unfortunately, even when he overturned the entire mansion, all he could find was a magic necklace.
Rhode sighed and said nothing. He just shrugged his shoulder helplessly and accepted his loss. After all, he was a Summoning Swordsman, and the randomness of spirit fusion or obtaining items were far higher than other classes. That was why he didn't linger on lamenting about his luck this time. He just needed to count his blessings and concern himself about the BOSS attack patterns and mechanics instead. I mean, he still had to continue to 'play' right?
In the forum, there was a saying: "There is no useless spell, only useless mages." From Rhode's point of view, this sentence could be used for other classes as well. There was no useless equipment, only useless players. In the end, the mind itself determined the technique. Even premium players (pay-to-win) had to learn how to play first before they could rise to the top.
Lize, who was standing at the entrance also felt weak and sat on the ground.
It wasn't her first time experiencing a fierce battle, but this battle was really carved deeply into her mind because this was the first time that she won a battle by manipulating the enemy's aggressive nature.
When she was faced with the sea of bones at the last minute, Lize's heartbeat raced astronomically. She kept casting a barrier on herself and attacked the bone arms which shot towards her in all directions with her fastest speed to date. This was the first time she made such a fierce offensive, although did it seem more like an instinctive resistance in the end. Even when the battle ended, her heart kept beating rapidly as she could not recover from this excitement. Never in her life so far did she experience such tension and excitement on the battlefield.
The girl clenched her fists and stared at her own two hands. Right now, her hands were trembling and felt powerless. However, besides fatigue, she felt a trace of satisfaction.
She succeeded.
A new day dawned upon the world.
When the sun rose, rays of light permeated through the windows and shone into the house. The formerly gloomy and dark house lost its eerie atmosphere from before. Even the weeds outside no longer looked sinister and seemed more energized.
While they were both exhausted, things still had to be done. Rhode gathered whatever strength he had left to send Lize back to the Mercenary Association to get rest and handle the procedures at the same time. Lize naturally had no objections to that.
After she left, Rhode was relieved, and he opened the mercenary group system while leaning against the wall.
After confirming that he had acquired the house, the mercenary group system finally revealed the complete map of the old house with the exception of the basement. This house had three floors, and the whole building was T-shaped if reversed. The main building had a hall, guest rooms, study, bedroom and many others. At the back, there were even servant quarters.
Rhode certainly did not intend to use this design. After all, the current model resembled a noble's house rather than a mercenary group stronghold. Moreover, typically, mercenaries came from the lower castes and had a bad relationship with the upper nobility. If the stronghold was made as luxurious as a noble's house, then it would certainly give a sense of exclusion, which was unfavorable for development. Thus, Rhode made his own construction program.
But before that, he still needed to experiment the difference between the mercenary group system in reality, and in the game.
After last night's chaos, 35% of the stronghold had been destroyed. The map before him revealed a yellow highlight, and a part of the collapsed floor was shown in a red color. This meant that the system suggested repairing this segment first.
Rhode selected the 'repair' option. Then, another system prompt immediately appeared,
[Repair Stronghold?]
Yes.
[Completely repairing stronghold will need 15000 gold coins. Repair?]
Seeing this line, Rhode furrowed his brows and did not hesitate to choose 'no'. Soon, another system prompt once again appeared.
[Please choose the repair type ——— repair the house, repair the furniture ,or complete repair. ]
Repair the house.
[Repairing housing will consume 500 gold coins, continue?]
Continue.
Rhode's heart dropped, then the system prompt before him immediately disappeared.
A golden light flashed before him, then it quickly expanded into a grid and encompassed the ground, walls, and ceilings. After that, everything changed.
Worn and damaged walls were repaired in an instant, and the decaying furniture also disappeared. In a blink of an eye, the hall that was previously full of garbage, was wholly renovated. There were no more holes in the floor. The decorations and furniture had also disappeared, leaving only a sword and shield decoration on the wall that gave off a clean look.
In less than five minutes, the old, dilapidated house had changed entirely. Cracks in the wall could no longer be seen, weeds were all plucked clean, and the wooden staircase was brand new. Looking at this drastic change, the whole stronghold had a different feel from before. The previous shabby, decadent look was replaced with a glorious sensation.
On the wall, a dark flag hung down. There was a cross-shaped star symbol on it. It was the mercenary group's flag.
Very nice!
Rhode nodded in satisfaction, It seems that at least the system here worked the same as the game. For him, this was enough. But the only pity was that he spent a lot of money just to repair the housing. Rhode's fat wallet has begun to slim down.
But Rhode did not care much about the money. After he understood the construction system functions and rules, he repaired the hall, study room, and bedroom. Although the mercenary group size was still too small, and he could only build level 1 rooms, Rhode still spent about 700 to 800 gold coins. When Rhode finally repaired the whole house, just 370 gold coins remained from the initial 2500 gold coins.
As the saying goes, spend money like water. This saying was totally relevant right now.
But looking at the new information before him, he was delighted.
Name: Starlight
Size: small
Leader: Rhode Alander
Members: 1
Stronghold: 1 (Medium)
Level: 1
Reputation: Obscure
Facilities: Hall (LV: 1 mood increased by 5%), Study room (LV: 1, can investigate the information from mercenary group members), bedroom (LV: 1 physical recovery increased by 5%).
Done.
After looking at all the information, Rhode sighed in relief. He closed his eyes and slumped onto a wooden chair next to him, his index finger gently knocking against the handrails. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes, and a determined expression appeared on his face.
Good. Things are going as planned.
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Chapter 44: Early Development
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Things progressed smoothly. After Lize was returned from the Mercenary Association, she was stunned after noticing the new stronghold. She stood anxiously in front of the entrance while holding the supplies that she had just bought, not daring to come in. If it were not for Rhode, who found her rooted to the ground in a daze, Lize would've probably stood there until night came.
Seeing the changes, naturally, she had some doubts. Although Rhode said that he would tidy up things, just by common sense, anyone would have assumed that he'd just cleaned up the broken furniture, and not deliver a complete makeover. Clearly, Rhode did not want to explain much, so she did not ask further. After she went through a lot of things, she began to trust him unconditionally. Even though what he did was odd, but since Rhode was a very mysterious person, so there was nothing strange.
And Lize believed that one day he would tell her everything.
Rhode heard from her about the situation in the Mercenary Association. That old man was left speechless once she recounted the story that happened. It was apparent that he did not expect the both of them to conquer the haunted house. On the other hand, Sereck took their side. He even gave some advice to Rhode, reminding him that he should be more careful to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Rhode's heart felt warm about Sereck's kind and genuine reminder. While Haunted House had a bad reputation, Deep Stone City still did not send its top-tier fighters to conquer it. For a Master Swordsman like Sereck, he could easily subdue the undead. But the reason he did not do so was not that the enemy was stronger than him, but instead, it was because of some other external factors.
In the end, this place was situated at the highest district and belonged to the nobles, which would certainly spell trouble for them if they interceded needlessly. Once the greedy nobles discovered that the haunted house was no longer cursed, matters would become incredibly troublesome. After all, 500 gold coins for a large mansion was utterly absurd, even calling it a bargain was an understatement. Naturally, some people would have sinister intentions to take the house back. As the saying goes, there was no free lunch in this world.
Rhode knew about this matter, but he was curious as to why Sereck would remind him of such things since both of them was not even close… Was it because of the battle from before that made Sereck fond of him?
But these were matters that weren't of a high priority now. The current challenge was how to further develop his mercenary group.
Rhode highlighted the first problem: Manpower.
A mercenary group consisting of only two people was certainly impossible. Indeed, by relying on Rhode's familiarity with this area, he would be able to complete the mission easily. But if there weren't enough members, then it was no way for him to make a competent team. Based on his current strength, he could only kill undead creatures efficiently. If he fought against living creatures, it would be much more troublesome. As for the usual mercenary commission such as escorting, transporting, and others, with his current member count, no one would dare to entrust these jobs to him.
However, what kind of men he should hire? At least the price must be reasonable… With this amount of money currently, he should be able to employ about one or two mercenaries. As the saying goes, use the best steel to make the knife's edge. If he chose the wrong personnel, then it would be too late for him to cry.
He creased his brows as he sat in the study room quietly. The room had plenty of open spaces. Other than a desk, few chairs and a bookshelf, there was nothing else. Although it looked quite shabby, right now, he could only accept it.
After closing the book on his hand, Rhode fell into deep into thought.
8th Month, the year of glory ——— was half a year later. The Country of Light, after investigating some matters, they declared that the Country of Darkness was the perpetrator behind the floating ship attack on the border. Then they quickly sent their troops and occupied Mount Solacen. There, they controlled the inhabitants, claiming that those men were the culprits behind the ambush. After that, they were promptly arrested and executed.
Two months later, the Country of Darkness's army made a response and took back Mount Solacen, and the Country of Light's army was annihilated.
An all-out war broke out.
The Munn Kingdom was the first line of defense against the Country of Darkness, and also the place that Rhode resided. In truth, the calamity could be avoided, but the Country of Light issued a decree, preventing them from surrendering.
That battle was the very first time that players suffered many casualties. When besieging the Munn Kingdom, the Country of Darkness sent powerful military forces. Vampires, skeleton mages, and other terrifying creatures that reached level 80. The average level of players were only level 40 to 50. Thus, the outcome was disastrous. Although some players organized various parties to try to and defend their land, it was useless in the face of the sheer level difference of the Darkness army. At that moment, the Country of Light's council made a very shocking decision ——— They declared that the Munn Kingdom was in treacherous collusion with the enemy country and sent troops to invade the Munn Kingdom.
This crushed any hope the Munn Kingdom had left. Realizing that it was fighting a futile battle for survival, the kingdom finally began to retreat. And at that time, the King of the kingdom, Lydia Paphield Mila Frederica, made a shocking decision. She sent her personal elite corps, the 'Purple Lily', to escort the players and citizens to retreat to the Trisfia Port.
Rhode still vividly remembered the scene from back then. They stood beside the refugees, and almost every player was gritting their teeth in humiliation while staring at the burning land before them. While being overthrown by some NPCs already made them furiously mad, the betrayal from the Country of Light was the icing on the cake.
The players began hurling insults to quench their resentment. Their wide range of explicit vocabularies began surfacing: 'F*ck GM!! How dare you toy with us?!', 'Die you stupid game company!' and 'I want to kill those group of b*stards from the council!' were common sentences from the players. While the players were cussing their hearts out, the Munn Kingdom's inhabitants departed in a hurry.
But only one person stayed.
As an angel, she singlehandedly withstood the Country of Darkness relentless assault until the last ship from Trisfia Port left, then she finally closed her eyes to rest for eternity. Unto the last moment, she carried her oath to the grave ——— 'I will always stand behind my people and shield them from the storm, whether they were willing or not, was of minor consequence.'
Soon, the players' anger couldn't be contained any longer and broke loose like water bursting out from a dam.
Rhode could distinctly recall the time where hundreds of thousands of players leaving the official game forum in retaliation. Many claimed that this was against the will of the players and used many ways to express their resentment. Some player guilds even began to rebel by taking revenge through sabotaging the Country of Light's army and murdering their NPCs. After these consecutive events, Rhode began to take this game seriously. He gathered the players with similar hatred towards the Country of Light and was able to form the Starlight Guild. Half of the players wanted to regain their dignity as players while the other half wanted to show the developers by boycotting the game. All in all, they wanted to vent their anger and somehow take revenge for their loss.
And they succeeded.
Under Rhode's command, Starlight grew stronger each day. They were able to sweep through the Country of Light and utterly demolish the Country of Light's council. After that, they sharpened their blades and went for the country that started this whole mess—the Country of Darkness. In the end, they succeeded and even conquered one of the Creator Dragons, the Dark Dragon. The Starlight Guild then rose to the fame as the game's most powerful guild.
While everybody was celebrating, Rhode basked in a dull melancholy, and a tiny voice constantly rang within Rhode's heart.
At that time, if I had this power, would I be able to change everything?
He didn't know the answer, but deep inside, he understood—
He understood that time wouldn't rewind itself. It was delusional for him to believe that he could start over.
…That was what he had believed, until he arrived to this world.
Now that Rhode finally found an opportunity to change this fate, he wouldn't waste it by 'playing casually.' He didn't want to experience that feeling of helplessness from before. Whether as a refugee or player, he would never allow himself to suffer from that kind of humiliation once again.
Rhode had thought of visiting the Golden City after leaving Dusk Forest. But after hearing about Lize's plight, he changed his mind. Since he could form a guild powerful enough to contend against Hell's devils and destroy both countries of Light and Darkness, he was confident that he could do it again. Even killing the Void Dragon wasn't an impossible task in the future.
He still had one and a half year of time. While it wasn't a long time, it wasn't short either.
And now, he had already acquired the Mercenary Association acknowledgment and a stronghold. He could finally start to rebuild his glory from before. This time, he wasn't going to feel the shame from before, this was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
Since everything was going on the right track, it was time for him to begin preparations.
Admiring Deep Stone City's scenery from the window, Rhode began to recall those NPCs attributes and skills. Then an idea struck him.
"Lize."
He stood up and knocked on the desk. Soon, the girl who was seemingly engrossed in a book, heard his call and stood up immediately.
"Let's go to the Mercenary Association."
The Mercenary Association was as lively as usual. Mercenaries were sitting in the hall, drinking and chatting at the various tables. More people were queuing in front of the hall to accept and hand in commissions.
Rhode quickly found his mercenary group name on the stone slabs of all the mercenaries group in Paphield area. The total number of mercenary groups on the stone slab was 32, and Starlight was ranked the last with an eye-catching number beside it, 0.
Lize felt somewhat helpless when she saw the ranking. Although she had already seen it yesterday, but to think that her mercenary group which was previously around the middle, fell to the bottom of the list overnight, wasn't a pleasant thought to have.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down and said, "Sir, we are now ranked last. 0 points… Even other mercenary groups have five points at the very least. We must think of some way."
"I know."
Rhode nodded in response and looked up. Then he saw another name —— Red Hawk. If he remembered correctly, the Red Hawk leader was a friend of Lize. It seemed like they were doing quite well, ranked at the 21st. They belong to the standard level, without any merit, which was not too low and not too high.
The reason Rhode arrived here today was not because of them. He glanced at the other side of the hall.
The arrangement of the Mercenary Association was distinct. The left side of the hall was the place occupied by mercenary groups, and the right was the place for those idle and unorganized mercenaries to hang out. These people do not have a mercenary group and could only wait here while taking on some common missions, or wait for a mercenary group to recruit them. Because of that, this place was much quieter than the left side.
Rhode and Lize's appearance caused a lot of heads to turn. A group of rowdy mercenaries whistled loudly and greeted the both of them uncouthly. Rhode ignored the idiots who couldn't even recognize his gender, whereas, for Lize, it was just another day for her. She gave a smile as a courtesy, and did not respond. She knew that these mercenaries were actually bored, and wanted to find some fun. Whether she met their greetings with anger or happiness, they still accomplished their goal. Thus, it was better to just ignore them, lest attracting unnecessary trouble.
Rhode turned his head towards the corner and walked over…
The cup of wine was as sweet as usual…
The old man put down the glass in his hand while forcefully holding his slightly trembling right hand. He leaned against the chair, looking at the ground. He was once the member of Wind Glory mercenary group. At that time he was very confident, brave, and energized. For countless of times, he dreamed that someday he was going to be a mercenary group leader. To lead his men to go on an adventure was his hope and his dream.
But after this injury, everything changed for the worse.
He had lost the strength from before, and those who had worshiped him before, also abandoned him. And what was he now? The youngster who had a limitless future, was now a poor old man who could not do anything besides drinking alcohol. Thinking about this, he could not help but sigh again. He looked up and glanced at the group of youngsters around him. They were too young and still dreaming. Adventure, beauty, money, fame… what were those? Everything was meaningless once they lost something to rely on, then what would become of them?
The old man reached out his hand and touched his right eye that was covered by an eye patch. Then he raised his glass signaling the bartender for another cup.
At this time, he noticed two people sitting beside him.
"Mr. Walker? Mr. Didar Walker?"
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Chapter 45: Old Walker's Heart
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"Yes, I am," Old Walker briefly turned around and discovered a good-looking young man sitting in front of him, though he had never met this person before, the young lady behind him was someone he faintly recognized. "…and you are?" He asked Rhode with a passive tone.
"I'm Rhode Alander, leader of Starlight Mercenary Group."
"Starlight?" Old Walker squinted his eyes as he tried to scrutinize the young lad in front of him in his drunken state. "Ahh… yes…" After a moment, his eyes twinkled slightly. He seemed to had recalled something and nodded his head, "Yes… the one who accepted Silver Libra's-"
Suddenly he paused with his mouth slightly open, and the old man quietly raised his glass towards the blonde girl next to Rhode.
"You're that Spirit Master… Oh, don't take it too hard. This is how mercenaries live, rain or shine, we don't even know when our time is up…"
"Mr. Walker, we're here to find you. We need your help."
"…Oh?" With only a somewhat dissatisfied tone, the old man didn't pay much significance to Rhode's interruption.
His eyes locked with Rhode's.
"Yes, so, what is it?"
"I wish to recruit you to my mercenary group." Rhode didn't bother to mince his words and got the point without delay.
For a moment, the old man's eyes widened, but it quickly changed laughter.
"…Pfft, hahahahahaha."
It was as if he heard the joke of the century. He couldn't help but smack the table a few times which caused some wine in the glass to spill to the floor. Lize was surprised at the old man's sudden reaction. On the other hand, Rhode maintained his calm. He even had the time to wave his hand, gesturing to the bartender for two more glasses of wine.
Even after the bartender left, the old man was still tearing at the tips of his eyes. He gasped like a broken fan before he finally leaned back on his chair.
"I did not hear you wrong, right? Lad, you actually want me to join your mercenary group?"
"Is there a problem?" Rhode frowned.
"Of course."
The old man finally became serious. He sobered up, and his eyes turned sharp, looking towards the young man.
"Do you think that because I'm old, that you assumed that I'm senile? I would like to ask you a question, how many people are there currently in your mercenary group?
"Two."
Rhode quickly answered without hesitation.
"That's it."
The old man clasped both of his hands.
"Two people? Mercenary group? How do you even going to take a commission? It won't be long before the end of the spring, and now your Starlight Mercenary Group's point is zero. Let's put aside the fact that you've failed a commission before, no one would pass over a commission to a two-man mercenary group… and frankly, it's not something that both of you can complete." The old man sighed folded his arms. "Even if I'm old, I'm not confused. Youngster, I've lived here for decades, and I know what occurred here daily. Sorry, but I'm not going to join your sinking ship." Old Walker said grimly.
This caused Lize's mouth to twitch. Meanwhile, Rhode calmly waited for him to finish.
"Mr. Walker, what are you afraid of?"
"… What do you mean?"
"I just want to know what are you afraid of."
His tone was indifferent, but his voice revealed a trace of ridicule.
"Indeed, I admit that our situation is quite bad. Our mercenary group might be disbanded at the end of the year, but …"
Rhodes stretched out a finger.
"Even if it did disband, it is something that will happen a year later, right? Who cares if we fail? Either we end up dead, or we disband. This is the way of life for an ordinary mercenary. How about you? Look at yourself now; even if we disband, you can just stroll back here and continue to live like this. Or are you actually afraid of death?
The old man's face darkened. "Don't think that you can provoke me with those words, lad."
"For so many years, I've seen many kinds of people. I am not afraid of death, but I do not like being deceived. Both of you will surely fail, and naturally, I wouldn't want any part of it."
"Sounds like a nice excuse." Rhode clapped his hands, mocking him sarcastically.
"When you abandoned Wind Glory, did you use this same excuse?"
"Bam!!!"
Hearing Rhode's words, the old man expression changed. He slammed the table angrily, startling the poor Lize.
"They abandoned me! You little b*stard, since you do not know anything at all, don't go flapping your gums as if you do!"
As usual, Rhode kept up his nonchalant demeanor, "Acting like a victim; everyone can do it too." Then he merely shrugged at the old man and continued, "but what qualifications do you have to complain? Grievance? When they gave you the opportunity, what did you do? Look at yourself now, living out life like a wounded jackal, afraid of moving out from your nest. You are afraid. Face it; you've lost your confidence, so now you don't dare to face anything unknown. Is that it?"
"Swoosh!"
A cold dagger flew rapidly and stopped right before Rhode's throat.
"Shut your trap, youngster." The old man face darkened even further, "You aren't qualified to talk to me like that."
"That 's what I should say to you. Seems like I've hit the mark, eh?"
Rhode didn't care about the old man's threat. He vividly recalled the old man's background. Back in the game, he was a rare high-cost NPC in Deep Stone City. His attributes were good, but it did not mean that his IQ would be good too. In fact, on his personal quest to 'find the past glory', the old man's conduct was considered as idiotic by many players. In that quest, his mercenary group was ambushed by demonic beasts. After hearing the grave news, this old man decided to go rescue them, and naturally, the player needed to help him too.
However, players were very unhappy with his wishy-washy behavior because he was just as long-winded as a woman! A matter that could be settled within minutes became hours. And a simple matter that could be easily concluded, became unnecessarily complicated. Many times, he would stop to think about matters such as: 'Should I go or not..? Would they be happy to see him…?' Things like this made the 56-year-old man resemble a fussy old lady. It caused anxiety to some players, who wanted nothing but to strangle him to death.
And because of his indecisiveness, his comrades ended up as wild beast food. It wasn't until that incident when the old man finally reflected on his mistakes and went mad. He later perished with the wild beasts in the quest 'return of the prodigal son'.
This questline was labeled as complete trash to the players. On the tedious escort quest, the old man wasted three to four hours by being indecisive. In the end, the players were caught in an encirclement of wild beasts. From that point on, they did not respect that old man any longer and only needed two words to describe him while pointing with their middle finger.
Rhode was also one of them.
But it was also because of this quest that made him aware of what happened with Old Walker. His companions gave him ample patience and time, but the old man still wallowed in his past. Just like a turtle that hid in its shell, he was oblivious to his comrades' goodwill and refused to learn from his mistakes. Even though he repented in the end, these kind of stories were only a novelty in books or dramas, in reality, no one wished for these things to happen.
Repent my *ss, in the end, didn't you die? The people you wanted to save had died, and then you also died. What a pointless death!
Primarily, Rhode said these harsh things because he wanted to provoke him. To deal with 'scaredy cats' such as this old man, one must force him into a corner; else, he would definitely stay inside his own little world.
The other half was because he wanted to take revenge on this old man. When he took the quest back in the game, it made his life miserable, and venting his anger in the game was useless. Thus, with the living person in front of him right now, why not kill two birds with one stone?
"At least I dared to face challenges head-on, unlike some coward who could only stick his head into the ground."
After saying his piece, Rhode stood up, fished out a few silver coins and placed it on the table.
"I'll give you a day to think about it. If you agree, you can come to Cyril's Haunted House to find me. By tomorrow, if I don't find you, then we'll never see each other again."
Rhode turned away. Lize who was surprised, also quickly stood up and followed Rhode out.
After the two left, Old Walker sat down again. He clenched his teeth, and his hands trembled in anger. Then he sighed and buried his head deep in his arms, not speaking a word.
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Chapter 46: Four Star Mission
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
After meeting Old Walker, Rhode did not leave the Mercenary Association immediately. After all, their mercenary group still lacked a main tank and damage dealers. If he could hire a warrior or any defensive class, then Rhode's next quest would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, this time, he could not find the mercenaries he desired. Those classes that usually stand in the front line were rare. Usually, only soldiers would choose that class, because, after all, who fancied getting constantly hit? Moreover, the majority of the tankers were also taken by larger groups. Thus, it was challenging to locate them, let alone hire them. Rhode and Lize had circled the hall for a while and chatted with a few swordsman. However, they did not meet Rhode's requirements and naturally all of them were eliminated.
Rhode gave up for today. He began to shift his focus to think about how to increase their power. Deep Stone City didn't have much to offer left. Moreover, Rhode didn't have much money. And even if he had, he had to consider how the mercenaries would feel about joining a declining group. Some might even take advantage of their status and act bossy. Thus, he simply threw the idea of recruitment aside for now, because in front of him there were more important things to do,
First was his mercenary group points.
Lize was right. The most important thing right now was to increase their points to avoid the disbandment in winter. That should be the highest priority ——— and is certainly something that Rhode must pay most attention to. At least… they should not get another zero.
Completing missions was one way to acquire mercenary group points. So far, there are two categories of missions:
Missions issued by clients, where the client would give the rewards upon completion, and missions managed by the Mercenary Association based on the client specification.
The Mercenary Association would give rewards based on the difficulty level of the mission. Missions that were managed by the Association would also provide mercenary group points.
In the Mercenary Association, mission level is divided into six levels. Regular missions and 1-5 Star-Ranked missions. The '1-5' refers to the difficulty rating system. Rewards also may differ among missions, and challenging missions usually had a stricter time limit.
Small mercenary groups were only allowed to take on Regular missions, or perhaps even 1 to 2 Star-Ranked missions. Completing Regular missions would net them 1 point when completed, 1 Star-Ranked mission would be 2 points, and 2 Star-Ranked missions were worth 3 points so on and so forth. While the small mercenary groups were limited to Regular missions and 1 to 2 Star-Ranked missions, medium-sized mercenary groups could take on 2 to 4 Star-Ranked missions. However, that didn't mean that medium-sized groups were restricted to 2 to 4 Star-Ranked tasks, but even if they cleared lower ranked missions, they wouldn't receive any points anyway. It was the same for mercenary guilds. They could only obtain rewards from 3 to 5 Star-Ranked missions.
The Mercenary Association created these rules, and mercenaries were prohibited from breaking them. This means that even if a small or medium mercenary group somehow manages to complete a 5 Star-Ranked mission, they would not be given points. But the possibility of that happening was almost zero since 5 Star-Ranked missions were all extremely dangerous, even for mercenary guilds.
With such a condition, many mercenary groups also had their methods of farming points. Groups such as the Blue Collar Mercenary Group diligently completed the lowest level missions, ensuring that their points were enough to avoid disbandment. Other mercenary groups and guilds had a choice as well, whether to play it big, or play it safe, was totally up to them.
Rhode chose to play it big. After all, his member count was way too low right now. Even if he were to diligently completed low-level tasks, the points would increase too slowly. As they say, three fists are no match for four hands. No matter what, their numerical disadvantage was not something that could be denied. Since they have no way to secure the stability, then he could only complete high-level missions to get as many points as possible.
When Rhode handed over the 'Pavel Cemetery' mission to Uncle Hank, the old man's face paled as he stared at him as though he saw a ghost.
"Are you sure you're going to take this mission young man?"
Old Hank rubbed his glasses, then seriously looked at Rhode.
"This is a four-star mission. Even large, well-geared mercenary groups can't say that they would return safely."
Then, the old man frowned and knocked his knuckles on the table.
"It's not like this old man is trying to scare you lad, but before you, the Blue Valley and Black Lion Mercenary Group had accepted this mission. All of them were veteran mercenaries, but what was the result? They received very heavy casualties. And even the leader almost lost his life. Those people had sent dozens of people but still failed in the end, and you guys…" the old man put his elbow on the table and pinched his brows, continuing, "…you guys want to complete it with TWO people? Being young and brave is a good thing, but…"
"I think there is nothing that I should reconsider."
Rhode didn't mind Old Hank's skepticism. The standard of 'strong' among NPCs and 'strong' amongst players were totally different, literally 'worlds apart' if one would add. Thus, it was useless to compare between the two. The reason why Rhode chose this mission was that of its high points and rewards.
A necromancer named Pavel lived in an abandoned cemetery which was situated in the northern part of the mountain. The mission was to kill that necromancer and his minions. As long as he could bring Pavel's head, the mission would be complete.
Of course, Rhode had his own plans of completing this mission. Besides the level and points, it was also because the card deck he had right now. Frankly, based on his current strength, he could only defeat undead creatures at best. As for fighting bandits, it would just be more troublesome. But the thing was, that necromancer called Pavel was holding onto a skill book.
Rumors said that this necromancer Pavel was once a respected bishop, later, because of some worldly affairs, he had fallen as a necromancer. He held a holy book called 'Book of Holiness,' and it was Rhode's primary goal. Because what written there was a Spirit Master skill.
Now, it is necessary to explain the level upgrade difference between the players' and the NPCs in Dragon Soul Continent.
The player advantage was obvious from all aspects. Because of skill points, they could upgrade their skill level whenever they wanted. When Rhode was at level 10, he could already possess a level 34 NPC skill. But NPCs couldn't do that. Other than geniuses and royalty, most of the NPCs used their skills that they acquired from leveling. If a comparison was made based on this, it was clear who was superior.
On the other hand, the advantage NPCs had was that their talent classification was different from the player. Many NPC classes had their talent tree integrated with one another, and they were free to choose. This made a lot of players quite envious because the player's talent tree was separated and because of the skill limitation, they could not choose what they wanted, unlike NPCs. Moreover, many talents were exclusive to NPCs only.
Other than that, the gap between the player and NPC was too big. Players could easily upgrade their levels through experience, as for NPCs, level upgrading was like a nightmare. If they wanted to level up, there were only two ways. The first one was: if the player and NPC had a high intimacy level, then the NPC would issue a quest which must be completed by the player in order to upgrade that NPC's level. Another way was to give the NPC a skill book; there was no restriction, and they did not need to reach a particular level to learn it. Thus, even a level 5 NPC could learn a level 10 skill which would immediately bring their level to 10.
But of course, that would take some time.
If he could obtain that book, then there should be nothing to worry about Lize reaching level 40. Moreover, the 'Book of Holiness' also taught many damage spells, these could make up for her weak offensive skills and become a full-fledged clergy that could fight on the front lines. Moreover, in the face of the inevitable war with Country of Darkness, teaching his mercenary group members to fight against undead creatures was a plus.
If it wasn't because of that, why would Rhode want to hang around the undead all day long? He was a living person that had no interest in the dead. In fact, if he could hire a mage, even a mage apprentice would also be useful. But unfortunately, mages were even rarer than Spirit Masters. Most of them never ventured far out from their house, let alone becoming a mercenary.
"I have decided, Uncle Hank. Please rest assured that we will complete the task."
"Hope so."
Seeing that he was unable to persuade Rhode, Uncle Hank sighed helplessly and shook his head. He wrote something on the paper on his table and nodded to Rhode.
"Well, Mr. Rhode, your mission has been registered. When you've completed the mission, just bring the token back as requested, once identified and confirmed we will give you the reward."
"I understand."
Rhode nodded and walked away. When his figure disappeared into the crowd, Uncle Hank shook his head in disappointment.
"That youngster is too reckless. Does he even know how difficult this mission is? Sigh… I don't really know what to say anymore. Such a pity… He looked so young… but…."
While speaking to himself, Hank picked up the jug beside him sluggishly.
Then suddenly from behind, a clear bright voice rang out.
"What was stupid? Mr. Hank?"
"Ah, young miss!"
Upon hearing this voice, Hank's body jolted up. He put down the jug on his hand embarrassingly and turned around to look at the person behind him while showing a trace of a bitter smile.
"Young miss, how do you have time visit me… I thought…"
"I'm the one asking you! What about the thing that I told you to do?"
"This…"
Facing this demanding young miss, Old Hank's forehead drenched in sweat. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his face as he tried to make an excuse. "This… I am currently trying. You also saw it yourself, miss. These guys are mostly average. So far I have not found the right one yet, so…"
"So that's why." A beautiful voice sounded like the birds chirping in the early morning. She paused for a while and continued, "Then what happened just now?"
"Oh, that kid."
Old Hank's expression immediately changed and began to sigh.
"That guy was overestimating himself. Miss, you've got to hear this…."
As though he finally found something else to complain about, Old Hank quickly shifted the discussion to Rhode who had recently registered a 4 Star-Ranked mission. Of course, he exaggerated the story of how Rhode presented himself. But as a member of the Mercenary Association, he could not explicitly declare that they would certainly perish as the mercenaries were very sensitive to this kind of words. Since it was their job scope to deal with dangerous tasks, if he said things such as cursing him to die, then he truly had no conscience.
"Is that so."
After listening to Old Hank's complaint, she smiled.
"That is interesting… A mercenary group with only two people dared to take on a 4 Star-Ranked mission. It really is odd, isn't it?"
"Yes, and I heard that Sereck was really fond of this guy. I really do not know which part that Sereck would fancy about him…"
"Uncle Hank."
Old Hank was suddenly interrupted halfway by the girl.
"I have something that I hope you can help, but I don't know whether you were willing?"
"Yes, as long as it's within my ability, there's certainly no problem."
"Well, then…"
But after he heard that girl's demand, Old Hank's face turned green.
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Chapter 47: New Member Joining
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
A chilly wind swept through the prairie, producing a breezy sound. Once again, the sun rose on the horizon, indicating the arrival of a new day.
"Haa…"
Lize opened her eyes slowly.
The first thing she saw was the pale golden rays of early morning light which spilled into the room from the half-opened window. She instinctively moved her hand towards her eyes to shield against the sun as she blinked and squinted at the leaves just outside the window. Her soft and fluffy bed emitted a scent of fragrance which made her reluctant to leave her idyllic retreat to the dream world. But after a while, as her consciousness began to strengthen, she narrowed her eyes and sat upright while hugging a pillow in her arms, subtly resisting the notion of getting up.
Finally, she had her own home.
Looking at the plain, yet homely room before her, she could not help but feel a sense of warmth inside her heart. Never had she imagined that one day, she would have a place to settle down like this, but now it had finally become a reality. This meant that she did not have to live in that shabby guest room or the taverns in the future. She did not have to worry about where to put her favorite things anymore. Now that she had her very own room, she was incredibly satisfied on the inside.
On the night when she was first introduced to her room, she immediately ran to the bedside, jumped, and landed flat on the bed, rolling side-to-side over and over again. Due to her excitement, she could not fall asleep that night. And that was just the beginning. These days, she began to savor this place even more. She started to immerse herself in this room fully. The already spotless room was being cleaned by her again, and she also picked a few flowers which she placed in a vase to decorate the room.
"Alright… time to get up!"
Lize raised both of her hands, stretched her waist, and undressed. After taking a warm bath, she walked out from the room. In the stronghold, she was responsible for the cleaning. Of course, having her own home wasn't all sunshine and bunnies. Unlike the tavern, she had to prepare her own food and wash the dishes all by herself. Although Rhode wanted to hire several servants to help with the household chores, he didn't have enough money for that luxury at the moment, therefore he could only live and adapt for now.
Whether it was her being a good mood or not, after waking up, she felt exceptionally rejuvenated despite yesterday being an extremely tiring day.
Speaking of Rhode, what was he doing?
After tidying her clothes, she made her way to Rhode's bedroom and knocked on the door gently.
"Mr. Rhode?"
There was no answer.
Isn't he in?
Lize was puzzled and knocked the door again, but there was still no response.
The next moment, she heard the sound of a bird chirping from the window.
After being continually exposed to Rhode's summoned spirits, naturally, she had already familiarized herself to the sound of the Spirit Bird. Thus, when she recognized that familiar sound, she hurriedly made her way to the window and looked down. And as expected, Rhode was there.
A figure stood quietly in the garden. When he stretched his right hand forward, a small bird flew and landed on his arm. Wherever the bird flew, a turbulent storm surged behind it. Sometimes, a deep crack would appear on the ground which was full of weeds.
When the Spirit Bird lifted off, Rhode made a gesture with his hands, and in the next moment, the invisible turbulence that trailed behind the Spirit Bird ignited into flames. As the bird soared, it drew a sphere of fire in the air and swiftly darted towards Rhode. When Rhode was about to be swallowed by the sea of flames, it suddenly subsided and turned into a brilliant, white sword.
"Swoosh!!!"
A burst of sword energy rushed past and cut the falling leaves.
Under the breeze, they danced melodiously, and upon the flames; they were scorched.
Three meters around Rhode had turned into a barren land.
"Mr. Rhode."
When she saw Rhode put away his sword, Lize opened her mouth and called out to him.
"Lize?"
Hearing that soft voice, Rhode looked up and nodded in return.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Sir."
After greeting him, she felt a little bit awkward. According to the rule, she should call him 'Leader,' but they were almost the same age, so she felt quite embarrassed. Moreover, in Lize's heart, her leader was Carter. That was why she still could not call Rhode 'Leader' right now. Luckily, Rhode did not seem to care about this minor matters like this. After she apologized to him, he accepted her reasoning.
Really, he was the definition of a perfect man.
Looking at Rhode, her heart could not help but thump. Young, handsome, calm and steady. He ticked all the qualities of a woman's dream man. Moreover, he was also hard working. Of course, she had to admit that he could be domineering sometimes, but that just added his charms.
If only she could…
When her thoughts began to trail off, Lize quickly shook her head. After that, she saw Rhode coming over.
"Mr. Rhode, is that old man really coming?"
Perhaps, in order to cover up her embarrassment, she attempted to change the topic. Although she was a long-time citizen in Deep Stone City, she had never imagined that this old man held such an unusual background. Clearly, Rhode knew about it beforehand, and since she already accustomed to his secretiveness, she did not ask further.
Rhode grabbed a towel hanging on the side and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I don't know." He shrugged ambiguously. "I've done everything that I could. The rest is up to him, if he has a tiny bit of determination left, then I think he will come. But if not, then he won't come. Of course, with or without him, our plan wouldn't change."
Rhode's words were as straightforward and calm as usual. He was not going to let anyone doubt or refute his words.
"Lize, I hope that you are ready. Pavel Cemetery is a very dangerous place; and if it's only the two of, the danger level will be quite high. The situation will be trickier than the Fog Ruins."
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Rhode. I will get ready."
"Very well. Then I will head back first. As for breakfast… I'll have the usual."
"Okay."
After they started living in the stronghold, Rhode and Lize's living habits seemed different from before. Perhaps it was because they lack money, Rhode did not construct a dining room. Thus, the both of them had their meals in Rhode's study room. Now, they were totally accustomed to it. Have to say, habits are really terrifying.
As Lize quickly made her way to cook breakfast, Rhode returned to his study room on the second floor and began to plan for their next move.
Even if he was labeled as the 'walking library' before, Rhode could not entirely remember the details for every single quest. Right now, he tried to recall the dangers that might occur in Pavel Cemetery and record it down. Next, he would think of the counter to that dangerous situation. If he was lucky then it would be a three-man quest, but if not, then he had to plan for a backup. Of course, a two or three man quest would mean that he had to change a lot of tactics as compared to when he was a player.
Since he could become the No.1 Guild Leader in the Dragon Soul Continent, Rhode did not only rely on his talent alone. Hard work, good observation, time management and foresight was critical to success. When an opposing guild was still figuring out what to do against a BOSS, Rhode had already finished the quest with his guildmates. That was the difference between them.
'It's all about the details!'
That was Rhode's policy. Success and defeat hinged on the details of the plan.
When Rhode deep in thought, a knocking sound came from the front door.
"Who is it?"
Although the knocking sound came from the first floor, Rhode's senses had reached a degree that he could clearly catch what was happening downstairs. When he noticed that someone was at the front door, he eventually put down the pen in his hand and walked out of his room.
Did the Old Walker finally break his curse after thinking over? Coming here that early? That is certainly unexpected.
However, the one who actually knocked on his door was not that fallen old mercenary, but Hank from the Mercenary Association!
What is he doing here?
Rhode stared at Uncle Hank's awkward and embarrassed smile. After that, he glanced at the person behind him. He discovered that the person who was wrapped in a cloak behind Uncle Hank was a woman.
What's going on?
"Uncle Hank, are you looking for me?"
"Yes, Mr. Rhode. This… Can I talk inside?"
"Of course."
Rhode nodded his head and welcomed the both of them in.
From Uncle Hank's expression, it was apparent that he was surprised after discovering the luxurious hall in front of him. In fact, before coming, he had assumed that their two-man stronghold must be quite shabby. But looking at the spacious hall which was clean and tidy, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. It was totally different from his imagination and looked at Rhode surprisingly. Although Old Hank never entered the Haunted House before, he knew that it had been abandoned for many years, there were even a lot of people that died here. It was utterly impossible for a dilapidated house to look like this!
How did this young man do it?
Old Hank was finally intrigued by Rhode's mysteriousness. Having worked at the Mercenary Association for so many years, this was the first time he had seen someone like Rhode. From just his appearance, he was no different than many other men, but looking at him now, it appeared that his judgment was wrong.
"What business do you have with me, Uncle Hank?"
After inviting the two of them in, Rhode opened his mouth and asked. At the same time, he also glanced at the girl beside him. He was sure that the this 18 or 19 year-old-girl was related Hank's sudden visitation.
Sure enough, he was right. Hank revealed an awkward smile and said, "It's like this, Mr. Rhode. This young miss… wants to join your mercenary group."
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Chapter 48: Queen of Mercenary
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"This young miss… wants to join your mercenary group."
After Old Hank's introduction, Rhode glanced at the girl next to him, who took off her cloak and revealed her true face.
It was a girl that appeared to be about 16 to 17 years old.
She had beautiful facial features. Her snow-like, white hair looked particularly eye-catching. A lovely pair of wine-red eyes gave Rhode a curious look. Rhode could recognize that she was a noble from her demeanor. With an overt display of self-confidence and pride, it was no wonder that he could conclude that she wasn't someone ordinary. Moreover, she possessed a beautiful collar with intricate patterns carved on it.
"This young miss is…"
Rhode frowned. He hoped that nothing unexpected would occur.
"Hello, Mr. Rhode Alander."
The girl stretched out her hand. She smiled and said
"I am Marlene Senia. As you have heard, I hope to enter your mercenary group. I hope you will give me the opportunity."
"Marlene Senia?"
Hearing the girl said her name, Rhode was dumbfounded and showed a trace of surprise.
Marlene Senia was a familiar name to Rhode; this character was quite famous among the players, she even had a nickname: 'Queen of Mercenaries'. Rumors said that this girl was a mage genius. When she was 19 years old, she broke through the inner circle, which was the final bottleneck of a mage. Then, she formed a mercenary group 'Free Ring', and recruited many young girls from the Munn Kingdom who were geniuses in their own right. But among the players, this girl was not too likable because she has a strange habit, which was ——— she hated men.
The game did not bother to hide it. Free Ring Mercenary Group was an exclusive group for females, and no males were allowed to join. Even if they paid a large amount of money, the male players wouldn't be able to hire any one of them. This made many players unhappy and began to dislike this woman. Thus, for most players, they did not really have a high evaluation of this woman called the 'Queen of Mercenaries.'
Although she wasn't well-liked among male players, Marlene's storyline was the typical 'hero's ending'. When faced with the Country of Darkness's attack, she and her comrades withstood the enemy's siege for three days and three nights in Golden City. Finally, when they were inevitably overwhelmed by enemy forces, they cast a forbidden spell which caused all of them to perish along with the enemy. They sacrificed themselves to protect the country. From this point on, her courage and valor became well known.
Rhode had heard her name before, but as a male, he had never met this girl in person before. Therefore, when he found out that this girl was actually in Deep Stone City and wanted to join his mercenary group, Rhode's eyes widened in surprise.
Didn't she hate men? Why would she take the initiative to seek him? Did she think that he is a woman? These strange things shouldn't be happening!
As he watched Marlene who stretched out her right hand for a handshake, Rhode continued to deduce this irregularity in his mind.
Perhaps its a person with the same name? It can't be her, right? She said that her family name was Senia, and looking at her appearance, she DOES indeed look like a noble… But ——— the Senia family is located far away in Golden City! Why was this young miss, who was supposed to attend the Royal Magic Academy, here in Deep Stone City? Was she summoned to the countryside?
"I have heard your name, Ms. Senia."
Rhode replied tactfully and shook her hand. He did not know much about the legend in front of him, just like other players. But he still understood the general situation.
"I apologize if this seems sudden, but… shouldn't you be in the academy right now…?"
Marlene and Hank's eyes flickered at his seemingly casual comment.
However, Marlene felt that Rhode was interesting because he recognized her identity. This means that the rumor of Rhode being a noble was actually true. Hank was equally surprised, never had he thought that Rhode had a connection with the nobles. And now, Rhode finally 'revealed' his noble identity.
"So, it's like this…"
After confirming that Rhode was also one of her 'own' kind, she began to show modesty and controlled her pride.
"My teacher said that once my power passed a certain level. If I want to continue improving, I have to experience actual battles. That's why I came here to ask Uncle Sereck to give me the opportunity to train here."
So, it was connected to Sereck after all.
Rhode finally realized the reason. The Senia family sent her here because of that Master Swordsman. But before that, there was still something that needed to be confirmed.
"Ms. Marlene."
Rhode took back his hand, and his face turned serious.
"Since it was Uncle Hank who introduced you to me, I think you should have a grasp on our current plight beforehand. Frankly, we lack members. And even more especially so now, since we took on a four-star mission. If any mishap were to happen, we might be disbanded. Knowing this, are you still willing to bet your life and join my mercenary group?"
Facing Rhode's question, Marlene raised her chin slightly and revealed a confident and cunning grin.
"Of course I understand what you mean, Mr. Rhode. But I think that it is a good thing for me. Moreover, as a middle circle mage, I am very confident about my strength."
So this is a good thing for her?
Hearing her answer, Rhode could not help but to shoot a glance at Old Hank. Although she was the infamous 'Queen of Mercenaries' in the game, he had never come in direct contact with her before. From his first impression, this girl was very independent and possessed a strong pride. However, the words she spoke previously made him a bit puzzled. He did not understand why a person like her would say that joining a declining mercenary group was a good thing?
Uncle Hank was aware of the meaning behind Rhode's glance, but he was unable to explain his suffering. He was very clear about Marlene's identity and influence. As a young noble, she didn't lack the strength, but a mercenary wasn't all about strength. Experience and willpower played a critical role in the mercenary life as well. Even though she was a powerful mage who doesn't hesitate to kill her enemies on the battlefield, in the end, she was still a woman. If she was drugged and thrown onto a bed by some evil men, then even being a powerful mage would be useless, right? That was why Old Hank had always been very careful. If something happened to the young miss, then he would be put in a very difficult situation.
Her nobility-bred arrogance also made a lot of mercenaries quite uncomfortable. Old Hank tried his best to introduce her to several mercenary groups, but in the end, the other side always rejected, giving excuses such as 'having enough members.' After all, the status between nobles and ordinary people were worlds apart, and the mercenaries did not necessarily trust nobility.
Marlene wasn't stupid, she, of course, knew the reason why those people did not accept her. But her pride would prevent her from lowering her status and follow those guys.
Therefore, Rhode's appearance lit a glimmer of hope within her.
Rumors said that Rhode was also a noble. If that was the case, then presumably, he should be better than those uneducated mercenaries. Moreover, this mercenary group had only two members; they certainly did not have enough members. If they whip up an excuse saying that they already have enough people, then wouldn't it be a total brazen lie?
Rhode did not understand what Marlene meant, but Old Hank knew what she was trying to do. This made him helpless. Before coming here, he tried to persuade this proud young miss numerous times, saying that the Starlight Mercenary Group was not the best choice for her. They lacked members, and the mission was too dangerous. Moreover, right now they were living in the infamous Cyril's Haunted House. But alas, no matter how much he tried to reason, this young miss still did not listen to him. This confirmed Old Hank's belief of how proud and stubborn nobles could be. Rhode was one clear example, and this young miss was also the same. Birds of the same feather flock together. Such a troublesome bunch!
If he could, Old Hank wanted to report this matter to Sereck and let him deal with it. Presumably, Sereck would not allow Marlene to undertake such danger, but unfortunately, he was not in the Mercenary Association these two days, so he could not find him. Marlene was smart and took advantage of this period when Sereck wasn't in to force Old Hank to listen to her order.
Heavens! This kind of thing… why did you do it…
Old Hank could already imagine Sereck's expression when he comes back and hears about the decision made by Marlene. What kind of face would he show?
This was the sorrow of pitiful people like him.
Rhode did not understand Hank's grief-stricken inner monologue, nor would he want to know it anyway. It was a miracle for a mage to take the initiative to come and find him. Even if Old Hank disagreed, he would just ignore him and recruit the future 'Queen of Mercenaries' to his group.
But before that, he still needed to clear up a certain matter.
"I can accept you to the group. Ms. Marlene."
Rhode's expression became serious.
"But I have some conditions."
"Please speak."
Hearing Rhode words, Marlene's eyes flashed a trace of surprise. She came here to acquire some real combat experience, but she did not expect that after she arriving in Deep Stone City, she became a caged canary instead. This caused Marlene to be quite unhappy. Thus, after hearing about Rhode and his mercenary group, Marlene found out that this was a perfect opportunity to escape from the cage.
Now it seemed that she had succeeded.
"First of all, since you've joined the mercenary group, then you will be considered to be one of my subordinates."
Rhode lifted up one finger.
"As a subordinate, you must unconditionally obey my command. During missions, without my permission, you are prohibited from doing anything. Even if you want to go to the toilet, you must also report to me in advance."
"You!—"
Hearing this, Marlene expression changed slightly. But before she could say anything else, Rhode lifted up another finger.
"Second, although you have joined our mercenary group, we are not familiar with each other. As such, I do not think that you can fully cooperate with us, so in the battle, you must completely obey my instructions. You must do what I command you to do. If I wanted you to stand your ground, even if the enemy is before you, you are not allowed to move!"
Rhode put down his hand.
"These are my conditions. If you can accept, then I welcome you to join my mercenary group."
"And what if I don't?"
At this moment, Marlene's face was dark. She clenched her teeth and asked in low voice.
"I'll have you leave immediately."
Rhode did not hesitate in his reply.
"I needn't emphasize further about the difficulty of this mission. If you are unable to do as I say, then we are most likely to die there. So, I must lower the possibility of accidents. If you put us in a difficult situation, then for us, leaving you is a necessary choice."
When Rhode finished his explanation, the atmosphere inside the hall suddenly tensed up.
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Chapter 49: Old Acquaintances
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Marlene expression turned cold. Since her birth, she had never been treated like that. She was a rare magic genius in the family, whether it was her parents, family, or even the teachers in the magic academy, they had always been polite to her. With her ability and status, she always held her head up high, never needing to compromise with others. But she still followed her family training regime and never slacked off.
When she heard Rhode's first requirement, although somewhat unwilling, she still could accept. But the second requirement was something that she definitely couldn't compromise!
Marlene was always confident about her strength. She started training as young as 6 years old, and now 10 years had already passed. In all her life up till now, she hadn't failed to live up to expectations. Even now, when she experienced a bottleneck after entering the middle circle, she wasn't worried. Just as her teacher explained, at the moment, what she lacked wasn't knowledge, but actual combat experience. As for her talent in understanding the concepts of magic, there wasn't much difference between her and the teacher.
And now, Rhode just denied her ten years of effort!
Absolutely unacceptable!
"Mr. Rhode, I can tolerate the first condition, but I can't accept the second!"
Marlene raised her head proudly, staring straight at Rhode without wavering. Looking at her stubbornness, Rhode frowned but did not say anything.
On the side, Old Hank prayed that she would give up.
Please fail, fail, fail, then nothing will happen…
"Why?" Rhode asked.
"Because you don't know what am I capable of!"
Marlene declared confidently. Since this was the first time they met, she was certain that he didn't know how talented she was. Based on the information she got from Uncle Hank, she knew that he was a swordsman and not a mage. So how could he understand the intricate nature of mages and spells? If they were of the same class, perhaps she would respect him slightly more, but as a swordsman, he wouldn't be able to offer her any help.
Marlene clenched her teeth. She wanted to stand up and curse Rhode. But in the end, she maintained her composure and bottled her anger. After all, her opponent did not show any signs of anxiousness; if she lost her temper, then it would reflect poorly on the Senia family's prestige.
Suddenly, Rhode stood up. A trace of joy appeared on Old Hank's face. Perhaps this youngster couldn't take it any further. Thank god. Now, if only this youngster could curse ruthlessly so that the young miss would leave Deep Stone City, that would be for the best… Therefore, Old Hank prepared to stand up with Rhode to act as a mediator. However, Rhode's next sentence almost made Old Hank faint.
"Then, let's try it."
"No problem!"
Marlene simply stood up and agreed after hearing his challenge. Both of them failed to notice Old Hank's face turning from black to purple and purple to black. The colors on his face flashed too quickly as if it didn't know which color was better for the situation right now.
At this time, a voice sounded from the stairs.
"Mr. Rhode, I have already prepared the breakfast. What are you…"
Lize walked down from the stairs and discovered the two extra people in the hall. At first, she was mildly surprised to see Old Hank, but when her gaze fell onto Marleen, she immediately gasped.
"You are… Marlene?" Lize asked in disbelief.
"Lize!?"
Marlene looked back at Lize. After realizing that it was really Lize, her expression eased and turned into a warm smile.
"Lize! Is it really you? I never expected that I would meet you here! Where did you go? How did you end up in Deep Stone City? Are you okay?"
The composed girl from before finally showed her cheerful and lively nature. Marlene ran towards Lize and held her hands in excitement. She began bombarding Lize with questions. Facing Marlene friendly attitude, Lize felt a little bit awkward and stole a glance at Rhode as if she was worried about something.
They both know each other?
Rhode was surprised. He thought that he was the mysterious one, but it seems as though Lize had many things hidden from him as well. Her being a half angel? Information that only nobility should know? And now she was even acquainted with Marlene Senia?
Judging by how Marleen greeted Lize, surely her position wouldn't be low. Otherwise, Marlene would not be that friendly to her.
So who is she actually?
"I'm fine, Marlene."
Lize felt Rhode's questioning gaze on her and she quickly let go of Marleen's hands in a panic. Then, she quickly changed the topic.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Golden City…?"
"I've entered the middle circle stage. Teacher said that to improve further, I will need to travel and gain some real combat experience." Marleen explained proudly. "Yesterday, I heard that this mercenary group was lacking members, so I came to see if I can join… How about you Lize? Why are you here?"
"I…After that happened, I have always been here."
Lize spoke in a low voice, as if she was afraid that Rhode might hear it. But she quickly changed her expression and asked Marleen.
"Are you really going to join the mercenary group? Marlene, this is not a game, this time our mission is going to be very dangerous…"
"I have decided, I must join this mercenary group."
This time, Marlene gave up the unpleasant feeling between Rhode and her. At this moment, she only thought of her long lost best friend. How could she leave her behind? But Rhode immediately doused her flames of enthusiasm.
"Don't make a decision too quickly, Ms. Marlene. You have not passed my test yet."
Marlene's face turned serious again when she heard Rhode.
"Of course. I will not run away. Moreover, I also want to see how strong you are."
"No problem."
Rhode always preferred direct methods and did not like dragging things for too long. He could tell that Marlene was also a decisive person. After agreeing to the duel, they did not waste any more words. Rhode led the group to the garden outside, and after all this time, Lize didn't know what was going on.
"I won't show any mercy."
Marlene said softly. After that, her demeanor immediately changed. She had turned into the Marlene of the Senia family, and not the Marlene that was cheerful in front of Lize.
The luxurious purple robe accentuated her curvy figure, a flowery trim on her collar and cuffs revealed her family's identity. With a ruby wand in her hand, she took up a combat stance. Meanwhile, Rhode was staring dejectedly at the ground.
Elemental Mage, Middle Circle Level 7. According to the player level, she was supposed to be level 15…
Rhode completely read her from head to toe with just a glance. The ruby wand on her hand had an imbued fire element, and her robe had several protective magic circles which meant that it could trigger an auto-defense mechanism without her actively casting a defensive spell. From this point and coupled with his first impression towards her, Rhode already guessed her fighting style.
That was to be expected as a former leader of the No.1 guild. Rhode had done countless of PKs in his gaming life, and this wasn't any different. Furthermore, players were many times more difficult as they could move as they chose, but on the contrary, NPCs could only react based on the equipment they had. Thus, Rhode had completely predicted what attacks she would make later on.
Meanwhile, as Rhode completed his plan for this duel, Marlene had troubles finding an opening.
That was because Rhode, who was standing before her, did not move at all. He did not equip any weapon, nor take any combat stance. He was simply standing still at his own leisure.
This action made Marleen hesitate slightly. It wasn't because she hadn't fought in a duel before, but this kind of casual behavior in a duel… However, the young miss was still genius of this era. Even though she did not know what Rhode was trying to pull off, she decisively ended her hesitation. No matter what the opponent was trying to do, as long as she put her mind to it, she would definitely win!
"Migcl!" (Flame)
Followed by a chant, she took half a step forward and raised the wand on her hand. Flames appeared on the tip of the gem and shot towards Rhode. Wherever the fire passed, the surrounding temperature would rise, it even caused the ground to be scorched black. The weeds immediately turned into ashes. As the temperature was too high, it instantly charred the vegetation.
The flame consumed Rhode's figure and the two people who were watching this scene screamed in surprise. On the other hand, Marlene was sulking because she could felt that she did not hit the target! She had failed!
But a genius was indeed a genius.
After noticing that something was wrong, she immediately gripped her wand and struck it towards the ground.
"Jir!" (Storm)
A violent whirlwind arose from beneath her feet. The air condensed into a series of razor-sharp wind blades. That wasn't all, the temperature within the eye of the storm dipped drastically, forming icicles which spun within the whirlwind.
As he observed Marlene's performance, Rhode could not help but shake his head and sigh. In the game, the mage was one of the top classes in regards to DPS. He never thought that in reality, it was also as strong. Marlene's level was higher than Rhode by only five, but her attack damage could be considered to be almost twice of Rhode's.
Among the players, there was a saying. When a mage is PK-ing, even if he didn't know the position of the enemy, as long as the mage cast all his available spells, he could at least kill something.
That was how strong and terrifying mages were.
But to Rhode, although he found Marlene's damage to be excellent, her casting was full of loopholes. Apparently, she did not know what she was doing right now. In fact, when she was attacking, Rhode had already used Shadow Flash and snuck behind her. However, she still stood her ground. Even though realized that something was amiss and reacted quickly by casting storm to avoid being ambushed by him, but if she couldn't find the source of the threat, casting a skill blindly would cause the opposite effect.
Rhode flipped his right hand and shot forward.
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Chapter 50: Expectation vs. Reality
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
A green card materialized and transformed into the Spirit Bird which flew towards Marleen's flank. The girl was completely oblivious to the attack. Her faith in her storm guard was absolute, and she figured that if he attacked, she would immediately counter-attack.
Screech! Alas… due to her ignorance and overreliance on her spells, when a cry suddenly echoed from behind, she was dumbfounded.
What happened? What's it?
She subconsciously turned around to check, but when she did, a huge gust of wind slammed into her.
"Boom!!"
The storm guard could indeed block most of the damage, but unfortunately, Rhode had used the most simple and most efficient way to counter it. For a creature of the wind, even if faced a raging hurricane, it would be nothing more than like a fish swimming in the sea.
As she was caught unprepared, the girl fell to the ground, unable to breathe. All of a sudden, the intricate formations on Marleen's robe began to glow, and a solid, translucent crystal barrier formed around her, allowing her to breathe once again. Once she caught her breath, she immediately attempted to get up, but the moment her head turned, she discovered Rhode standing beside her.
What?! When did he appear there?
Marlene was startled, but she still forced herself to remain calm. She raised her wand and tried to cast another spell, but this time, Rhode didn't give her a chance to do it.
The girl's magic isn't bad per se… but she still lacked the necessary experience.
After observing how she retaliated against the Spirit Bird, he intended to stop fighting with her. During the battle, she ignored an incoming attack just to ensure that Rhode's figure didn't leave her sights. This indicated that her battle awareness was amateurish. Thus, if that was the case, then he did not mind defeating her to teach her.
Rhode grinned to himself. Then, he lifted his right hand.
The green card that was on his palm swiftly turned red.
The whirlwind also changed color at the same time.
Marleen's eyes widened in shock. This phenomenon seemed to have surpassed her expectations. In a blink of an eye, a bright crimson flame melded with the wind and spun furiously as it crashed into the crystal barrier. The solid barrier shook violently under the enormous impact.
Craaaack. Spiderweb-like fractures began to appear on the barrier. Marleen knew that it wouldn't last much longer and decided to counter-attack. But she was slightly too late. A black hound suddenly emerged from the fiery hurricane and slammed into the barrier with its ferocious claws.
Bang!!
Finally, the low-level barrier couldn't absorb any more damage and broke into countless of tiny fragments. Then, the black hound flashed its terrifyingly sharp teeth before rushing towards her.
This time, she was genuinely frightened.
Since the beginning of the battle, she wasn't able to turn the tides on him even for a second. Rhode's movements were always beyond her expectations, and she could not predict what he would do next. While she had some experience in dueling back in the academy, when she faced Rhode, all her previous experiences were worthless.
It was paramount for mages' to keep a distance from melee combatants to ensure their safety before launching attacks.
Hmph. I need to protect myself before attacking?
Use my most powerful spell at the start of the battle to cause damage to intimidate the enemy?
Of course, I know that! But, how do I accomplish that now!!
Marlene almost collapsed in the face of the terrifying beast. At this point, only her arrogant pride kept her from succumbing to fear and confusion. She subconsciously raised her hand and pointed at the ferocious beast who was dashing towards her.
"Jir!"
A whirlwind condensed on the ruby on her wand and shot forward. Watching the attack approach at high speed, the Flame Killer stopped abruptly. It roared loudly, and then it retreated. This gave Marleen a brief moment of respite as she heaved a sigh of relief and raised her wand towards Rhode.
This time, the card on Rhode's hand turned white,
It was shining brilliantly.
Marlene felt her wrist turn cold, she immediately lost focus and glanced down at her wrist. After that, her entire body shivered.
The formerly gorgeous and splendid robe had been shredded, revealing her snow-like skin. However, what made her terrified was the blood that was oozing out from her forearm.
It hurts…
That was Marlene's first thoughts; then her mind started to spin out of control.
…I'm injured?
Am I hurt?
She blanked out. All she could only think of was the blood flowing down her wrist. As for the defense strategy that she had devised to counter Rhode? All of them were tossed into the drain. She even subconsciously cast her wand to the side and gripped her wrist tightly. What about the fight? What about the duel? She didn't care! In her eyes, her injured arm was the most important!
How did I get injured?
Why am I injured?
What should I do?!
Marlene could be described as a resilient flower, but in the end, she still resided in a greenhouse. Naturally, a genius like her would be filled with confidence and self-discipline. She had never encountered any major setbacks in her life… at least not until now.
Suddenly, the cold feeling of steel dragged her sorry self back to reality. She looked to the front, and the first thing she reflected in her eyes was a white, shining sword.
"Swoosh!!"
The Star Mark flew past Marleen and stabbed into the ground, mere inches away from her neck.
At this moment, Marlene was akin to a puppet with their strings cut. Her legs felt soft and she kneeled down onto the floor. Her eyes were hollow as she stared blankly at the sky.
"The ability to combine multiple elements into magic means that your understanding towards magic spells is quite profound."
Rhode indifferent voice echoed in the garden. He spoke while raising his right hand and soon, the white card from his palm disappeared, following with the white sword which pierced the ground beside Marlene.
"But in actual combat, this is the result. If you perform the same way in missions, then I will give up on you. Lize, treat the wounds and bring her up for a rest. It seems that she unable to get a hold of herself for a moment."
"Ah, yes!"
Lize who had been worried sick, quickly ran over to treat Marlene's wound after hearing Rhode's command. Marlene appeared as if she had lost her soul, staring blankly while sitting on the ground and not saying anything.
Looking at her pitiful state, Rhode frowned but did not say unnecessary. He was quite confident of her mental condition. After all, in the future, she would be known as the 'Queen of Mercenaries'. As for the rest, it is up to her. If she continued to act like an arrogant brat, then the group would surely be destroyed. Rhode certainly knew that he was not interested in sending himself off.
It was just as he said. Marlene indeed had a profound understanding of the magic itself, but it wasn't very useful in actual combat, which was a common problem for many people, including the players. It was just like conquering a dungeon, everyone could read the dungeon strategy guide, and the boss weakness would be revealed. But in the actual fight, what use would it be?
If things happened based on what had been written down, then that'll be for the best, but what if there was an accident? Let's say that the monsters were killed earlier than expected, and the boss appeared before they could get into position. When that happens, if the situation was not handled properly, the group might be wiped out!
Rhode believed that if the battle went as she has expected, then she would surely perform as well as those legendary figures in history. Unfortunately, fights, in reality, was unlike CG animations. Under an unexpected situation, her mind immediately became unstable, and that was a significant problem.
After Lize left with Marleen, he went back into the house. Old Hank's face was clearly different. He never thought that Rhode was actually that strong. That girl was the famous magical genius of Golden City. She had defeated many people with just one move. Moreover, he did not expect that this young man would be that ruthless! He actually injured the beautiful young miss.
Right now, Old Hank was feeling rather bitter. He sighed as he looked helplessly at Rhode's back and then at Marlene, who was being lifted up by Lize.
A while later.
Marlene silently stared out of the window, her eyes still somewhat vacant.
After all that had happened, Lize brought her to a room where she could finally relax. This was the most massive blow in her life so far. It was just like a famous idol who was being suddenly slapped to the ground and kicked in the face.
Rhode's words repeatedly rang in her mind. Although she could not accept it, she had no way to refute it. While she could blame her loss on Rhode's unorthodox fighting style, but she knew that if it were truly a life-and-death battle, there would only be a single person standing – the winner. If Rhode were her enemy, then she would be dead by now. How can a dead person complain if someone's fighting style was weird and crafty?
"How do you feel Marlene?"
Lize put a cup of hot tea in front of Marlene and asked in low voice.
"I'm feeling better. Thanks, Lize."
Marlene reluctantly exposed a stiff smile. While she was happy that she could meed an old friend here, but under these circumstances, she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. The impact of this duel weighed heavy on her. It wasn't as if she hadn't lost before, but there had never been a time where she lost in such an embarrassing manner before. Moreover, the duels with her teacher were very civilized, and would she rarely notice any blood during the spar… Marlene shook her head dejectedly. She found that she was too weak.
"Frankly, I took things too lightly."
She sighed.
"I thought that it wouldn't be too difficult to finish these mercenary commissions with my strength. But… now I know that I can't even fight properly. Obviously, in my mind, I knew that I had to execute my drills, but my body did not move as I wanted to. In the end, I don't know what should I do."
Marlene exposed a bitter smile as she explained.
"I used to laugh at those incompetent people. But looking at it right now, comparing me to them, there's not so much difference, right?"
"That isn't the case, Marlene."
Lize stood up and held her hand. Her eyes focused on the girl in front of her.
"Actual battles and what we imagine actual battles to be are vastly different. I was also the same once. Marlene. Before joining the mercenary group, I was also full of unrealistic dreams; I believed that I could rely on my ability to heal every single one of their injuries. They helped me when I needed them and so I wanted to be able to help them."
Lize's eyes flashed a trace of sadness.
"But when I participated in my first real battle, when I saw real flesh and blood, I was almost scared to death. In fact, I did not have the time to treat everyone. There were too many people being seriously injured. Although the leader did not directly blame me, I could sense their disappointment in their eyes. I know that they needed my help, and I had the ability to help them. But I took a step back at the most critical moment… The leader told me that everyone would face such a test without exception. After that, I also kept working hard and finally…"
"I know…"
Marlene looked down; her beautiful eyes revealed a trace of complicated feelings.
"I understand what you mean Lize, it was just like what he said. If I did the same things as I did now on the mission, no wonder he would not want me. But…"
Marleen clenched her fists.
"I still wanted to try. I know that my experience is limited. I also understand that the things that I was proud of, is useless for my improvement. But I won't run away like a coward because I am Marlene Senia! I am born with my family's pride and glory! I absolutely won't allow myself to retreat, no matter how difficult and hard it will be, I will bite the bullet and continue moving forward. I have decided."
"Family's glory…"
Her face turned bitter as she murmured these words to herself. Marlene figured that something was wrong. She quickly raised her head and looking at Lize.
"By the way, Lize. You have not told me why you are here as a mercenary? Why did you leave the Golden City? At that time, I was absent, so I didn't know what happened. When I returned, you were already gone. I had been looking for you for a long time ever since… Why did you leave?"
After hearing Marlene's question, Lize's expression turned somber. She bit her lower lips and answered, "Because it was the decision of the family council."
"You were expelled?!"
Hearing that term 'Family Council', Marlene suddenly stood up. She stared at the girl who sat beside her in surprise and anger.
"How could those old geezers do that! They actually dared to drive you out? Did Mr. Drekman not stop them?
"Father agreed the Council's opinion."
"This…"
Hearing that sentence, Marlene didn't know what else to say.
"…how can he…"
"It's not surprising."
Lize smiled and shook her head. She stretched out her hand, playing with her golden ponytail.
"Right now, I am not called Lize Calante Belgrade any longer. Lize Noir… That's my name now.
"That group of self-righteous old geezers!"
Marlene raised her eyebrows coldly and sat down again. Then she looked at Lize with concern.
"Then, you…"
"Just like now."
Lize replied softly.
"I will stay in this mercenary group. It is part of my life now. Although it is very dangerous, but for me, it isn't something bad. Mr. Rhode promised me that he would revive the mercenary group. I think that this is better and more meaningful job than me wearing an expensive dress while attending the banquets, isn't it?"
Marlene was surprised at the calm girl, who revealed a gentle smile. But still, her mind felt somewhat complicated.
That little girl who liked to cry from before… now has now grown up… eh?
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Chapter 51: One More Person
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The cold night wind blew.
Rhode stood on the balcony on the second floor, quietly watching the beautiful scenery of Deep Stone City before him. Along the edges of the mines, lights formed into bright lines which flickered in the dark sky like fireflies in the night. A calming trickle from a nearby creek, together with the gentle breeze that could be heard from afar, seemingly formed a whole new world.
Rhode felt that his existence in this world was becoming increasingly realistic.
"Thump, thump."
A gentle pair of footsteps came from behind, but Rhode didn't need to look back to know who it was. The person also did not say anything and stood quietly by Rhode's side, bathing in the cool night. After some time, Marlene's voice sounded in Rhode's ear.
"I've heard about you from Lize, thank you."
"I did not do anything worthy of your thanks," Rhode said coolly.
"You saved Lize. This act itself is a very important matter to me."
Marlene reached out her hand and flicked her long hair. Then, she glanced at Rhode's broad back.
"She is my only friend. Our friendship was the same in the past, and there's no difference now. If she died…" Marlene trailed off, but Rhode could understand what she was trying to say.
"Do you know about Lize's past?"
"If she wants to tell me, she'll take the initiative to do so."
Rhode did not answer her question directly, he just shrugged and gave a vague answer. When she discovered Rhode's point, Marlene found herself unable to reply immediately. She quietly watched Rhode and clenched her teeth. Although Lize told her that Rhode was an easygoing person, Marlene just couldn't understand how was he easy to get along with…
"…I have decided, Mr. Rhode. I agree to your conditions. I would like to stay."
"Oh?"
Hearing Marlene's answer, Rhode turned around.
"Have you truly decided on it?"
Marlene proudly raised her head and replied, "Yes."
Although she had lost miserably, she managed to grasp her own weaknesses. She believed that perhaps Rhode wouldn't be able to give her the best suggestions, but at least someone could point out her mistakes.
Now that she had made her decision, she wouldn't go back on her words. That was her pride.
"Well."
Rhode didn't speak any fanciful words and nodded slightly.
"Are you still hurt?"
"…It's alright."
When she suddenly heard him ask this, Marlene's calm expression had a slight change. Subconsciously, she held her wrist. The wound wasn't anything serious, and after receiving Lize's treatment, not even a scab was left. But this injury still left a knot in her heart. Just by thinking of it, it was as though she could still feel the pain.
"But you had a chance to beat me."
Marleen was shocked. These unexpected words took Marleen by surprise, and she raised her head to look at him.
"Your injury wasn't serious. If you had the willpower to fight back when you're injured, then even if you failed in the end, it wouldn't be as quick as before. Just a minor injury and you completely gave up fighting. If this were a real life or death battle, this action is akin to giving yourself a death sentence."
Marlene's face turned red when she heard Rhode point out her mistakes. After that, she slowly recalled the fight with Rhode and found out that what he said was true. Though defeating the youth was almost impossible, but at least she wouldn't have lost so miserably. It was just as he said, it was a life or death battle, she would be dead."
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Rhode."
"No problem, I just merely said it casually."
After hesitating for a while, she asked again.
"Mr. Rhode, I heard that… you came from the Eastern Hill."
"Yes, what's the problem?"
"No… I just want to …"
The girl opened her mouth but did not finish her sentence.
"Never mind, I'll take my leave. Good night, Mr. Rhode."
It should be impossible, according to the information, that family had long been extinct.
Marlene shook her head and away that thought. Then, she bid her farewell by lifting the hem of her skirt slightly and bowing.
Suddenly, a loud voice broke the still of the night, frightening her for a moment.
"Hey, you damned kid! Where are you!? I'm coming in!!"
Rhode walked to the entrance and saw Old Walker standing there impatiently. This time, the old man's lazy and decadent attitude from before was gone, his ragged clothes were replaced with a piece of old, but clean leather armor. A thick wooden bow and quiver full of arrows were neatly placed on his back. It was as if he had a total makeover and his entire body seemed to be radiating with energy. Only his face still had an expression of as though someone owed him a living.
"I thought you wouldn't come, Mr. Walker."
Although Old Walker's face clearly displayed his dissatisfaction, Rhode turned a blind eye to it. He strolled to the side of Old Walker and glanced at him, and then nodded.
"You still had 20 minutes… Well anyway, welcome to my humble abode. From today onward, you are a regular member of the mercenary group."
"Don't be too proud, boy." Discerning that Rhode was trying to put on airs, Old Walker coldly snorted and replied, "I want to see how badly an arrogant guy like you would fail. Hmph, at that time I will mock you endlessly so that an ungrateful brat like you will experience the cruel reality!"
Rhode kept his calm and remained silent. This made the old man furious. Then, as though finding something to mock Rhode, he caught the dissatisfied gaze of Marleen by the side. His mouth twitched.
"Who is this chick? Is she your woman? Not bad, it's just that her face is a little bit ugly…"
"You…!!"
Marlene immediately flared up. Ever since the start, when she heard Old Walker's loud voice, she had already classified him as those 'rude men.' And now that rude man was insulting her? This wasn't something a noble young miss like her could tolerate.
"What a rude man! I am…"
"This is Miss Marlene, an old acquaintance of Lize who will join our mercenary group for the time being."
It was clear that Rhode did not intend to let Marlene vent her anger. Before Marlene spoke, he waved his hand and interrupted them. Then he reached out his hand and made a welcoming gesture.
"So, Mr. Walker, it's already late today. I will prepare a room for you. Have a good rest. Tomorrow we will start early to go to Pavel Cemetery."
"Of course, no problem, kid. You think I was…" The Old Walker blabbered half way before actually registering what Rhode had said, "…wait!!"
He stared at Rhode in surprise. Then he jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Pavel Cemetery? What are we going to do in that ghostly place? You have already selected that damn mission?"
"Of course."
Hearing Old Walker's question, Rhode raised his brow.
"You crazy kid!! You actually took this mission! Why didn't you tell me beforehand!"
"Simple. First, when we went to find you, I had yet to accept this mission. Second, even if we had accepted it, you were not a member of our mercenary group yet, I didn't think that it's necessary to tell you."
"You you you…"
Old Walker pointed at Rhode furiously, his hand slightly trembling in anger.
"You actually fooled me! I quit!"
"Do as you please."
Rhode did not even bat his eyes as he faced Old Walker's temper head on. He knew that the old man was actually a masochist. If he did not teach him a lesson, he would definitely not follow his command in the future. That was why, in the first place, he did not bother to be courteous with him. Moreover, even if this old man left the group, it wouldn't affect his plans by a large margin. Since he had already drafted a plan to challenge the cemetery with a minimum of two people, and furthermore, now he had Marlene's presence in the group, so even if Old Walker failed to appear, it didn't really matter.
"It's not surprising for a coward to go back on his words."
"You…you…"
Old Walker felt his blood boiling and almost fainted. At this time, Marlene who was standing at the door also chuckled, looking playfully at Rhode.
As Rhode always wore an indifferent expression, Marlene thought that he must be a taciturn person. But when she came in contact with him, she discovered that he actually spoke a lot, and sometimes his words were hurtful. His age might not be much older compared to her, but whenever she stood next to him, she always felt like he was a towering giant. Never had she felt this way before about people who were around her age.
Or perhaps he was an exception?
After staring at Rhode for a moment, Old Walker finally gave up. He put down his hand and turned his head.
"Well, kid, you win. I'd like to see how badly you will die. I will go with you, but if I feel that something is off, I will immediately run away! I may be old, but I still don't want to put this old life of mine in the hands of a reckless kid like you!"
"No problem."
Rhode shrugged nonchalantly.
"If you can do it, then I have no opinion."
What does he mean?
He was confused and surprised at the same time. What did he mean?
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Chapter 52: Shortcut
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Pavel Cemetery was situated at the northeastern mountain area outside of Deep Stone City. It was once a prosperous small mining area, but the mining techniques were not entirely developed at that time and landslides occurred from time to time. In the end, Many miners were killed and wounded, and the dead were buried under the earth, never to be found again. As time passed, the area turned into a cemetery. Later, Bishop Pavel raised funds to build a proper cemetery, and as thanks for his charitable activities, the place was thereby named as Pavel Cemetery.
But nothing was ever certain in this world. The once venerable Bishop turned into an infamous necromancer, and the cemetery naturally became his territory. Many people had wondered how did this happen, but Rhode found it uninteresting. Against his enemies — kill or catch them, then loot as fast as possible. As of the perpetrator's motive? It could be investigated slowly after that. It's better to not do something that would waste time though.
Not before long, the well-maintained road they were traveling on disappeared. The only remaining traces of the road was a few pieces of cracked slate. Mountainous trails were difficult to traverse, but for Rhode, the most annoying thing wasn't that, but instead, it was the old man who was nagging from behind.
"I say, kid, what do you mean by taking us to this ghastly place?"
Old Walker complained incessantly as he stared at the surface of the steep mountain.
"Pavel Cemetery is on the other side of the mountain. If you are lost, I don't mind showing you the direction."
"Thanks for your goodwill."
As he was walking at the front, Rhode did not bother to turn back and refused Old Walker's 'proposal' sarcastically.
"I think this way is better."
Better?
Hearing Rhode's answer, Old Walker almost fainted. He looked at the road before him and compared it to the road at the foot of the mountain. Which route is better? Does it even need to be discussed?
Although he felt dissatisfied, he still suppressed his anger and followed behind. Rhode told Old Walker about the same conditions he gave to Marleen. If he did not wholly obey his command, he would immediately leave him here to die. Although he wasn't sure whether Rhode was being serious or not, Old Walker eventually decided not to take the risk.
Rhode wore an ordinary leather armor and walked at the front while Lize and Marlene followed closely behind. The steep mountain trail did not cause too much problem for Rhode and Lize; even Marlene did not seem to be troubled by it. Although she wasn't accustomed to climbing mountains, with additional support from her magic, it wasn't that difficult.
They were almost there.
Around the corner, the mountain path was growing narrower and more dangerous. But Rhode had his own plans. He compared the landscape before him to the ones in his memories, then he nodded.
In fact, since the beginning, he didn't plan to attack the enemy territory directly. Pavel Cemetery was a somewhat unique dungeon as half of the territory was located on the surface and half of it was beneath the earth, to put it more precisely, it was within the mines. If they attacked directly from the front with only four people, they would exhaust themselves to death by fighting the regular undead mobs before facing the boss. As for completing the quest, it would turn into a joke.
That was why he did not attack head-on because he had a better plan.
Players could be described as the most diligent yet laziest people in the world. They were diligent because their passion for adventure was much higher than the people from this world. Whether it was a pit, river, or gully, players would spend their time to explore every nook and cranny of the dungeon in hope to find some precious treasure or artifact to increase their strength. From this point, it could be said that even the most greedy bandits could not be compared to them.
As for their laziness — they would simply seek out for shortcuts when faced with longwinded questlines. Those 'shortcuts' even included exploiting of game bugs. The players would try their best to complete everything within the shortest possible time. Frankly, the players just didn't like to follow the order arranged for them and rather forge their own path.
That was exactly what Rhode was doing now.
The reason why he did not choose the road on the foot of the mountain was that he knew of a hidden entrance in the mountain precipice above. There was a small, deep hole leading into the Pavel Cemetery. This hole used to be a mining tunnel for miners to exit the pit. If Rhode used this hidden path, he could easily enter Pavel Cemetery and shorten his journey by nearly half.
Around the edges of the mountain precipice, the cold wind grew gotten stronger.
"It's here."
A distance away from him was a hole not more than two meters in diameter. Rhode nodded in satisfaction as he walked to the edge of the hole and peered down. However, all he could see was nothing but darkness.
"Wait, kid… what are you trying to do? You want us to jump down this hole?"
"Yes, this is hole connected to a tunnel. From here, we can shorten half of the distance."
"What a joke!"
Old Walker snorted in dissatisfaction.
"How do you know that this hole leads to a tunnel, kid? If we went down and fell into the middle of those damn monsters then what should we do? Furthermore, even if we killed that accursed necromancer then how do we escape?"
"Stupid."
Rhode did not answer, but clearly, Marlene did not agree with him.
"Don't you know the relationship between the undead and necromancer? They rely on the necromancer's magic to maintain the existence of their bodies. Once we kill the necromancer, then the undead would turn to a useless pile of corpses. This is basic knowledge… are you really a mercenary?"
"I am a mercenary, not a mage."
After being ridiculed by Marlene, Old Walker immediately backed down and grumbled to himself.
"Who knows what kind of abnormal thoughts you eccentric mages have?"
"Abnormal?! You ignorant—"
"I'll go first."
Rhode decisively ended the minor dispute before it turned into something big.
"Next up would be Lize, then Marlene, then you, Walker. Since you are a veteran, I think you don't need my help." Rhode said, and then he disappeared into the hole.
A chilly breeze swept past. Although the depth was about four to five meters, with the help of Spirit Bird, Rhode landed on the ground smoothly.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, a bright light appeared on Rhode's palm and illuminated the dark passage. Rhode a took step forward carefully, and after determining that there was no danger ahead, he finally relaxed. At the same time, the other three also followed him and jumped.
Lize and Marlene easily used their magic to make them float down. While Old Walker couldn't use magic, since he was once a veteran ranger, this kind of height was not difficult for him.
"Let's move."
Rhode spoke in a low voice and assumed the vanguard position.
Inside the old tunnel, only their footsteps could be heard in the darkness. Lize, as usual, assumed the role from Rhode as the 'lighthouse' and summoned the holy light to illuminate the way for the four. According to Rhode's instruction, Marlene walked beside Lize to help her reduce the possibility of an ambush. Old Walker followed closely behind the rest of the group because it was a relatively dangerous and critical position. If the enemy attacked from their rear, it would become quite dangerous. It required an experienced veteran to protect them from behind. Since Marlene and Lize clearly could not bear the burden, the position of rearguard was left to Old Walker.
The dirt shifted under their feet as they walked.
Under the illumination of the holy light, the abandoned rusted tools, old mining carts, corrosive holes on the wooden columns, and spider webs were finally exposed. From time to time, a breeze would sweep through the tunnel.
Suddenly, a perilous scent drifted in the air.
"Lize."
At the end of the tunnel, Rhode scanned the seemingly empty mining pit before him. Then, he quickly made a hand gesture. When Lize saw this, she hastily brought her pace to a halt and silently cast a barrier on the four of them. Old Walker who was rather careless at first also began to unsheath the dagger on his waist; his two dilated pupils were darting corner to corner with vigilance. Then, he crouched down in attempt to catch any sound of movement in their immediate surroundings. Although this old mercenary had been complaining and irritating them all the way, right now he revealed his professional nature.
Marleen did not react until she saw the rest of them assuming a cautious stance. She immediately gripped the wand in her hand, awaiting further orders. However, instead of scanning the area, her eyes focused on Rhode's back. Even if the enemy was in front of her, she could not fight without his permission. Although this condition was harsh, after her initial failure, Marlene was not really against it anymore. The four then slowly made their way towards the mining pit.
One step… two steps… three steps…
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a withered arm extended out from the ground and rushed towards the four of them. Facing this sudden assault, Rhode, who was already prepared from the beginning immediately waved his sword. The swordlight sliced through the darkness. Following with a sharp whistling screech, the withered arm was cleanly cut into two. Then, all of a sudden, the ground shook vigorously, and countless of withered arms flew into the air. At the same time, dark, desiccated bodies crawled out from the ground.
"Marlene, Ice!"
"Ah? Okay!"
Hearing Rhode's sudden command, Marlene was stunned for a moment. Then she hurriedly raised her wand and pointed it towards the ground.
"Caicy!" (Frost)
An icy white mist swirled at the tip of the wand which slowly engulfed the surrounding air. The temperature began to dip drastically; ice particles even started appearing in the air. The undead was clearly affected by the fluctuation in temperature and its movements stalled to a crawl. At this time, a fiery, bright flame emerged from Rhode's sword.
"Woo…!!"
Within the burning flames, the black hound emerged once again. It growled at the frosted enemy before it, and under Rhode's command, it rushed forward, its baring its sharp fangs and claws.
"Marleen! Thunderstorm!"
Acknowledging Rhode's command, Marlene nodded and raised her right hand. Soon, electrical sparks crackled around her fingers, and in a blink of an eye, bolts of lightning shot out towards the undead. The thunderstorm roasted the undead creatures, and the impact launched their limbs into the sky. Soon, before area before them was empty once again.
"This…"
Marlene stared at the scene before her in disbelief. Although she knew that her magical power was strong, she never thought that she was able to beat that many undead creatures! What made her even more ecstatic was that she merely cast two spells — and those were low-level spells to boot! Since they did not need a long casting time, the damage shouldn't be THAT significant. Even more so, she could not believe that… she actually could attack that fluidly?
Fluid and quick casting is a critical skill for a mage. If they could cast faster, they could grasp the initiative to usurp control of the battlefield. But it was easier said than done. Mages had to memorize hundreds of different spells. To be able to cycle through the spells fluidly and cast quickly at the same time was no easy feat. Only when the mage enters the Soul Circle stage and acquired a better control of their ability would they then be able to cast faster and smoother.
But still, Rhode's ability to command was simply exquisite and beyond her expectations.
Who is he actually?
Marlene could not help but stare at Rhode. While it was true that he had a deep understanding towards magic, she too, had it as well. But in the heat of the battle, she wasn't able to choose the fastest nor the most powerful from her sizeable repertoire of spells without hesitation. Not many people could do something like that.
Is he also a mage?
If Rhode heard Marlene's inner thoughts, he would definitely shake his head. Never would he have thought that studying magic was that difficult and troublesome in this world. The reason he could command Marlene to use those spells was because, back in the game, the players would usually choose to use several large-scale AOE spells when fighting against a group of mobs, and he only casually chose one of those spells. As for the principle of magic combination? He wasn't interested in understanding those boring things at all.
The battle ended in five minutes.
Under the blanket of ice, the undead creatures were frozen solid and were unable to show any further threat. They were absolutely overwhelmed by Marleen's spell. After a while, Rhode scanned around once more. When he ascertained that there were no more threats, he put down his sword and made a hand gesture.
"Clean the battlefield."
Lize and Old Walker nodded and immediately dispersed. On the other hand, Marlene revealed a confused expression. Clearly, she did not understand what Rhode meant.
"Clean the battlefield?"
"Yes."
Rhode said plainly and went beside a body that had been completely torn apart, leaving only the bones and fragments behind. He reached out his hand and began to search for something.
"Check to see if there are any good things in these bodies and then hand it to me."
"T-t-touch the corpse?!!"
Marlene's face immediately paled.
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The young girl had a dream.
Famous heroes armed with legendary weapons were slaughtering the evil monsters barring their path. Eventually, they achieved an overwhelming victory over the BOSS and received immeasurable honor and their fame spread across the lands — however, in the end, a dream was just a dream. It didn't explain how the heroes toiled to pick up every single loot from the remains of the monsters to gather enough resources for the next fight.
Reality is cruel.
As she stared at Rhode and the others who were stripping down the rotten corpses, a few gold coins amongst other strange things appeared from the bodies. Marlene could only stand beside them with a dark expression and protest.
"This is blasphemy towards the deceased!"
Unfortunately, her righteous objection fell on deaf ears.
"You must be kidding."
Rhode sneered as he grabbed a few gold coins that fell on the ground and stuffed it in his pocket.
"We are mercenaries, and they are our enemies. Naturally, we have to pick up what we deserve. And… about the matter of 'blasphemy towards the deceased,' I would think that the necromancer had already done it once, so I guess the dead wouldn't mind if we did it again."
"Irrational! Lize! Come talk some sense into him! What are yo—"
When Marleen turned around and saw Lize carefully retrieving a silver necklace on the corpse's neck, she couldn't bear to continue her sentence.
"Ah, this…"
Lize's face turned red and smiled awkwardly. It was not that she did not understand what Marlene was thinking. After all, when she first joined the mercenary group, she also made a huge ruckus. But now, well…
"Our mercenary group's income is very limited, so…"
While Lize sounded rather sorry and the red tinge on her face revealed her embarrassment, her fingers didn't slow down one bit as she looted the corpse.
"But, we will receive a reward once the mission is done, right?"
"Do you think that kind of money is enough for us? Missy?" This time, it was Old Walker who spoke out.
Unlike Lize, Old Walker totally resembled a graverobber. If he wanted a ring, he would yank the entire arm of the corpse. Then he whipped out a knife from his pocket and sliced into the corpse's skull, digging out a large piece of corpse oil. Looking at this scene made Marlene want to puke out yesterday's dinner.
"Every time we complete a mission, we only earn a hundred gold coins, and sometimes, even fewer. This kid's mercenary group only has a few members, that's why the lack of funds doesn't really show. But ordinary mercenary groups have at least ten members. Everyone fought with their lives on the line just for a mere ten gold coins. But what can this measly amount do? We have to maintain our weapons and armors, and we also need to eat and drink. Do you think that we don't require money to do all of these? Moreover, we will only receive the reward once we complete the mission. What if we fail? You want us to suffer from cold and hunger?"
Marlene couldn't find any words to refute Old Walker, so she stood idly to a side and stared at the three people looting the corpses with enthusiasm. Once the trio was done clearing out the bodies, they continued as though nothing happened.
After that incident, they encountered many ambushes later on, but under Rhode's steady leadership, they waded through the storm without major issues. While they only numbered four people, Old Walker had a vast plethora of experience, Lize could easily restrain the undead, and Marlene's AOE spells were able to make easy work of the undead.
As they delved deeper into the mines, the air became increasingly dank and heavy. The darkness seemed to erode and eat away at Lize's holy light. Rhode was at the vanguard. He clutched the Star Mark tightly as he scanned the shadows before him vigilantly. Based on his conjecture, he believed that the necromancer was already alerted to their presence.
After all, they'd killed so many undead along the way. Surely the necromancer would be aware that something was wrong when he lost contact with that many undead. If Rhode had enough members, he wouldn't mind sauntering to BOSS room and challenge the necromancer head-on, however, he only had three people with him right now, and furthermore, in this world, there was no such thing as resurrection.
Rhode put down his left hand, signaling the other three behind him to stop. He scanned the surroundings once more and spoke to them softly, "We are close to the necromancer. I will lay the strategy out now, remember, you need to recall what I say here because I cannot always give commands to all of you in the battle. If you forget… then well… I don't think that I'll even have to hand out punishments as a dead body won't be able to receive them anyway."
The three of them immediately raised their guard when they heard that the final battle was close. Moreover, when they heard Rhode's usual indifferent voice, it somehow lifted their morale. Along the way, Marlene had received plenty of valuable advice from following Rhode's command. Although she had already possessed skill and experience back when she was training in the academy, under Rhode's command, she could finally comprehend the true meaning behind those skills. When she cast the spell according to what he said, she suddenly realized that something she had studied before was supposed to be used like that. This made her stop doubting Rhode's words and began to follow his commands obediently.
As for Old Walker, although he was still unsatisfied with Rhode… at least he did not want to be the revolutionary martyr.
"Lize."
Rhode faced the cleric behind him since she held the most important role in this battle.
"I will be responsible for tying that guy down. First, you must remember to stack extra layers of barrier to the others. Unless I ask you to, you are not allowed to waste your power on me. The necromancer has a strong defense, so Marlene will be responsible for breaking its protective shield. Remember, only launch your destructive spells afterward when the shield is down. Otherwise, it would only be a waste of power."
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Rhode." Lize nodded her head.
Seeing that Lize had understood her role, he turned his head and looked at Marlene.
"Miss Marlene, as I said earlier, your job is to remove the protective shield from the necromancer. With your prowess, it shouldn't be too difficult. If there's anything beyond your ability, then quickly inform me, and I'll solve it. While I attract the necromancer's attention, it won't entirely give up on attacking you. That's why when you are casting your spells, you need to pay attention to your surroundings. Prioritize killing any undead you meet before fighting the necromancer. And lastly, you are not to engage the necromancer until I say so."
"Alright, no problem. Leave it to me."
After witnessing Rhode's judgment on the battlefield, Marlene's answer became more confident.
Once Rhode received her verbal acknowledgment, he turned to Old Walker.
"Mr. Walker, your job is straightforward. There is a gem on the necromancer's forehead — it's quite obvious, so you shouldn't miss it. Your role is to shoot that gem when the necromancer is preparing to cast a magic spell. Even with your strength, it still will be difficult to break that gem. But do not fret, all you have to do is to delay him from casting a spell. Also, I hope that you can take care of these two girls, if there is any unexpected danger, please do remind them."
Rhode spoke quite a bit, but Old Walker did not respond. On the contrary, he frowned.
"Youngster, there seems to be a sound coming from that side."
Old Walker raised his hand and pointed towards a tunnel.
"Over there?"
Rhode's eyes traced the direction where Old Walker had pointed to, and his face darkened.
At this moment, they were standing at a fork. One passage led to the necromancer, the other was a dead end, behind them was where Rhode and the others came from, and the last one was the tunnel which Old Walker pointed to. This tunnel was connected to the main entrance, that means that if they did not enter via 'Rhode's shortcut,' then they were supposed to come from this passage.
And right now, Old Walker was saying that there was movement from that tunnel.
Rhode signaled everyone to keep silent and then closed his eyes. Soon, he could hear the faint sound of weapons clashing from the other side. It was clear that there was fighting going on, and it appeared that both of them had the same goal.
What should he do next?
Rhode frowned and looked at the other three behind him. The necromancer wasn't hard to beat, but with only four people, they would need to spend a considerable amount of time. During that time, they did not know what might happen. If they were stabbed in the back in the middle of a struggle, then it would be very bothersome.
People who played online games all knew that there was an unspoken taboo about kill stealing a BOSS. If it was an instanced dungeon, then it wouldn't be so bad, but a mission BOSS like this one… was really hard to say. After all, a wild BOSS was like a public transport — as long anyone saw it nearby, anyone could ride it. In the game, the BOSS could still respawn after a period of time, but what if there was only one BOSS…?
A river of blood would be an understatement to describe the horror… even a landscape full of bloody corpses wasn't enough.
As the first guild leader in the game, and also someone who held the title of the legendary Firstblood, indubitably, Rhode would be extremely familiar with these things. He immediately gave up on hunting the necromancer and planned to welcome the uninvited guest, but…
Rhode turned his head and looked at the three people behind him.
Lize was in a panic; she understood that encountering people at this time was not a good thing. On the other hand, Marlene was indifferent to this, but it was no surprise as she had never been a mercenary before. As for a veteran like Old Walker, his understanding of this matter was something that goes without saying. If he didn't understand, then why would he remind Rhode in the first place?
Now… what should I do? Should I go greet those guys?
"Let's go there and see."
Not long later, Rhode came to a conclusion. If the opponents were strong, then he would use the darkness to his advantage and strike down these people before the situation could turn awry. If they were already on the verge of dying, then he'd just watch them die. Either way, he definitely must witness their disappearance.
The battle wasn't too far away, but contrary to their expectations, the "newcomer's" situation was already quite dire by the time Rhode and his team arrived. In fact, they were already on the verge of falling apart.
The newcomers were also in the mine. Waves of undead creatures assaulted the center of the room where the 'living people' were, attempting to stop these intruders from entering their grounds. Although the 'newcomers' had more manpower than Rhode, their overall battle strength was much lower than Rhode and his team. But it was no surprise as Rhode had already scanned their formation and he shook his head.
Three swordsmen, two thieves, and one tank.
In one glance, Rhode saw through the weakness in their formation. Melee classes were indeed threatening in close quarters combat, but in a place filled with undead, all they could become was their dinner. The undead were creatures void of fear and death. As long as the melee combatant wasn't over-leveled, it wouldn't be much threat towards them. And these mercenaries here were below level ten; they were even unable to use sword energy condensation. That being said, having able to fight until here could be said to be a considerable feat.
This is as far as they will go.
A thief was attacked by an undead, he flipped his hand and stabbed the opponent's throat. His move was fast and agile; if it were a living person then they would have long been dead. But for the undead, this was clearly not enough. The undead raised its hand and slammed downwards.
"Woah!!!"
The poor thief who was unable to dodge in time was sent flying a distance before smashing into the ground. Without giving him any time recover, a pair of cold, shriveled hands grabbed his limbs.
"Aaaaaaa!!!"
Followed by a shrill scream, blood flowed out from undead's mouth, and the thief moved no more.
With the death of a comrade, their formation began to falter. The pressure of missing one comrade grew on the remaining survivors. Suddenly, a brilliant pillar of flame burst out from a group of undead, killing a large number of them and buying the group some time. Then, a red-haired woman staggered out from the fire, her face was pale and her whole body was covered in blood. Even her leather armor was full of blood and holes.
After looking at that woman, Lize was surprised.
"Sister Shauna!!"
Right at this moment, when Rhode heard Lize's cry, Rhode made his decision.
"Marlene, get ready."
Author:
PS: Today I was decorating the wallpaper and the other areas, that's why I got back home a little bit late and updated quite late. There's still more at night. Yes, that's the case…
PS2: The background wall was really expensive, a wall was about two thousand…
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"Haa!"
Once more, she repelled the undead with her sword. Shauna then took a step back and breathed deeply. The wound on her shoulder began to numb; even her arms gradually lost feeling. However, the undead around them kept increasing which made her feel discouraged.
Will I die here?
She bit her lips which made her feel some pain, but it still could not drown her inner pressure and despair. She thought that she had already fully prepared for this mission, but when she led her group to enter this place, she found that she was too naive.
As a four Star-Ranked mission, the Pavel Cemetery was going to be anything but easy. They were just like a drop in the vast ocean of endless undead; it was a matter of time before their inevitable death. While she led her men to repel the undead's assault one after another, their losses were too just too great. Up till now, their group had lost about five to six members, and the rest were mostly injured. In this kind of situation, how long can they last?
It wasn't as though she didn't consider retreating, but in the end, she still chose to shoulder her losses and go on. Right now, she was already too far in and was unable to retreat. The only option they had was to press on and kill the necromancer.
However, Shauna knew that it was an impossible task. If they had so much trouble fighting against these regular undead, how were they supposed to defeat the necromancer?
Shauna wasn't the only one who thought that way; even her men had lost hope defeating these horrifying undead. The only thing keeping them from giving up was their will to survive.
But that was their limit.
"Oh no!"
A putrid stench suddenly raided her nostrils; then she felt an unexpected impact on her arm which caused her to lose her grip on her sword. The flame on the ground also dissipated. Taking advantage of her weakened state, an undead flung open its arms and launched itself towards her.
Her mind went blank.
At this moment, Shauna's heart sank. As a veteran, she certainly knew what the consequences of blanking out in the middle of a battle. Now she can only face the consequences of her carelessness — death.
Fortunately, the grim reaper passed by her.
The moment Shauna closed her eyes, a dazzling light appeared in the air above her. It slammed down onto the undead, and it fell to the floor as though a giant hammer had smashed into it.
Then, followed by another brilliant light, a tremendous explosion rocked the earth.
"Boom"!
In a blink of an eye, the terrifying undead who plagued the mercenaries completely turned to ash. The mercenaries were shocked as they stared at the few people standing at the opposite tunnel.
"Sister Shauna, are you okay?!"
Sensing that the danger had been dispelled, Lize quickly ran towards the injured red-haired lady. Marlene, who had finished casting the spell, proudly flicked her illustrious long hair to the back. Then she smiled confidently at Rhode, apparently hinting him to praise her.
How's that? See? I've done a wonderful job, haven't I?
Facing Marlene's gesture, he was rendered quite speechless… As expected from the honor student who followed 5 Stresses, 4 Beauties, 3 Loves. I clearly meant to finish all of them… Ah, just forget about it. After all, when he issued the order, he did not consider the possibility of Lize recognizing these people. Right now, he felt somewhat lucky that Marlene had an 'honor student' mindset, and not of a players' or there would be problems…
"It's the Red Hawk…"
Looking at the red-haired female swordsman, Old Walker muttered to himself. He and Rhode glanced at each other and both of them have the same thoughts.
"Lize?"
After barely escaping from death, Shauna did not have time to celebrate as she was shocked to see the person in front of her.
"Why are you in this place?"
"I came to complete a mission."
Lize answered as she lowered her body in front of Shauna. Then, she stretched out her hand and summoned a faint light. The wounds on the red-haired female swordsman quickly healed, even the poison from the undead completely disappeared.
That was the importance of Spirit Master in a party. Although some mercenaries did learn minor healing spells, it definitely couldn't be compared to a full-fledged Spirit Master. Mercenary groups would never slight the importance of protecting the Spirit Master in a party. Moreover, the number of Spirit Masters were low as many of them were not interested in being an adventurer. Which was why, other than the Spirit Masters who traveled with the church, there were only those Spirit Masters like Lize who chose to be an adventurer for no clear reason.
After treating Shauna's injury, Lize stood up and walked towards the others. In this battle, Shauna and her subordinates were all injured, some of them even were incapacitated. If their injuries were not treated in time, they might become the brothers and sisters of those things they had been fighting just now.
Shauna stopped looking at Lize and diverted her attention to Rhode and the others. She quickly stood up and smiled while reaching out her hand.
"Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome."
Holding Shauna's hand, Rhode indifferently replied in one sentence.
"It seems like this is the second time that I've thanked you."
Shauna put down her hand and studied Rhode with a surprised and curious expression. Even though she only saw him twice and was not very familiar with each other. She knew that he had saved Lize, and then he dueled against Sereck to pass the Mercenary Assessment. Indeed, he is strong, but it seems like… this man isn't that simple?
Shauna then looked at two people behind him. First, she spotted Marlene who was wearing a luxurious magic robe, which made Shauna gasp in shock for a moment. Mages were even rarer than Spirit Masters, how could one appear here? And… standing next to her, wasn't that Old Walker who loved to drink alcohol at the Mercenary Association every day?
How did these people associate themselves with one another?
Shauna couldn't help but turn around and look at Lize, then she turned back and squinted her eyes at Rhode.
"Excuse me, you guys are…?"
"We are here to complete the mission."
Rhode answered straightforwardly.
"Same goes for me."
"Only the four of you?"
"That's right."
If it was any other day, then Shauna might assume that Rhode was joking. Pavel Cemetery was a perilous place, a lot of mercenaries suffered losses here. If only the four of them survived, then it might sound about right. But that did not seem to be the case. After all, Rhode and the others didn't appear to be miserable and judging from their clothing, it did not look like they had been attacked.
Then is this man actually saying the truth?
Shauna blinked her eyes in surprise. In any case, she still could not believe it. They had only four people, yet they could enter the depths unharmed? And with such ease? How can this be? Is this young man really that strong?
When the red-haired female swordsman was busy scrutinizing Rhode, Lize, who had finished treating the injured, went back to Rhode's side and said something to Marlene in a low voice. The two of them seemed to be whispering about something. But Shauna no longer paid any attention to them, because at this time, Rhode broke the silence.
"What are you going to do next?"
"Next?"
When she heard Rhode's question, Shauna broke from her stupor. Finally, she was aware of the current situation.
They were in the middle of a mission.
And this young man was also on a mission.
That means…
Shauna immediately felt that things have become a bit tricky.
In general, an accident like this sometimes happens during a mission. Since there were a lot of missions available, and before it was completed, anybody could take it. So, a clash like this happened quite often. If encountered with such a situation, mercenary groups with a good relationship with each other would either choose to withdraw or propose a joint action. If the relationship was slightly worse, they would directly fight to determine the outcome.
So now, which one do we have to choose?
Shauna erased the thought of fighting with each other since the other side had rescued them. It also meant that they did not have malicious intent. However, if she were to withdraw, how could she answer to her dead comrades? She had taken so much effort to reach this point, so how could she retreat? But… Shauna knew that with their current strength, defeating the necromancer was just a fleeting dream.
"If you don't mind, I hope we can cooperate."
Eventually, Shauna bit her teeth and made this suggestion.
"We do not need points or rewards. In fact, we came here just for a sword. According to the report, it was in the necromancer's hands. We hope to join hands with you. As long as we can acquire the sword, then we can give up the rest of the rewards."
A sword?
Rhode was faintly surprised.
He did not remember that there was a sword in the cemetery.
Did I forget something?
Or is there any other reason?
Rhode frowned and thought for a moment, but he still couldn't think of anything, so he decided to ask her directly.
"Miss Shauna, I don't remember that the association released this mission."
"We received a private commission."
Shauna shook her head and replied.
So… that was the case…
Hearing her answer, the Rhode's doubt was finally cleared. Thus, he did not say anything more and nodded his head.
"I can promise you, but I have a condition."
The red-haired female swordsman revealed a bright expression but still nervously asked.
"What is your condition?"
"Very simple."
Rhode made a gesture.
"In the next battle, you must listen to my command."
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Chapter 55: Battle in Cemetery
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Rhode's overwhelming charisma and confidence rendered Shauna completely speechless. As the saying goes, give him an inch, and he'll take a mile. Shauna assumed that they were merely in a cooperation-relationship, but when Rhode delivered those overbearing words, wasn't it the same as demanding them to be his subordinates?
Though everyone else revealed a different reaction in response to Rhode's exclamation.
Old Walker placed his hands on his chest, watching the fun that was about to ensue from the sidelines. During the arduous journey, he had witnessed and personally acknowledged Rhode's capability in commanding others. He could tell that Rhode's knowledge and resilience were top notch. It was a pity that his only flaw was his sharp tongue. If he said one, then it'll be one. If he said two, then must be two. He will not give others the opportunity to refute him. Rhode made it clear to Shauna and her team that they were too weak, and he did not believe in them. It was better to leave everything to him.
Although there was nothing wrong with his sentence, the way he said it was just like a slap in the face…
Compared to Old Walker who preferred to watch the scene unfold from the side, Marleen genuinely thought that it was only natural that Shauna should concede her party to Rhode. She did not understand how things work between mercenaries, but she knew that with only four of them, they were able to reach the depths without breaking a sweat. It wasn't like Shauna and the others. Though they had more manpower, they still fell into such a tragic state. Thus, wasn't following Rhode's commands the most logical thing to do? As for their numerical advantage…? Eh… mages had never considered numbers as an advantage.
Lize, on the other hand, felt rather awkward. She was the only one who was well acquainted with Shauna's team. And right now, her friends suddenly turned into subordinates. Furthermore, Rhode's straightforwardness didn't leave them with a speck of face. This left Lize confused about her next action. Nevertheless, she wasn't stupid, and at this time, she understood that it was better for her to stay silent.
As an experienced mercenary group leader, Shauna knew she had to respond quickly, and she looked at Rhode before her. However, she still remained quite hesitant.
The truth was simple; she didn't want to agree with this condition! Since both of them were from two different groups, and her people might be employed as meat shields. But recognizing Rhode's determined attitude, he made it clear that there was no room for compromise. If she did not agree right here and now, then the next road might lead to a dead end.
When Shauna fell in deep thought, a voice sounded beside her.
"Hmph, why should we listen to your command! Bis sis, don't listen to him! We have more people than them; it should be them who needs help from us!"
A young mercenary donning a leather armor and a two-handed sword jumped out from the rear. Then he glared at Rhode unhappily.
"Barney, it's not your place to speak."
Hearing the outburst of this young mercenary, Shauna began having a headache. She waved her hand, indicating him to stop. But it was clear that the young mercenary named Barney did not intend to stay silent there.
"But, big sis, this guy, he is too much… He just made it clear that we were going to be their meat shields and they will just snatch the rewards later! This kind of despicable person, we…"
"Despicable person?"
Rhode wasn't mad, but Marlene on the other hand, couldn't hold her rage in anymore, and she flared up.
"So that's how mercenaries treat their benefactors?! If it weren't for us, you've already died in this ghastly place!"
"Even without you guys, we can still survive!"
Barney clenched his teeth and answered. Marlene snorted coldly and lifted her chin, no longer looking at him. In her opinion, as a noble, she did not need to waste her precious saliva in a mouth fight with an uncouth mercenary like him.
Marlene's arrogance angered the young mercenary. He spat on the floor and opened his mouth to say something. However, Shauna finally became angry.
"Shut your mouth, Barney! If I hear one more word from you, you can help yourself to leave the group."
"Big sis…"
Looking at the furious Shauna, Barney felt extremely wronged.
Who cares if they're a noble?
It took so much effort to get to this place, and yet these despicable people were trying to use us as meat shields?
Pui!
We mercenaries also have our own pride, how we can we just let trample all over us?
Maybe big sister is afraid of these nobles, but I'm not!
Even though they have power and money, I will still fight with them with whatever I have until the end!
"I agree to your request."
Shauna finally made her decision. After all, the undead were too difficult for their group. Furthermore, she was also still pondering on how to beat that damned necromancer. Since this young man is confident, then it would be the best to leave it to him.
"I need everyone to follow my commands unconditionally."
After receiving Shauna's acknowledgment, Rhode began to speak again as he stared at the mercenaries behind her with his usual calm expression.
"If you obey my commands, I assure you that I will try my best to keep your lives intact. Otherwise… your life will be irrelevant to me."
When he paused his speech, Rhode studied the young mercenaries' expressions behind the red-haired female swordsman.
"If there's anyone who is not willing to listen to my command, you can stand up now. I don't want any trouble in the battle."
"Hmph!"
Barney was aware that Rhode was eyeballing him. Thus, he merely snorted and refused to move. In his opinion, this cunning noble was trying to use the threat of death to split the team. So, he would definitely not leave. Once he found sufficient evidence of the young noble's scheme, he might be able to stop it.
No matter what you want to do, I won't let you succeed!
The young man clenched his fist and swore secretly to himself.
Ever since the addition of Shauna's team, the group's clear speed became evidently faster. Soon, they found themselves at the bottom of the underground cemetery.
"Boom! Boom Boom!"
Followed by streaks of lightning, many undead creatures were sent flying, and their fragments soon fell to the ground, no longer presenting any threat.
Indeed, they are strong…
As she stared at the young mage, who wielded her wand as easily as breathing, and the young noble Rhode, who calmly commanded at the front, Shauna's initial doubts began to diminish. The combination of the powerhouse Marleen and Rhode's flawless command was the epitome of perfection. Those undead who once caused Shauna and her team to struggle for survival were wiped out as easily as sneezing.
There is no doubt, they ARE strong…
Shauna couldn't help but stare at the black hound following behind Rhode. While she was present on the day of the mercenary assessment, witnessing Rhode's prowess firsthand in a dungeon was always clearer than being a mere spectator.
"We're about to arrive."
Unlike the distracted Shauna, Rhode never stopped focusing on his opponents. After clearing out another wave of undead, he scanned his surroundings vigilantly. Then, he whipped out a ring from his pocket and wore it on his finger. The Soul Binding Stone which he obtained from the haunted house was engraved on the tip of the ring. Rhode had cut the stone into three parts which he inserted into a silver ring he had bought. While his alchemy skill was rather lacking, he could still do something basic such as this.
The size of the Soul Binding Stone could decide the level of the soul it could bind. For example, a small stone was unable to bind a strong soul, but if the stone was too big and the soul was small, then it would be a waste. Right now, the size was just right. And the reason why Rhode brought out his Soul Binding Stone right now was clearly that of one thing.
Swoosh!!
A dense fog billowed out of nowhere, clouding the sights of everyone.
When the smoke dispersed, a moment of eerie silence fell upon the group. Suddenly, a black shadow emerged from the ground, swiftly rushing towards them. If it were before, then everyone would be surprised by this sudden attack. But Rhode had already made the necessary preparations, thus, the enemy's ambush failed to harm the group. Marleen was chanting furiously; she conjured a whirlwind which engulfed the team and barred the black shadow from entering.
A pile of bones slowly formed into a sharp silhouette.
"Hehehe…"
At the same time, a cold and crisp sound echoed from all directions, followed by an aura of evilness and death.
"I truly did not expect that you could break into my chamber…"
"The Necromancer!"
Shauna growled in a low voice; then she raised her sword. Shortly after, a crimson flame emerged from her sword which soon engulfed her blade with fire. This fire attribute magic weapon was something she looted from a long time ago. It was called the Burning Blade.
"Listen to my commands, and don't forget my words from before."
Compared to Shauna's tense expression as though she was facing her eternal nemesis, Rhode was clearly much calmer. He held the Star Mark on his hand and narrowed his eyes to scrutinize each changing detail in his surrounding. The darkness became increasingly thick; it was like an invisible, heavy curtain that shrouded everyone within. As their world plunged into pitch darkness, nobody knew for certain where the next attack might come from.
However, only Rhode knew what was going to happen.
He majestically raised his sword over his head.
In the next moment, everyone discovered that Rhode's sword was emitting a brilliant light which pierced through the darkness like a lighthouse in the night.
Akin to an opening of a stage play, the curtain of darkness suddenly parted, and a Necromancer who was wearing a black robe miserably retreated to the back. In his hand, he held a gruesome looking staff formed with bones. Right now, he stared at Rhode with a surprised expression.
How did this young man see through his art of darkness?
But how could Rhode give the necromancer time to find out the answer? In the next second, Rhode raised his sword once more and slashed downward.
"Follow the plan!"
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Chapter 56: Like A Pig…
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The Necromancer snorted coldly at Rhode's incoming attack. A wall of bones formed before him and it blocked Rhode's sword attack. At this time, Shauna and other mercenaries moved according to Rhode's command and positioned themselves in a triangular formation surrounding the Necromancer.
"Hmph, such petty tricks."
Although the Necromancer couldn't retreat any further, clearly he didn't regard Shauna and the others as threats. He snorted coldly, causing an intense glow to flare up within its empty eye sockets as he gripped his staff and strafed to the side, swinging his weapon in a sideways arc.
Typically, mages were weak in their physical attacks, but the Necromancer was an exception. After losing its mortal body, it obtained a power far beyond humans. Facing the Necromancer's incoming attack, Shauna instinctively held her weapon up to block but little did she expect that the impact was akin to a barbarian waving a huge stick. Shauna's body trembled violently under the immense pressure. If her reaction was a tad bit slower and didn't swiftly retreat after the initial blow, then she might have been already thrown towards the ceiling.
"Don't clash with it head-on, keep your distance and don't stop attacking!"
Rhode discovered Shauna's miserable state and frowned before reminding her once again. After hearing his voice, Shauna and the other mercenaries immediately regained some of their spirits before surrounding the Necromancer, launching periodic mid-to-long range attacks. Since the Necromancer possessed abnormal physical and combat prowess, he was able to tie Rhode down with a wall of bones while swinging his staff like a club on his other hand. An intense ember burned from deep within his bottomless sockets, emanating a chill aura of danger.
But that was all it could do.
After dodging the relentless assaults, the Necromancer sneered and raised its left hand, conjuring an eerie ball of negative energy at the tip of its bony finger. Then it slowly pointed outwards, waiting for the right moment to launch it…
However, at this moment, he felt that something was amiss when its wall of bones suddenly trembled.
Bang!! A raging storm surged in when the solid wall of bones collapsed like a bunch of building blocks falling apart. At the same time, a flash of light reflected off the white bones, creating a white, straight line which pierced right into Necromancer's forehead.
Damn, how could this happen!
The Necromancer was shocked. The negative energy that it had painstakingly condensed instantly dissipated. At this moment, it discovered a whirlwind emerging from under its feet and quickly dodged it along with an attack from Rhode. At the corner of its eye sockets, it found a young girl adorning a luxurious magic robe holding a wand which emitted a crimson light.
"Damn, my spell was nullified?!"
The Necromancer's expression sank. It had assumed that Marleen was just another mage apprentice, which was why her presence didn't bother it too much. But now that it discovered its magic had been nullified, it realized that her power was far beyond any apprentice, rather, it was certain that she had entered the middle circle! It was impossible to nullify its protective magic with this vast gap in levels between them, but since she could do it…
These thoughts crossed the Necromancer's mind in a flash. Then, in no time, it found a way to counter her. The staff that it was holding on suddenly fell to the ground and disappeared.
Only Rhode caught this subtle action.
"Walker, Lize, pay attention to the surrounding!"
Rhode put down his sword and shouted towards the two. Then, at the very next moment, the ground suddenly rose.
"Boom!!!"
Numerous heavily armed undead clawed out from the crevices caused by the quake. Many of them held old, broken weapons and were bellowing in a fury. Though their pace was slow, their unwavering stance and superior numbers surrounded every one of the mercenaries. Rhode thought that this move was indeed a right choice. Fortunately, he had already reminded his men, if not, all of them would be running around like headless chickens. Now, each mercenary scattered around the battlefield to kill the spawned undead. Two mercenaries from Red Hawk immediately guarded Lize and Marleen's front and flank. In response, Lize cast a protective shield on everyone. As for Marleen, she wasn't the slightest bit worried about the situation as she pointed her wand towards the Necromancer while murmuring a spell to analyze the protective spells on its body.
This battle was a race against time.
"Tch!"
When the Necromancer realized that panic didn't settle in as it had expected, it scoffed in contempt. It retreated once more and dodged two attacks at the same time. Since these attacks were so weak, it did not care about those who launched it. Even if it landed on its body, it wouldn't inflict any injuries. However, what made it anxious was the black-haired man before him. No matter what it did, that man was able to derive a counterattack. It was just odd… how did this young man who appeared to have a girlish face, have such familiarity with its fighting style?
"Swoosh!"
Rhode could care less what the Necromancer thought about him. He swung his sword and shot forward once more. When his sword collided with the bone staff, a spark ignited at the point of contact. Then, at the very next moment, he discovered lines of magic surfacing in the air which scattered soon after.
"I did it!"
Discovering this phenomenon, Rhode's resolve became firm. Meanwhile, the Necromancer's expression darkened. It retreated once again while raising his the staff on his hand.
At the same time, Marlene aimed at the Necromancer's body with her wand.
A bright, dazzling white light condensed on the tip of her ruby wand which soon shot forward. In a flash, the spell successfully collided with the Necromancer.
"Boom!!!"
An intense surge of heatwaves burst out from the point of impact. Even Rhode couldn't help but take a few steps back. The temperature within the room soared up. At this moment, the Necromancer's anguished roar sounded out from within the flames.
"Damn bastard!! ALL OF YOU WILL PAY!!"
The protective spell which encompassed the Necromancer had been lifted. It no longer maintained its lofty demeanor and sank into a crazed state of fury. Almost instantaneously, it conjured five to six sharp bone spears around it and shot them towards Marleen in retaliation. But before the bone spears could pierce into Marleen's body, a Shield Warrior intercepted its trajectory and raised his colossal, steel tower shield before slamming it downwards to the ground, protecting Marleen to his rear.
Boom!! Followed by the sound of the metal screeching, it appeared that some of the sharp spears had broken into countless fragments. However, due to the terrifying force of acceleration, the Shield Warrior also fell to the ground.
Damn it.
Waving his two-handed sword, Barney fought the undead at the front. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Rhode's figure fighting against the Necromancer. Never did he imagine that Rhode was this strong, and the scene that he saw seemed to reflect his thoughts. The Necromancer ran berserk, and under its crushing blows, that nasty noble and his big sis barely managed to avoid its attacks. If this situation went on, they might not be able to win!
Barney cut down one undead after another. Looking back, he saw Shauna's 'miserable' state, and that cunning noble was hiding behind the Necromancer, as though having no intention of helping her.
See, I was right. That guy planned on using us at meat shields, and would reap the rewards by himself! Damnit! I won't let him have his way!
Barney decided on his next course of action. He turned his body and raised his sword, charging towards the Necromancer.
"Go die, you evil monster!!"
Barney shouted while waving his sword, but he did not expect that Shauna who was supposedly 'in dire straits,' suddenly changed position and arrived in front of him.
The sound of swords could be heard.
Discovering the threat behind her, Shauna was surprised. Under Rhode's command, both her and her comrade finally managed to switch position to guard against the Necromancer's counterattack. After it went berserk, the Necromancer had used a lot of its power and was currently exhausted. Just one more push and they would win this battle. But Shauna did not expect that another person was attacking behind her?!
Right now, the red-haired female swordsman had no opportunity to back down, the only thing she could do was to clench her teeth and stand her ground. But at this time, the Necromancer used the opportunity while Shauna was confused to target her. It bent his finger while chanted a spell and sneered.
"Bang!!"
"Aaa!!!"
Shauna, who was distracted, was unable to dodge the Necromancer's attack. A sharp bone spear penetrated through her left shoulder, and the massive inertia sent her body flying before finally falling to the ground.
The Necromancer who had finally gotten the upper hand also did not plan to linger and turned around to escape.
"Damn it!!"
Looking at the scene before him, Rhode cursed inside. He flipped his right hand and a red card appeared.
"Marlene, use your full power to attack it!!"
Rhode yelled at the top of his voice and threw the red card on his hand. Soon the Flame Killer appeared and rushed towards the enemy who was about to flee. A red shadow flashed in the dark and a violent explosion sounded, followed by the Necromancer's roar which spread towards all directions.
Damn it, as expected, the protective spell wasn't completely lifted.
The summoned spirit had not made contact with the protective spell and was already sent back home. Rhode immediately rushed past the black smoke.
The Necromancer's state wasn't good either. Right now, it had already fallen into a miserable state; its protective spell had been reduced by 70-80%. That was the reason why the Necromancer could not completely block the Flame Killer self-destruction. The robe it wore had been blown up and was in tatters, even its bone staff was in a complete mangled mess.
"Cursed mankind!!"
Looking at Rhode who rushed towards it, the Necromancer clenched its teeth and cursed. It raised both of its hands and aimed towards Rhode.
A crimson ball of light flew straight to Rhode's position. However, Rhode didn't choose to dodge, rather, he held his sword forward and continued on.
He's a dead man!
Watching how Rhode disregarded his defense and rushed towards it, the Necromancer exposed a confident smile. In his opinion, this young man was going to die soon.
But soon, the smile on his face turned into fear.
A translucent pair of wings appeared before Rhode. Soft, white feathers scattered in the wind; it was such a fantasy-like scene.
The Necromancer had no time to appreciate the beauty. Because the negative ball of red energy also turned into a breeze and disappeared.
"You are…"
The Necromancer opened its mouth, but at the same time, Rhode's sword pierced right through it.
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Rhode stood up.
The necromancer who had acted all high and mighty laid before him as a corpse once more.
But Rhode wasn't smiling. His face was dark and gloomy while he stared at his left hand.
While the Angel's Wings was able to block most of the negative energy, in the end, the level gap was just too big. Currently, his left hand had become a sickening green color, and a tingling discomfort spread to the rest of the body.
If it weren't for his abnormal stats, then perhaps his arm would end up being fractured.
"Sigh…"
Rhode sighed, then he focused on the ring on his finger. The original white luster on the stone had dulled considerably. With careful observation, he noticed that the darkness within appeared to have a self-consciousness as it swirled steadily.
The soul binding succeeded.
Though there were some unexpected events during the process, he still managed to procure his objective. However…
Just thinking of the previous mishap made him furious. He was absolutely confident about this mission when he chose it. The reason why Pavel Cemetery was a four Star-Ranked mission was not due to the difficulty of the BOSS, but rather, the negative energy that the undead passively emitted was naturally effective against living beings. Before the invasion, the peaceful era under the Light Dragon's reign didn't expose its people to fighting the undead. As such, their experience fighting the living dead was almost nil. NPCs were unlike players, who could restart the battle once more by respawning if they died in battle. This was the reason why the Mercenary Association regarded missions involving the undead as a higher tier compared to others.
But as for Rhode's opinion, since he had a Spirit Master in the party, he knew that her positive energy would be a natural counter against the undead. Furthermore, with Marleen as the recent 'talented' addition to the team, his chances of victory soared over 90%. That was if she obeyed his orders, of course. The positive development in the tunnels reinforced Rhode's opinion as the undead easily overwhelmed melee combatants but were felled in droves when faced with magic. So, judging by all of these advantages, it was just a matter of time before their victory was assured, but he did not expect…
Rhode shook his head and kept the Soul Binding Stone before turning around.
He walked towards the crowd when he realized the situation was becoming rather troubling.
Lize treated the heavily injured Shauna who was lying on the floor while the fool that caused this entire debacle watched at the side. Old Walker was cleaning the battlefield, and Marleen stood beside him with a cold expression on her face. Even the Red Hawk mercenaries didn't look too good when they anxiously surrounded Shauna, worried about her injury.
"I'm sorry, Leader… I'm sorry, Leader!! I wasn't trying to…"
Barney knelt beside Shauna with a pale face; he could sense that the others were staring at him with anger. This kind of situation hadn't happened to him before and it made him frightened and wronged. Obviously, he felt that it was unfair that Rhode was made party leader and his comrades were all dragged into a bitter struggle while Rhode merely stood behind. Therefore, he was trying to help, why were these people mad at him? Didn't they realize how dangerous the situation was back then?
While Barney was in distraught, he discovered footsteps behind him and found the 'culprit' walking towards him.
Barney felt his blood boil inside. His Leader was injured for the sake of the group but apparently, Rhode did not care.
The nobility is a bunch of cold-blooded snakes!
With that as his basis for his anger, Barney immediately jumped up and stretched his finger at Rhode, cursing him openly.
"IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! If not because of your–"
Before Barney could finish, a fist flew towards him.
"Bang!!!"
Rhode punched the young man's face mercilessly. Barney screamed as he fell to the ground and rolled a distance while grabbing onto the side of his face. Then, he glared icily at the man standing before him, completely oblivious to his bleeding nose.
"Why didn't you follow my command?"
Rhode's voice was calm, but everyone was shocked; even Lize who was in the middle of bandaging Shauna's injury.
Because Rhode actually laughed!
The people who were acquainted with Rhode knew that he had a beautiful face, but he was always serious and never smiled. Many people thought it was a pity, even Old Walker joked about it, saying that if he smiled more, perhaps he could bewitch people.
But now, Rhode really laughed, and it was the bewitching kind of laughter. However, everyone somehow felt a chill down their spine.
"Answer me."
Rhode shifted his arm, smiling while walking towards Barney. Next, he lifted his left foot and stomped hard on Barney's chest, forcing him back to the ground.
"Ugh!!!"
"I remember, before the start of the battle, I've made it clear we are responsible for surrounding the Necromancer. Without my command, no one was allowed to act… Are you stupid? Or do you have a problem with hearing?"
"….Bullsh*t."
Facing Rhode who had a condescending smile on his face, Barney instinctively felt dread as though he was coiled up by a python. But he still did not succumb to his fear and spat at Rhode's feet instead.
"Don't think that I didn't notice how you hid behind the Necromancer. You want us to be your meat shields? How can I listen to your commands? Or are you saying that you didn't hide on purpose? Everyone here had seen your cowardly acts, right Henry?!"
Henry was a swordsman who fought beside Shauna. At first, Barney thought that Henry would back him up, but he never expected him to tilt his head and avoid his gaze.
In fact, Henry was somewhat dissatisfied because Barney ruined their flawless plan. Although they appeared miserable, as long they followed Rhode's command correctly, they would be able to dodge the Necromancer's attack. These instructions mid-battle were extremely crucial for mercenaries. But in the end, at the direst moment, it was screwed by this damn kid!
It was akin to two people trying to tango. They put in countless hours in practicing and finally grasped the rhythm, but it just took a single drunk to appear to destroy everything.
No matter what, anyone would certainly be unhappy if those kind of things happened.
But because Barney was his comrade, he did not say anything. Even though that was the case, he still didn't stop Rhode from venting his anger.
"Hen, Henry…"
Seeing how his comrade reacted, Barney clenched his teeth. In his mind, he didn't think that his comrade was dissatisfied with him. On the contrary, he thought that he must be afraid of that noble!
So that's why he didn't say anything…
But I'm different!! I will not yield and I will never give up!
"Hmph, say whatever you like. I am absolutely not- AHHHHHH!"
Barney wasn't able to finish before a sharp sword pierced through his palm. The sudden pain made him swallow his words and replaced it with a yell. Then, Rhode pulled out the sword and kicked the young man at his waist, flinging him a distance before finally losing consciousness.
Hearing the mournful screams from Barney, Marleen couldn't help but tremble. She recalled what Rhode said when she came to look for him. At that time, she did not put Rhode in her eyes, but fortunately, after that duel, she never doubted Rhode's strength again. If she maintained her previous haughty attitude, then the one who laid on the floor right now would be her.
Recalling that duel, Marlene was sure that Rhode would not show any mercy.
After kicking the lights out of Barney, Rhode clasped his hands and removed the smile on his face. He ignored the surprised and frightened expressions from the people around him.
"Clean the battlefield."
This time, Rhode received a bumper harvest. Since the Necromancer had made his home in the Pavel Cemetery for many years, naturally he had plenty of hidden treasures. After scavenging for a while, a large bag full of magic crystals, gems and plants laid before him. Of course, Rhode also attained what he came here for.
He lowered his body and fished out an old, dusty holy grimoire from a wooden box. He nodded in satisfaction and turned his head towards Lize.
"Mr. Rhode, what's the matter?"
Realizing Rhode's intention, Lize ran over in a hurry. Her expression was a bit complicated as she wanted to treat Barney's wounds, but Rhode said 'leave him be.' So she could only awkwardly leave him behind. Frankly, Lize was quite unhappy with Barney's performance as well, but as a Spirit Master, she could not disregard the lives of others just because of her personal preferences.
"This is for you."
"This is…"
Lize received the Holy Book which Rhode handed over and flipped a few pages curiously. Then her expression immediately lit up when she realized the value of the book.
"Is this the Holy Book?"
"Yes."
Rhode patted the girl's shoulder.
"With your power, I believe that learning the spells on it should be no problem. Good luck."
"Of course! I will work hard! Thank you, Mr. Rhode!"
Embracing the Holy Book, Lize exposed a broad smile. Of course, she knew its worth. In the church, only a selected number of people were qualified to learn about high-level spells. Typically, Spirit Masters were only allowed to learn basic spells, from here, one could infer the value of the Holy Book which recorded high-level spells. Lize was confident that as long as she could learn half of it, then her strength would increase further.
At the same time, Marlene walked towards the both of them. But compared to Lize, who was overjoyed from receiving the Holy Book, her expression was absolutely mortified. Because just now, Rhode told her to take care of the Necromancer's corpse. This is undoubtedly a challenging test for Marlene as she had never done such a thing before. Although Marlene voiced a protest in the name of righteousness, facing Rhode's 'since you are also one of the members of the mercenary group, then you also must follow the command' argument, this genius young mage could only surrender and execute the command while holding her breath.
"I have finished the task, Mr. Rhode."
"Oh?"
Hearing Marlene's words, Rhode looked at her with a slight surprise.
"Did you find anything good?"
"Everything is here."
Facing Rhode's question, Marlene made a robotic reply, then she stretched out her hands, handing out the equipment that she found.
But she did not think that Rhode wouldn't take it immediately. On the contrary, he quietly stared at a ring on her hands and did not speak for a while.
"Mr. Rhode?"
Seeing Rhode's reaction, Marlene reminded him again. Rhode finally responded and nodded his head.
"Yes, I know… You've worked hard."
Rhode said while looking at her.
How lucky was this young miss… she could even find the legendary Dark Soul Ring…
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Chapter 58: The Other side of the Board
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The early morning star peeked over the horizon once more, casting a radiant ray of gold as it sprinkled through the window which fell upon the white, polished marble floor. A warm light filtered through the girl's thin eyelids and she narrowed her eyes for a brief moment. Her body slouched comfortably on the soft couch while enjoying the afternoon leisure time.
Just outside the window, a river rippled along with the gentle breeze. The lush, green branches swayed, followed by a calm, rustling hymn. A gorgeous crystal chandelier refracted a magical light, which spilled a royal palette of colors onto the golden walls encompassing the grand hall; a beautiful painting hung on the wall, perfectly matched with an exquisitely crafted sculpture. Just standing there emanated the sensation of an art paradise.
The intricately carved door of a Nine-Winged Bird quietly creaked open, and a noblewoman donning a formal gown quickly walked past the red carpet before half-kneeling at the girl who laid on the couch.
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
Acknowledging the noblewoman before her, the young girl's eyelashes fluttered open slowly, her green eyes giving off a lazy and playful look. The brilliant rays which shone through the windows were akin to a silky fabric which wrapped around her beautiful and charming figure, accentuating her slim figure. A pair of white, slender legs hung down from the couch nonchalantly, which was rather seductive. Her golden, lustrous hair reflected the rays of the sun, appearing extremely appealing as though it was a crown.
"What is it, Carol?"
"Everything is ready as per your orders; the Merchant Association's side has been processed. By your command, we ca-"
The woman suddenly stopped speaking and snapped her mouth shut. This was because she saw the girl in front of her close her eyes again. Based on her understanding of Her Highness, she decided to stop and wait for her command.
"Decaying plant matter are really disgusting," she said. Her eyes were closed as she reached out her hands, gently stroking a black cat which curled up lazily on her lap, "but they provide the necessary nutrients for the new saplings to grow into beautiful flowers. Halting the growth process of beautiful lives isn't something I fancy."
"I see, Your Highness."
Although her words appeared rather incoherent, the woman could still understand the underlying meaning of her words. She nodded in reply, but her face revealed a complex expression.
"… from the recent report, the Paphield area," she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "…there appears to be a rat from the council."
"Let them be."
The girl stopped stroking the black cat and sighed.
"My cute subordinates should know what to do. The ruler and her subjects should have this kind of tacit understanding. Qualified underlings will understand what I mean. Only flowers that weathered the storm are eligible to accept my favor, I believe they know what to do."
"Yes, Your Highness."
When the girl heard her docile answer, she exposed a brilliant smile.
"After working so hard, I believe you must be exhausted. How about accompanying me for a cup of tea? This is a fresh red tea that I just acquired recently; I think it should suit your taste."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Carol, you are too humble… But that's the reason why I'm so fond of you. Come now, don't just stand there, how about you come closer to me?"
"Your Highness…"
The wind grew stronger.
Rhode felt relieved when he returned to the safety of Deep Stone City.
On the way back, they did not encounter any interference. Just like what Marleen had said, the undead were only able to maintain their existence because of the Necromancer's energy. Now that it was dead, naturally the undead returned to dust where it originally belonged.
The mission was a success. Rhode finally created his much needed Soul Core, Lize acquired her Holy Book, and Old Walker looted a cloak which could resist elemental attacks.
As for the distribution of the Dark Soul Ring, Rhode and Marleen had contrasting opinions.
In the Dragon Soul Continent, the definition of 'Rare Items' were generally divided into two categories. The first was the item itself was rare, and contained a rare skill. And the second was an item that could increase the effectiveness of the item itself. Rhode's sword, Star Mark, belonged to the latter while the Dark Soul Ring belonged to the former. Nevertheless, both of them were categorized as 'Rare Items' and the Dark Soul Ring possessed a considerably valued skill, even to the players.
[ Shadow Mist: The item holder can create a dark fog AOE. When inside, the item holder can move as and when he wanted, granting a passive 'Stealth' ability. The effect will be lost once the holder is damaged. ]
Another way of describing this skill was: granting a limited dimensional space to move in. In the game, this ring was an incredibly rare accessory. Since the granted ability wasn't limited to their class, the item was highly sought after by non-mage classes. This is because they did not possess skills that could move quickly and the Shadow Mist was a way to counter that deficiency. Its utility didn't only limit to ambushing; if the holder was under attack, then it could help by concealing the holder to aid him to escape. The only drawback was its limited effective AOE. But for most players who spent the majority of their time adventuring, it was only but a minor issue.
Although it was an extremely rare and useful item, Rhode did not monopolize it all for himself. He slowly explained the function of the Dark Soul Ring to Marleen and then asked her if she needed it.
But never did he expect Marleen to actually express disdain! Her reason was simple. Firstly, she was a middle circle mage and possessed a plethora of life-saving spells. And secondly, she felt that Shadow Mist wasn't as exceptional as Rhode described it to be. In the battle, when Necromancer utilized the exact same skill to conceal itself, Rhode still found him easily with his sword. She believed that it was best to not bet her life on something that was untrustworthy. Thus, Rhode took the ring.
…Really?
He did not know what to say about the players who were willing to spend astronomical amounts of money to purchase this rare accessory that had been deemed 'untrustworthy' by an NPC.
He wondered what kind of expression they would make.
"Thanks for your help, Mr. Rhode."
Shauna's countenance was apparently much better than before. Although the Necromancer's attack was lethal, since this red-haired female swordsman was a veteran, she managed to dodge the attack in the nick of time, and ended up with an injured shoulder. With Lize's healing and proper rest, fully recovering wouldn't be a problem.
However, as a whole, the Red Hawk mercenary group received heavy losses when compared to Rhode's group. They turned the Pavel Cemetery upside down, but they were still unable to find the sword they were searching for. This made Shauna extremely depressed. However, it was just as Rhode expected since he could remember clearly that the drops from Pavel Cemetery were all related to the magic classes and never heard of a hidden quest involving a sword.
Previously, when he heard the mission description from Shauna, he assumed that it was an NPC exclusive quest, and players were not eligible to participate. But judging from the situation right now, it seemed that something was indeed fishy…
"Miss Shauna, are you sure that your client is looking for a sword?"
"Yes."
She sighed and shook her head helplessly.
"He said that it was their family's heirloom and that Pavel stole it. Thus, he requested me to find it. Based on the agreement, he paid us 150 gold coins as a deposit, so I doubt that it'll be a fake mission. But now, since I can't find the sword, I don't know what to do…"
It was no wonder Shauna didn't doubt the credibility of the mission, because according to the rules, the deposit received when undertaking the commision would not be returned. In other words, regardless of success or failure, the money would still be taken away. In many cases, clients paying a small deposit could be considered as a symbolic meaning. Nevertheless, they would still pay the remaining sum after the mission completion. Since her client offered her 150 gold coins as a deposit, it was almost equivalent to finishing a three Star-Ranked mission. It was such a huge boon, no wonder Shauna didn't doubt the legitimacy of her client. After all, who would throw that amount of money just for fun?
But lamenting over it right now was pointless. The sword that Shauna had to find was an ancient sword. It was a sword that also existed in the game, but these swords were primarily used for decorations. Since she couldn't find it, her mission was a failure, and she lost many comrades in the process. Thus, she was in quite a foul mood, so she promptly bade farewell to Rhode and the others, and she trudged towards the Mercenary Association with whats left of her group following behind her. Only Barney, that idiot, was being carried by the Shield Warrior. That poor little guy had not yet woken from his coma. But if Rhode didn't guess wrong, he wouldn't wake up anymore.
When Shauna and the others finally disappeared around the corner, Rhode's eyes turned cold.
"They were deceived," Rhode said.
"Eh?"
Hearing those words, Lize widened her eyes in surprise. Even Old Walker frowned.
"What is it, boy? You said they were being deceived? Why is that?"
"Simple."
Rhode shrugged.
"If it was just as the client said," Rhode's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "then why would he entrust everything to a mercenary on something as significant as his family heirloom? Furthermore, he didn't even appear once."
Rhode said as he deduced the situation calmly.
"Yes."
Marlene nodded and agreed.
"For us nobles, family heirlooms are the spirit of the family. It can be said that it is the measurement of the family's honor and glory. If the heirloom is lost, then as a member of the family, it is their responsibility to find it as soon as possible. If the Senia's family heirloom was misplaced or stolen by someone, not only would I ask a mercenary for help, but I will also follow them. Only the family's bloodline should regain the glory by personally retrieving the heirloom. If someone else, for instance, a mercenary, retrieves the heirloom, then it would stain the honor of any prestigious family. I don't believe someone who has a family heirloom to be a nouveau riche. As what Mr. Rhode had said, there must be a problem."
"W-what problem?"
Hearing this detailed explanation by Marleen, Lize expression immediately tensed up. After all, Shauna was her good friend, and now she discovered that she might be in danger, so of course she could not calm down.
"I don't know."
Rhode shook his head, then he looked up, staring at the Deep Stone City before him.
"…but I may have a clue."
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Chapter 59: An Invitation from the Keller Family
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The odd circumstances which befell the Red Hawk mercenary group caused Rhode to harbor some doubts and became increasingly vigilant. Although on the exterior it appeared to be an accident, he felt that something was amiss. Just as Shauna had mentioned, that person gave her a whopping 150 gold coins as a deposit. That sum of money was a little too much for just some random fun.
Undoubtedly, there was something happening behind the scenes.
Rhode weighed the consequences in his mind, and in the end, he refused to allow Lize to gather information from Red Hawk. Since Barney caused a rift between both of their mercenary groups, Rhode didn't intend to cross the line and requested Old Walker to return to the Mercenary Association, assuming back his 'old-self.'
"When you return to the association, help me to watch out for any abnormal movement," Rhode said to Old Walker while sitting behind an old wooden desk in the study while writing something on a paper.
"Notify me immediately if there's anything particularly strange. Then, if possible, find a tank for me."
"Tank? Never heard of it."
Rhode reached out his hand and smacked his forehead. Then, he quickly corrected his sentence.
"Err… find someone who can hold the front when in crisis."
"Remember, we require no more than two people. Although at the moment, we lack members, the aspect we need to improve on is our teamwork."
"Someone who can hold the front…?"
Hearing Rhode's request, Old Walker stroked his beardless chin and fell deep into thought.
"Hmm… I have some people in mind. But kid, I think should be prepared to spend quite a bit."
"How much?"
Rhode raised his head and looked at the old man who was sitting in front of him.
"300 gold coins."
Old Walker grinned.
"That much?"
Rhode frowned. The gold reward for completing Pavel Cemetery was only 500 coins. Now, Old Walker said that he needed more than half of it which left Rhode slightly puzzled. Typically, recruiting a mercenary didn't require that much money. A decent mercenary was only worth roughly 100 gold coins. There were even mercenaries who didn't want money to join a group. For example, Marleen and Old Walker. Old Walker only wanted 50 coins while Marleen was only interested in gaining experience. But now, Old Walker wanted 300 gold to recruit people?
Old Walker smiled wryly at Rhode's reaction. Ever since he joined the mercenary group, Rhode always kept this sarcastic attitude towards him. So, he wanted to somehow let him taste a little of his own medicine. Of course, he wouldn't explicitly express his intent since he was already part of the group, but hehe… when gains are involved, spending money is inevitable.
"Sure."
But to his dismay, even though Rhode expressed shock at first, he neither became mad nor unhappy. Instead, he pulled open a drawer and grabbed a bag of gold before throwing it casually on the table.
"Here is 500 gold coins. Take it."
"Eh?"
Seeing this, Old Walker's face turned stiff.
"Hey, boy, isn't this our payment? You're just giving it to me just like that?"
Rhode shrugged, "It doesn't matter either way. At the moment, we don't need to use the money. Since you require it, then just take it with you."
He didn't even bat an eyelid when he threw the bag of coins. To Old Walker, 500 gold coins was a considerable sum of money, but as for Rhode, 500 was just a mere drop in the ocean. Back in the game when he was a guild leader, managing millions of gold coins was a daily affair. Thus, these measly 500 coins weren't enough for him to feel heartache. Frankly, he was more worried that Old Walker would hesitate to spend. If that happened, he would deduct from his share of the payment.
If only Old Walker knew what Rhode was thinking right now… he would immediately reconsider his suggestion without a doubt. Unfortunately, reading other people's mind wasn't his forte.
Thus, Old Walker's impression of Rhode improved because he saw this as an act of generosity.
"Don't worry, boy."
Old Walker picked up the bag with a solemn expression.
"I promise that I will bring back a suitable candidate that will satisfy you."
Old Walker bowed and exposed a subtle smile.
"I will ensure that your money is well spent."
"I hope so."
As Rhode's attention was focused on the paper, he did not notice Old Walker's odd smile. After a moment of silence, Rhode put down the pen and looked up at Old Walker.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes, I would like to ask; when will we accept another mission?"
"I've already accepted one. We'll head out two days later."
"Two days?"
Old Walker frowned.
"Then when will I have the time to gather information?"
"Only Marleen and I will be on this mission."
Rhode shook his head and replied.
"Lize needs time to study her new spell, and you also have your things to do. That's why only both of us will go." Rhode glanced at the young lady sitting in the corner reading a book. "Worry not, we are merely heading for Twilight Forest to pick up some alchemical plants. A simple two Star-Ranked mission."
Marleen, who was aware of Rhode's glance, exposed a proud smile in response. This haughty act made Rhode shake his head helplessly and sigh inwardly.
Frankly, Rhode wasn't planning to bring Marleen along. He wanted to head out by himself and dig out some decent equipment which were hidden within the Twilight Forest. However, Marleen found out about this matter and insisted on tagging along. Since her priority here was to gain experience, she wanted to get out of Deep Stone City as much as possible. Facing Marleen's demand, Rhode eventually agreed to take her along. No matter what happened before, she was now a member of his mercenary group, plus her strength as a middle circle mage would be useful if something went awry along the way.
"Okay, I understand."
Old Walker nodded his head and stood up.
"Then I will prepare my own matters and observe the situation within the association. I'll be at that place if you wish to find me."
Once he finished his sentence, Old Walker turned and walked away. But right at that moment as he was about to leave, a knock came from the door.
It was Lize. She opened the door and walked towards Rhode, handing him an envelope.
"Mr. Rhode, this was sent by the Keller family."
There was a trace of confusion on her face when she passed the letter to Rhode. The engravings on the letter were beautiful. The gold symbol of their family emblem revealed the identity and status of the sender.
"The Keller family?"
Rhode was puzzled and furrowed his brow. Then, he reached out and took the letter from her.
"Do we know these guys?"
Hearing Rhode's question, Lize stared blankly at Rhode.
"Umm…Mr. Rhode, have you forgotten?"
"What?"
"When we were returning to Deep Stone City from the Twilight Forest, you've saved a lady…"
"No impression."
Rhode replied decisively. Judging by his expression, he clearly forgot about the matter. Lize was stunned, but she swallowed her saliva and decided not to say anything. After all, both of them weren't exactly on best terms and thought that after that incident, there wouldn't be any further communication. Unexpectedly, the Keller family actually took the initiative to contact Rhode. She didn't know what they intended to do.
"The head of Keller family invited me to a dinner party to thank me for saving her daughter."
Rhode read the content out loud and put the letter on the table.
"So… who is going to go with me?"
Old Walker was the first to reject. He walked out of the room and waved his hand at Rhode.
"Drink tea with a group of boring noblemen? Count me out. I will head out first, kid. Rest assured that I will complete the mission you assigned me to."
"I, I also…."
Lize said hesitantly, exposing awkward smile. Then she quietly took a few steps back.
"I'm learning that new spell recently, and I think … I can't make it.
"Marlene?"
Seeing that Old Walker and Lize weren't interested in going, Rhode turned his attention to the last person in the room. Marleen contemplated for a moment before nodding her head.
"Though I'm not exactly interested… but I guess its good to relax occasionally. Come Lize! Let's go together."
"Eh? But I…"
"Spells aren't something you can learn within a day. Moreover, you've not participated in a tea party in ages."
"This … I…"
Due to Marleen's pestering, Lize's face flushed red, and she quickly glanced at Rhode. When she saw that he didn't say anything, she felt slightly relieved and nodded her head.
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Chapter 60: Late Night Banquet
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
"Pa!"
A vase crashed onto the floor, shattering into countless fragments.
"Why did you invite that b*stard, Daddy!?"
Helen stood in the living room, glaring at Keller who looked solemn.
"Now isn't the time to throw a tantrum."
Looking at his daughter's swelled face, Keller sighed. But expression immediately hardened again.
"In any case, someone else saved your life. At least you need to say something, have you forgot everything that I've taught you before?"
Keller raised his voice considerably, causing Helen to shrink back slightly. But once she realized her own cowardice, she stood back up straight again.
"I don't care. Anyway, I hate that guy! I will never thank him even if you kill me!"
"You…! You spoilt…!"
He pointed his finger at his rebellious daughter and shook with anger. He couldn't figure out why his usually docile girl would suddenly become so stubborn.
"Go back to your room. NOW! Tonight, little lady, you're grounded!"
"I'm not going anywhere! Hmph!!"
Helen stomped her stubby feet fiercely and turned around, leaving the room in a huff. Keller watched as his daughter's figure disappear behind the door, then, he sat back on his chair and gave a huge sigh. At this moment, it was as though his face aged another ten years.
He was exhausted.
"Master…"
Ben walked up to Keller's side softly and bowed respectfully. He looked at his Master's worn expression and hesitated for a while before asking, "About Miss…"
"Keep an eye on her. For tonight, don't let her out of the room."
Keller waved his hand and sighed once more. He pinched his brows with one hand while impatiently gesturing Ben to get out of the room with the other.
Keller waved his hand, then sighed. He was holding his forehead while impatiently waved his hand.
"Just… just go back. I'm tired, and I want to rest. Report to me when the gentleman arrives, I will personally welcome him."
"Yes."
After receiving Keller's order, Ben immediately left. Keller closed his eyes for a long time and said nothing. Right now, the pressure on him was too much for him to handle. Not only family matters weighed down on him, but the Merchant Association was also a problem. When they tried to kidnap his daughter to threaten him, he resolved to draw the line with the Merchant Association. Never would he have thought that those guys with only money in their brains would suddenly become so bold. But ever since he firmed his resolve, he decided not to associate with them anymore. For safety reasons, he even ordered Helen not to go out, or at least until the matter concluded. Surely he'd expected that Helen would be extremely displeased about being grounded, but still, as the head of the family, he had to be responsible for everyone.
Keller had a feeling that something was wrong these few days, but he was unable able to figure it out. Although there was no activity in the Golden City yet, Keller knew that once that girl made her move, it
meant that his position as head of the family would be over.
Keller shook his head to throw these negative emotions and thoughts out of his head. Since he couldn't figure it out, then he wouldn't think about it anymore. This time, the dinner party would be graced with the presence of the Mercenary Association's President and the Duke. He must grasp this opportunity to discuss with them about this issue in depth as it was of utmost importance. Furthermore, he couldn't afford to wait until the last minute to solve it.
Initially, Keller did not intend to reveal certain matters since it was the Merchant Association's internal problem, but after the attempted kidnap of his daughter, he felt that something was amiss. If it were just an ordinary commercial dispute, they wouldn't have exerted such an extreme method to force him to comply.
No matter what, it was still better to have some sort of preparation.
Thinking up to this point, Keller couldn't help but recall the young man who saved his daughter's life. Although Deep Stone City was a small town, finding one single person still wasn't an easy task. However, Rhode, in particular, was somewhat infamous, thus, investigating information about him wasn't as tricky as Keller thought it would be.
Once he stepped into Deep Stone City, he was immediately assessed by the legendary Sereck and won. After that, he managed to become a leader of a mercenary group with only two people. Then, he spent his money to purchase the ill-famed Cyril's Haunted House. Furthermore, according to rumors, the young man's appearance was absolutely beautiful. Frankly, if not because of the fact that his feats were nigh impossible based on his circumstances, then it'll be hard to believe whether he was actually trying to attract attention or not.
Astonishingly, this young man had led his 'mini' mercenary group to subdue the Necromancer in Pavel Cemetery which was a four Star-Ranked mission. Even though many people doubted the legitimacy of the mission props, the Mercenary Association's staff affirmed the people that the Necromancer's head and staff were the real deal.
Rhode didn't realize that he was the focal point of many people currently. The fact that he could lead a few people to complete such a dangerous mission meant that he must be someone extraordinary. Mercenaries were also humans. Naturally, they wished to work for the strong as they often put their life on the balance.
So, who is this young man?
What kind of person is he?
Keller closed his eyes and mused to himself.
When the night fell, the quiet environment soon began to brighten up.
A chandelier refracted countless of lights as many luxurious carriages moved back and forth. Now was the best time for nobles to interact with one another. Whether if it was a formal or informal banquet, they were here to enjoy themselves.
And so, tonight's banquet became extremely lively.
"This place could actually house these many people?"
The Old President walked down from the carriage, muttering unhappily while observing the nobles donned in fancy clothing.
"Whenever I come here, it feels as though I'm entering a market. Hearing thousands of ducklings yapping in my eardrums is extremely upsetting!"
"Well, old friend, Mr. Keller rarely invites us. Don't be a grumpy old man."
Compared to the Mercenary Association's President who wore a casual outfit, Sereck was dressed more elegantly. The Deep Stone City's celebrity absolutely resembled a nobleman with his stunning attire. On his waist, his iconic magic sword hung loosely.
"That man is just trying to stir up problems."
Ignoring the dissatisfied eyes from the attendant, the Old President entered the grand hall, then, he took out his pipe and tapped on the door.
"If not, why did he become low profile? See, even Klautz that wily old fox came. It seems like there's a really huge problem."
"Maybe. I heard that something happened to the Merchant Association, but… if that was the only problem, he wouldn't look for us, the Mercenary Association, nor Klautz to help him solve whatever issue he is facing. What do you think is the problem?"
"I'm not interested in these troublesome things. If there's someone who dares to look for trouble, I will just hammer him to death, don't you think so?"
"That may not be right, since…"
Sereck hadn't finished his sentence before the door opened once again.
The noisy hall suddenly became quiet.
For these nobles, there were only a few things that could attract their attention. But now, they've completely shifted their focus to the three new faces who walked down the hallway.
Rhode was naturally at the front. He wore a dark set of clothes, emphasizing his pale skin and thin body shape which made him appear like a frail child. His dark, long hair fell onto his shoulders, and his eye-catching face combined with his usual cold expression was giving off a strange charm.
Following behind him were two ladies who were equally dazzling.
Marlene's dress wasn't much different from the usual; she was still in her luxurious robe which perfectly matched her movements. Her ruby wand by her side emitted an elegant aura.
Meanwhile, compared to the other two, Lize's dress was more modest. She was in a sparkling white dress, as though she was a white lily which aroused love and affection from people.
Everyone in this hall were outstanding individuals, but these three newcomers still stood out with their unique aura which drew the attention of so many people. Soon, some groups began to whisper and gossip.
"Hmph… It looks like the banquet was a little better than I thought."
Marlene completely ignored the crowd around her and looked around.
"M-Marlene, that's too rude."
Lize stretched out her hand and pulled Marlene's sleeve gently.
"You don't have to mind it Lize, just relax."
However, Marlene apparently did not take Lize's advice seriously.
"We're here to have some fun. Moreover, this lady is willing to participate in this low-class banquet; it's already enough to give him face."
Just after Marlene ended, a well-dressed middle-aged man with a staunch face entered the hall. After noticing Rhode and the others, his eyes lit up and quickly made his way towards them.
"Hello, Mr. Rhode… I am Clayor Keller. I've heard about you from my daughter and hoped that we could meet since then. Right now, my wish is fulfilled. On behalf of the Keller family, I welcome you to this banquet."
"Don't be modest, Mr. Claytor. It's my pleasure to receive your invitation."
Facing the middle-aged man before him, Rhode replied in neither humble nor overbearing attitude. While he obviously wasn't a noble, he participated in similar events back in the game. Though he didn't personally experience it, he saw it many times. Back in the game, he could recall at least two or three typical noble dialogues.
Hearing Rhode answer, Claytor displayed a pleasant smile. Then, he switched his attention to the people behind Rhode.
"You don't have to be that polite, Mr. Rhode. These two people are…?"
"Greetings," Marlene took half a step forward and slightly raised the hem of her skirt, "My name is Marlene Senia, very pleased to see you, dear Mr. Claytor Keller."
"Senia?"
Hearing Marlene's answer, Claytor was stunned for a moment. His face immediately flashed a trace of surprise and looked at Rhode.
Is this man associated with the people from the Senia family?
What is his identity?
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Chapter 61: Unexpected Guest
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Keller felt that Rhode's identity was too confusing. Originally, he wasn't interested in Rhode's background because even the nobility had classifications within their circles. As long one had the money, one could purchase a low-class title and enter the ring of nobles. Furthermore, from his gathered intel, he discovered that Rhode hailed from the Eastern Plain, a place that was independent and closed off to the rest of the world. That was why Keller didn't really care about his history. But now it seems like he must change his view on this matter. In any case, having a relationship with the Senia family wasn't something that can be easily achieved by ordinary nobles. The Senia family's influence spread wide across the continent. While the Keller family could be considered to be rich, but compared to the Sena family, it was just like a small boat in an ocean.
Of course, Keller heard of Marlene Senia, the rare and rising genius mage of the century. At such a young age, the young lady managed to reach the middle circle rank. Her future was limitless. There were even rumors saying that she had the chance to join the Royal Magic Guard.
And this once-in-a-century magic genius was actually standing behind Rhode?
Was she implying that Rhode's identity was higher than her?
If Marlene could hear Keller's inner monologue right now, she would immediately throw a few fireballs at him so he could sober up. The reason why Marlene stood behind Rhode was so that she could conveniently whisper to Lize. As for her status… at least Marlene would assume that her status was higher than everyone else in the banquet.
Keller, who didn't know the real reason why Marlene was at the back, became even more respectful as he ushered them to their seats. His actions sparked curiosity from many guests. Since the Keller family was considered a first-class family in Deep Stone City, they rarely saw him lower himself. So, this respectful act from Keller garnered even more curious stares towards Rhode.
Whether it was on purpose or not, Keller arranged Rhode to sit beside Sereck. Noticing Rhode and the others approaching him, the Swordmaster smiled and stood up.
"Hello, Mr. Rhode, I did not expect to meet you here."
"Hello, Mr. Sereck."
Rhode shook hands with Sereck and nodded.
"If it weren't for Mr. Keller's invitation, I would not have had the chance to come here."
"Ah? Is that so."
Hearing Rhode's answer, Sereck smiled and said nothing. After that, he looked at Marlene with a complicated expression.
"I already heard the news from Hank. Missy, your decision was too…"
"I don't think that my decision was wrong, Uncle Sereck."
Marlene proudly raised her chin.
"You also know the reason why I'm here. Father sent me to learn and gain experience, but I was just being locked inside the house, which I did not see any benefit to it. I think Mr. Rhode can help me, so I decided to join his mercenary group. In the end, we've succeeded in completing a mission. It's perfect, isn't it?"
"If something happened to you, I don't know how to explain it to your father."
Sereck shook his head, but Marlene clearly didn't care.
"I made the decision myself, so, naturally, I will explain it to my father."
She replied with a slight dissatisfaction in her tone, then she pulled Lize's hand and left.
"Sigh… This young miss is really too stubborn…"
Watching Marlene silhouette disappear into the crowd, Sereck sighed and turned around to look at Rhode.
"I'll leave that kid in your hands, Mr. Rhode. I hope that you can take good care of her. She has the ability, but she is far too arrogant. It's no surprise though as she possessed both power and talent. But in this world, having power and talent isn't everything. If she goes on like this, I'm afraid she will suffer setbacks in the future."
Sereck stopped for a while, then he scooted over to Rhode and whispered something in his ear.
"By the way, we've received a strange report. A spy from the Country of Light was looking for a black-haired young man who uses strange summoned spirits."
Rhode frowned slightly but did not reply.
"Do you have problems with them?" Sereck continued.
Sereck's tone maintained its steadiness; there was nothing strange about it. But his eyes were carefully scrutinizing Rhode, trying to detect any faint movement on his face.
But Rhode merely shook his head and shrugged.
"I don't know, Mr. Sereck."
Rhode narrowed his eyes and gave an ambiguous answer.
"I did not think that I've done something that could spark someone else's concern."
Sereck maintained his silence for a moment. Then he smiled and patted Rhode's shoulder.
"I understand. Don't worry. This is not the Country of Light. Those bastards wouldn't dare to do something in the open as it would bring nothing but trouble to them. However, no matter what is your problem with the Country of Light, I hope you won't involve Marlene in it since her identity is quite sensitive. Although the conflicts between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light isn't something new, it's better if you refrain from stirring the hornets' nest."
Hearing Sereck's assuring words, Rhode secretly made a deep sigh. The complicated conflict between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light was something that had been going on for many years. Although on the surface, the two countries were in a temporary alliance, the history between the two goes quite deep. This was because of something that happened a long time ago.
Even though the Country of Light was a country in name, but it was more of a coalition than a country. When it was founded, the first generation Light Dragon formed a parliament which had 13 lords as its members. Since the Light Dragon didn't agree with the totalitarianism proposed by the Country of Darkness, the Light Dragon chose a different path. It gave up all its rights on state affairs to the parliament, and any problems would be settled using a collective voting decision.
However, the Munn Kingdom was an exception.
The Kingdom's ruling structure was fundamentally different from the Country of Light. And because of this, the tension between both countries increased even further. Furthermore, to make matters worse, the Munn Kingdom's geographical location was superb. Situated around the borders of the Country of Light, the Kingdom's trade network spanned into many directions. They had ample lakes and rivers for basic needs as well as for trade. Surrounding their domain, magic crystals and minerals were abundant, which made the nearby countries jealous of their wealth.
Of course, the Country of Light was no exception. Throughout the years, they'd been increasingly envious of the Kingdom's natural abundance. Thus, on the exterior, they tried to improve ties between the countries, but inwardly, they loathed the Munn Kingdom's achievements and assumed that the Munn Kingdom was employing the Country of Darkness's tyrannical ways of ruling which would eventually drag the whole kingdom into the abyss. Therefore the Country of Light looked down on the Kingdom and criticized them from time to time. In their opinion, they were colluding with the Country of Darkness by trading with them, and their country was the 'savior' who would vanquish the 'evil' from the Country of Darkness.
As for the Munn Kingdom, they felt that they were innocent. Neither did they steal, force, nor trick anyone. There was no reason for the Country of Light to despise them so much. Is it their fault for living in prosperity?
Thus, the Munn Kingdom's impression of the Country of Light plummetted. Furthermore, they disliked how the Country of Light acted as the 'savior of the world,' and anything they said was law while dismissing the view of other countries.
In the shadows, the Country of Light coveted the Munn Kingdom's territory and wealth. They continuously lashed out conspiracies in an attempt to pull this 'disobedient' leader off the throne so they could easily absorb their land into the Country of Light's territory in the name of 'glory and freedom.'
And this was the reason why there was so much tension between the two countries, though most of them were privately resolved. That was why, in Sereck's opinion, it wasn't too much to ask for.
But only Rhode who experienced the future, understood that the Country of Light was playing dangerously with fire.
Elegant music played in the background.
After thanking Sereck, Rhode walked towards the window and stared out at the night sky, holding a wine glass between his fingers.
Many times during the conversation, he thought of just revealing the truth about the Country of Light's nefarious plans to Sereck. He could easily pinpoint the current problems as well as solutions to safeguard for the future. But in the end, he did not say anything to Sereck. After all, explaining to someone that you could read the future was something extremely tedious to begin with, and even so, he needed substantial evidence to back his claims. So, in the end, what was the point of saying it? It would only bring trouble to himself.
"Mr. Rhode?"
At this time, Lize's voice suddenly sounded from behind. She walked towards him and blinked with worry in her eyes.
"What happened? You don't seem to be well."
"Well, something happened."
Rhode sipped the glass of wine on his hand, enjoying the sweet, lingering taste. But it wasn't enough to drown the thoughts in his mind.
"Remember those guys that we met in the Twilight Forest? After speaking with Sereck, it seems like those guys followed us here."
"Eh?!"
Hearing this shocking revelation, Lize immediately paled. Judging by the way she clenched her fists ever so tightly, clearly, she was extremely surprised.
"Who are those guys and why are they coming here?"
"According to Sereck, they are most likely to be spies from Country of Light."
Rhode snorted coldly.
If he could rank the most hated things in this world, the Country of Light would take the first place. While the actual perpetrator of the entire war was the Country of Darkness, being betrayed by your so-called ally was an absolute disgrace.
Rhode's current strength was insufficient to challenge the Country of Light, but since they sent some appetizers to help him warm up, he would gladly take up on their offer.
Then the music stopped suddenly.
Rhode and Lize turned around at the same time and discovered that many other people did the same.
At the entrance, a young man donning a white robe held a black cane and stood confidently with a broad curve on his lips. There was an air of superiority surrounding him, and behind him, two Keller family guards appeared quite miserable.
"Mr. Billy."
The atmosphere turned awkward. Keller sifted through the crowd in a hurry, and when he saw the man, he displayed a slightly shocked expression on his face before promptly welcoming him.
"I didn't expect you to come. Please forgive me for not greeting you."
"You don't have to apologize to me, Mr. Claytor."
The young man called Billy laughed and raised his hand. Though his voice wasn't loud, it still echoed throughout the now-silent hall.
"I'm just doing this on impulse; I suddenly felt like visiting, so I hope you don't blame me for coming here uninvited."
"You're too kind."
The smile on Keller's face didn't fade a bit, as a family whose roots originated from merchants, smiling was a crucial skill.
"I was so worried that Mr. Billy would think that this banquet was too shabby and refused to visit. It's me who's at fault."
"Who is that guy?"
Looking at that young man, Rhode frowned. He did not remember someone with that appearance or status in Deep Stone City.
"He's the special envoy from Country of Light."
Hearing Rhode's question, a noble who stood beside him answered. From his tone, it was clear that he too wasn't pleased with the appearance of this so-called 'special envoy.'
"It was a week since his arrival in Deep Stone City. I don't know what is his purpose here, but his presence meant that the Country of Light is up to no good again."
A special envoy from the Country of Light?
Rhode and Lize looked at each other. Clearly, they've never heard of such a character.
"You don't have to be modest, Mr. Keller. The truth, I came here because of a person."
The young man displayed a splendid smile; he turned around and walked towards the crowd before gently holding up a someone's hand.
"Beautiful lady, we've finally met."
"Bang!"
Rhode's wine wasn't finished, but it's all sprayed out. Lize who was standing beside him also immediately covered her mouth in shock when she saw the young man standing before Marlene.
Right now, Marlene's face's also turned pale.
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"Mr. Clinton."
Marlene coldly retrieved her hands from his grasp.
"We're not that familiar with each other. Please uphold your dignity."
"Tsk, tsk," the young man curled his lips and clicked his tongue, then he replied, "that's where you're wrong, Marlene."
Despite receiving a direct refusal, the young man did not retreat; rather, he became increasingly bold.
"Our family are close friends, am I right? When we were kids, our parents have been—"
"That was a long time ago."
Marlene interrupted him coldly.
"Since your family migrated to the Country of Light, any sort of relationship we had is now void. Please mind your conduct. Don't act like a ruffian who likes to chase after skirts. It is very much impolite."
"Marlene…" Billy sighed, "it was just a few years since we last met, when did you become so stubborn?"
Even though he spoke these words, his proud smile on his face didn't fade one bit.
"As they say, men struggle upwards, and water flows downwards. The reason why our Clinton family did what we did was so we could live a better life. Now, we are in a free land, enjoying unprecedented peace and tranquility. We never have to worry about encountering any disturbances… don't you think that's wonderful, Marlene? The elders' era has already passed, we now live in the present, and we are the ones who will craft the future. Aren't you curious about the world, the TRUE reality of it…? You are still young, do not be bound by tradition or lies. If you wish so, I can give you a tour around the Country of Light, perhaps you would change your point of view then."
"…Traitor." Marlene glared at the man with disgust in her eyes. She no longer hid her repulsion towards this proud man and said, "I'm not interested in someone who abandoned their dignity to become a watchdog. You can leave now, Mr. Clinton. I hope that we will never meet again."
"You're wrong again, Marlene."
However, it was clear that Billy's face was thicker than Marlene had imagined. Even though many people were looking at him with strange expressions, he spoke to Marlene as if they were the only two people in the hall.
He revealed a brilliant smile and continued, "How can it count as abandoning my dignity? Don't we all live under the protection of the Light Dragon? Moreover, don't we have a common enemy? Why are you hostile towards the Country of Light? We are fighting for the sake of all of us… we shouldn't be treated like traitors. It's unfair to us."
The young man eloquently projected emotional words effortlessly. However, Marlene wasn't moved at all. She maintained her cold expression and glared at him in disdain, as though watching a clown.
"This place doesn't welcome the likes of you, Mr. Clinton. If you choose to ignore the words that I've said, then…"
The young genius mage suddenly raised her wand and pointed towards him.
"Then I will have to make you leave with a more direct method."
Billy's face finally revealed a stiff expression with the appearance of her wand. His mouth twitched slightly, but soon he recovered his usual composure.
"Ah…" he shook his head in dismay, "you've really changed. Marlene. You weren't like this when we were younger. What made you change this drastically? Oh, right… I heard that you're together with a man. Where is he? Did he run away after seeing me?"
"You!!"
Marlene was extremely furious. She clenched her teeth and prepared to curse him. As she was about to do so, suddenly, a calm voice sounded from within the crowd.
"I've heard that people from the Country of Light are well-versed at speaking nonsense. Today, I've managed to grace myself with the presence of the real deal, truly, as they say, knowing a man by reputation is not as good as meeting face-to-face."
Rhode emerged from the crowd and walked towards Billy.
"Esteemed young sir, you are wrong."
Even when faced with Rhode's ridicule, Billy's elegant demeanor didn't change at all.
"Is that so?"
Rhode studied the man in front of him and nodded his head with satisfaction.
"Hmm… it does appear that you are indeed a patriotic person. I apologize for my rude behavior."
"Mr. Rhode..!"
Marlene was displeased with Rhode's stance and opened her mouth to voice her complaints, but she was interrupted by Billy.
"Oh ho… it looks like you're a sharp one to be able to understand my underlying reason. I've done everything for the sake of my country, but unfortunately…" Billy paused for a moment and turned his head, glancing at Marlene, "unfortunately not everyone can understand that."
"Well, I can understand you."
Rhode expressed himself as though he could sympathize with Billy's situation which made his impression of Rhode improve. Frankly, when he heard that Marlene attended a banquet with a man, he was quite mad and even intended to make things difficult for him. But now that he realized that this man was intelligent enough to understand him, his anger dissipated slightly. Since his opponent was willing to play nice, he would give him some face. However, unfortunately, Rhode's next sentence immediately caused his face to turn pale.
"This is the so-called survival of the fittest, eh? Keep the good and take out the trash. To help the Munn Kingdom prosper, you took the initiative to leave by your own accord. Not everyone can make these kinds of patriotic sacrifices for the country. I really do admire your selfless mindset."
"Pfft!"
"Haha…"
The nobles weren't fools. Naturally, they understood what Rhode meant. Right after Rhode finished, a few of them were already on the verge of laughter. Many nobles present at the banquet secretly loathed that man from the Country of Light, but since he was a special envoy, they did not dare to speak out their complaints. Now that Rhode spoke their mind, it made them somewhat happy. Even Marlene's tense expression relaxed slightly. She looked at Rhode and smiled to herself. With her identity, she had interacted with many people with high statuses of the same age, but none of them were as smart or as calm as Rhode. Furthermore, Rhode looked attractive, and he was also powerful; in other words — a perfect man, only if he would smile more often.
As much as she tried to hide it, Billy still noticed Marlene's subtle giggle. And when he recalled that ever since he arrived, she had never given him as much as a smile, he boiled on the inside.
Furthermore, this man simply said a few words, and she smiled just like that?
"Good, good! Since that's the case…!"
Billy raised his voice and pointed his cane towards Rhode. A hint of anger was apparent in his tone.
"I hereby challenge you to a duel!"
"Duel?"
When that word left Billy's mouth, everyone was surprised. Keller who was watching from the side also began to grow anxious; he did not want to have any disputes in a banquet that he hosted. Before he could say anything, Rhode already spoke up.
"Duel? A duel should always have a wager, am I right?"
"This lady."
Billy stretched out his hand and pointed at Marlene.
"If I win, then I want you to leave her. From then on, she is mine. If you win, then I will give up on her. What do you think of this condition?"
"Is that so… I understand," Rhode nodded his head and continued, "then I refuse."
"Very good… since you've accepted, then… WHAT? Y-you refuse?"
Not only was Billy stunned speechless, but even the other nobles gasped in shock when they heard Rhode's reply. Refusing a duel was akin to throwing away a noble's honor!
"Why do you refuse?! Are you afraid of me?"
"As expected. Possessing low IQ is the worst."
Rhode gave a long sigh as he looked 'endearingly' towards Billy like how a teacher looks an underperforming student.
"I want to remind you that Ms. Marlene is not an item. She neither belongs to me, nor to you. So even if you win, will Ms. Marlene follow you obediently?" Rhode sneered, "I'll repeat myself once more; she's not an item that belongs to anyone, so I don't have the power to make that decision for her. If she desires to go with you, then I won't stop her."
Rhode glanced at Marlene and saw her proudly raising her head. Then, she walked towards Rhode's side and lifted her wand at Billy.
"That's right, Mr. Clinton. I, Marlene Sena, don't belong to anyone but myself. No one can order me to stay or leave. If you want to take me, then you can come try and get me."
At this moment, Marlene was obviously extremely angry. Her magic robe emitted a magical light, even the ruby on her wand grew increasingly brighter.
"You…"
He saw that Marlene was actually getting serious. He could sense an immeasurable amount of magic power flowing in that petite-looking body. If he forced her, then there's no doubt that she'd really try to kill him.
"Using force against a lady isn't gentlemanly, Mr. Clinton."
Although Billy looked rather pitiful, Rhode wasn't going to let him off that easily. In his opinion, anyone from the Country of Light was to be beaten to death.
"Well, if you truly intend to fight, then I don't mind accompanying you."
"Count me in, kid."
This time, Sereck walked out from the crowd.
"You must remember that you're in Deep Stone City, a direct territory under the Munn Kingdom. If you want to fight here, I do hope you consider the consequences."
"Sereck…"
Once Sereck became involved in this matter, Billy realized that the situation was beginning to spiral out of control. He wasn't stupid. The people here refrained from causing a scene because of his special identity as an envoy. But if he blatantly disrespected the people further, perhaps he might be thrown out. There were many envoys, losing one of them wasn't much of a problem…
"It seems that I've gone too far. I will take my leave then."
Billy said as he clenched his teeth in anger. Then, he turned around and left.
Once Billy was gone, Marlene finally put down her wand and smiled at Rhode.
"Thank you, Mr. Rhode. Because of you, we got rid of that nasty guy."
"No problem, I'm also not fond of those group of idiots."
Rhode waved his hand, causing Marlene to chuckle. Then both of them raised the wine glass in their hands.
"So, to celebrate our victory, you won't mind if I offer you a toast, hm?
"Of course I don't mind."
The banquet went on as usual. Just outside the building, Billy got onto a carriage, his face was all red and was extremely upset.
"I'm sorry, Sir."
At this moment, the arrogant man had turned meek as he lowered his head towards the other person inside the carriage.
"I failed to complete your request to make that man move."
"Not an issue, Mr. Clinton."
On the other side of the carriage, the person who was hiding in the darkness chuckled.
"We still have a chance; whether it is you, or me."
Then he raised his head and stared at the night sky.
"We will achieve our goal."
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Chapter 63: Together With Him
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
After everything was over, the banquet once again resumed its festivities. Because of Rhode's bold actions, those nobles who were previously doubtful of him gradually changed their attitudes. Since the relationship between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light was irreconcilable, and Rhode mocked the envoy to the extent of driving him away, the nobles slowly regarded Rhode as one of their own. After all, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Having an acquaintance with Sereck and Marlene also reinforced Rhode's reputation. One of them was a famous swordmaster in Deep Stone City, and the other was the only heir of the Senia family as well as a genius mage. With them acknowledging Rhode, it implied that he had the qualifications to stand toe-to-toe with them.
From now on, the people who would make things difficult for him would decrease since no one was stupid enough to create trouble with the behemoths.
Thus, from time to time, nobles would offer a toast to Rhode and made small talk with him. He could also sense many furtive glances from the rich ladies who were hoping to spend a night with him. This act of self-indulgence wasn't uncommon within the nobility as lots of rich ladies loved to meet handsome men and enjoy a good time with them. It was similar to a man who likes to boast about a one-night stand with a beauty.
Unfortunately, before these ladies could approach Rhode for a chat, Marlene's cold eyes shot down their resolve even before it began.
"Shameless."
Another girl in a beautiful dress blushed before turning away. Marlene snorted and lifted up a wine glass, sipping a mouthful of it. As a noble, Marlene knew what they were scheming.
"I say… Miss Marlene, are you asking me for a drink? Or to be my bodyguard?"
As Rhode was right beside Marlene, he could obviously see what she was doing. Frankly, he wasn't a stranger to these things. Before the transmigration, Rhode had a few girlfriends, but nothing memorable came out from his relationships. Rhode dumped some of them after realizing their true nature, and some felt pressure because Rhode was more beautiful than them and chose to leave.
Therefore Rhode was quite open-minded about these things. If the other was willing, he did not mind to enjoy the pleasure. Alas, at this moment, even though two beautiful women were sitting beside him… as they say, the fox preys farthest from home. Rhode did not have the faintest intention towards them. The benefit of a one-night stand was that there wasno-strings-attached after that.
"What? Are you interested in those kinds of women?"
Marlene said as she raised her chin and pointed to the side. The group of wealthy ladies immediately jumped in fright after noticing Marlene glaring at them. Then they quickly dispersed and disappeared.
"At least you should give me a choice to choose."
"…Really shallow."
Marlene stared at Rhode coldly, but he didn't seem to mind it at all.
"Marlene… it's not good to be like that. After all, this is Mr. Rhode's personal life…"
Sensing the atmosphere turning awkward, Lize, who sat opposite Rhode quickly tried to mediate the matter.
"What? Are you saying that I must let this man do as he pleases? Lize, you cannot be too tolerating, otherwise, after you're married, you'll be taken advantage of by the man!"
"Ge, get married?!"
Lize was shocked. She secretly glanced at Rhode beside her. Then, her face turned beet red because she choked on the wine that she was unknowingly drinking.
"Cough cough… isn't it a little too early to be speaking about these things? I…"
"What are you talking about? Last year, I was urged by my father about marriage. Hmph. Luckily there were no eligible men at that moment, otherwise…" Marlene then realized something and said, "ah, but I think you don't care about these matters right now."
Then she looked at Lize in envy and nodded.
"It seems like living here isn't too bad. At least everything can be decided on your own… unlike me."
Marlene felt that she had said too much, so she shook her head and became quiet.
The atmosphere turned heavy, but just a moment later, Rhode broke the silence and said, "Ah right, Marlene, I have something to tell you."
"What's up? If it's about those shallow women from just now, I'm not going to hear it."
"It's about our mission."
Marlene immediately turned around and looked at Rhode.
"What is it?"
Unlike the other ladies, Rhode wasn't frightened when Marlene stared at him. Her eyes were sometimes very oppressive, full of confidence and pride. But it didn't affect him in the least.
"I think it's better for me to go alone."
"Why?"
Marlene frowned slightly. Although her time with Rhode wasn't long, she knew that he would rarely change his mind. If she remembered it correctly, it was her first time hearing him take back his own words.
"I think you've heard from Lize about our first meeting."
Marlene nodded and tilted her head slightly. Although Rhode instructed Lize not to mention about the incident in the floating ship to anyone, Marlene was Lize's close friend and a member of the mercenary group, so, she managed to hear about the matter.
"As I've said, the incident before is related to the Country of Light. Moreover, Sereck had just informed me that their spies were looking for my information. I feel that when I leave for this mission, they would definitely look for trouble with me."
"So you don't intend to let me get involved in this matter."
"Your identity isn't suitable for this mission. This matter is also quite dangerous. For the sake of reputation, they are willing to do anything to accomplish their goal. Ms. Marlene, when they attacked the merchant ship, you weren't there. Therefore this matter is unrelated to you and is unlikely that they will involve you."
"What about Lize?"
Marlene furrowed her brows and asked.
"Well, since she'll be in Deep Stone City, there's nothing much to worry about. The Country of Light wouldn't be stupid enough to move in the open. Furthermore, I've prepared security within the stronghold. As long she doesn't totally disregard safety, it should be fine."
Rhode wasn't concerned about safety as he had full control over the stronghold's security system. If someone tried to invade the stronghold, he would immediately receive system prompts, and the intruder would encounter a certain degree of resistance from the stronghold itself.
"As for Lize…"
Rhode looked at the other girl who sat beside him.
"After I leave, you will live in the mercenary association for the moment. I will request for Sereck to look after the both of you."
"Yes, Mr. Rhode.
Lize was a little sad as she had to leave her home. She wanted to go with him, but the number of spells she knew was too little. Moreover, the bulk of her spells were the holy element which meant that it was only useful against undead. Going on the mission with Rhode would burden him instead of helping.
"Then, as for Ms. Marlene…"
After getting Lize's answer, Rhode turned around. But his words have yet finished, Marlene already made her answer.
"I refuse."
"Eh?"
"Although this matter is not related to me, as a part of Senia family, escaping the problem is not my style and…" Marlene suddenly narrowed her eyes, saying "This is the Munn Kingdom, our country. If those Light scums want to scheme something here, they need to ask for our permission. Mr. Rhode, I hope that I can help you. Just like how you helped me, now it's my turn to return the favor. You are strong, but the enemy isn't only one person. I am a middle circle mage, so I can well-versed in fighting a large number of people. At least, I hope you will consider my proposal."
After hearing her out, Rhode closed his eyes to think.
Marlene did make some sense. If his enemies wanted to attack him when he entered Twilight Forest, most likely they would have to employ an ambush. While he could solve it by himself, Marlene could wipe them clean with much less effort.
If Rhode didn't know to what extent how dangerous this mission was, he would have never considered bringing Marlene along. But now, he was actually very clear of the situation, so if there was an extra pair of hands to help, then… why not?
"Sure, I agree to your request."
In the end, Rhode nodded.
"But I believe you know my condition."
"I understand that I must obey your command. After all, I don't want to lose my life just because of my boring pride."
"Then…"
Rhode stretched out his hand.
"Welcome aboard once more."
"I hope we will work well together."
Marlene shook Rhode's hand firmly with a confident smile.
But the two didn't notice that Lize was staring at them with a complicated expression. Her delicate hands clutched onto the hem of her skirt tightly as she bit her lower lip.
I want to be strong…
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Chapter 64: Entering The Mountain
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The brilliant rays of the sun permeated through the gaps between the canopy.
Rhode stopped in his tracks; he stared at the hilly dirt path in front of him for a moment, then he turned back and looked at the girl who was gasping for air behind him.
"Ms. Marlene, can you move a bit faster?"
"W-wait a minute… let me… catch my breath…"
Marlene's present state was a mess. With mud, twigs, and leaves sticking onto her robe as well as with a face full of sweat, she'd lost all of her previously elegant features. If someone saw her pitiful state right now, they'd have thought that she'd just came back from a war. But in fact, she was only climbing a hill.
"I… never thought… that it was… going to be this tiring…"
She took heavy breaths with each step as she slowly staggered up the hilly road. The enthusiasm that she displayed before had completely vanished. When Rhode saw her like this, he started to regret his decision to bring her along. After all, he wasn't here to fool around. Physical strength wasn't a mage's forte; clearly he'd forgotten about this point.
During the previous mission, Marlene didn't fall into such a miserable state because she used her magic to float up against the steep mountainous slopes. However, as the elevation here was much gentler, she refused to use her magic and insisted to walk. And that was how she ended up exhausted.
At the beginning of the climb, she was energetic since it was her first time exploring the wild without anyone guarding her. This newfound freedom in adventuring made her even more enthusiastic than Rhode.
Alas, enthusiasm wasn't something that could be eaten and converted into energy.
Therefore, her enthusiasm gradually waned and turned into anguish.
Rough roads, thorny shrubs, thickets of grass… observing nature from afar was nice and all, but walking through it was another story altogether. And to make matters worse, even wanting to take a rest was a chore. According to Rhode, she must carefully scan the surroundings just in case a poisonous snake lurked nearby.
Thank the Holy Soul. At least I am given enough time to write my epitaph.
Marlene was already extremely tired and dizzy. She even felt that this was worse than studying a ton of magic law books in the Magic Tower.
"I really don't know how Lize adapted to this lifestyle."
In the end, Marlene chose not to sit on the ground. Instead, she leaned against a tree trunk to catch her breath.
"She must have suffered… back then she was such a crybaby."
"Nothing is impossible."
Rhode gave a casual remark as he compared a nearby mountain with the one in his 'game memory.' Then, he rested his hand on the scabbard of a magnificent looking sword on his waist, the Blood Tears. This sword was given as a gift of appreciation from Claytor. It was apparent that the Keller family was very grateful towards Rhode when they presented him with this magic grade weapon.
Compared to Star Mark, the appearance of Blood Tears resembled those swords from the Middle Ages. It had a dark, crimson hue along with a rare spell that coincided with its name. Whenever the sword contacts with blood, it would gradually become sharper and more durable. Weapons that could grow in strength were rare and highly sought after.
Rhode accepted the gift unreservedly. While Star Mark was still his favorite, it occupied one summoning slot, which he felt was quite a waste. The Summoning Swordman's Magic Circle that Rhode possessed was the 'Ten Strongest Spirit Deck.' Within the Magic Circle, he can decide what Core Card he wanted to use for each deck. For example, in an army, if the player was the commander and the summoned spirits were the soldiers, then the 'Core Card' would be the platoon leader. Once the Core is set, the summoned spirits can be materialized as an entity without consuming soul power. If their power runs out, then they will temporarily return to the Magic Circle to 'charge up' before materializing once more.
For the Summoning Swordsman class, deciding what Core Card to use was crucial and should be done with care, as once the Core was set, it couldn't be changed unless the player chooses to delete it. That was the reason why Rhode hadn't decided on Star Mark's Core yet, since its current level was fairly low. If he found a better card in the future, then everything would be too late.
Rhode had made an error once before, so he wouldn't be stupid enough to repeat it one more time.
Marlene continued. "But, she somehow appears… strange."
"Really?"
Rhode was surprised for a moment.
Lize was strange? How come he did not feel so?
"Hmm… how do I put it…"
Marlene frowned for a moment as she pondered on how to describe it to Rhode, but in the end, she didn't know how to phrase it.
"I can't really say, but I feel that she's different from before. Moreover… nevermind."
Marlene recalled the time when she was about to leave with Rhode on this mission. Lize held her hand tightly and hesitated as if she wanted to say something, but after a while, she didn't say anything and left. As a woman, she could feel that Lize was jealous and worried at the same time. But Marlene did not know the reason why.
Was it because she wanted to tag along, so she got mad? But the Lize she knew wasn't that kind of person…
Marlene suddenly straightened up.
A magical wave surged in the air, sending a direct signal to her body which caused her to react immediately.
Rhode also noticed Marlene's body twitching slightly.
"What happened?"
"Someone is coming."
Marlene turned her head and gazed at the mountain below which was hidden behind a thick foliage.
"My sigil detected people marching towards our direction. One… two… three. Three people. But there's a chance that there might be more…"
"Let's get ready to move forward."
Rhode loosened the grip on his sword.
"Do it as planned."
"Got it."
Marlene acknowledged his order and raised her wand towards a tree beside her. Soon, a bright, mysterious sigil appeared and penetrated into the trunk.
"Let's continue."
"Why don't we just ambush them and kill those group of nasty people?"
Marlene simply threw out the question on her mind. In her opinion, those guys weren't tough. If Rhode and herself combined strength, they could easily dispatch them. So why should they be afraid of being caught being these people? It was something that she didn't understand.
"Simple. Because this place is not too far from the Deep Stone City."
Rhode answered her question without hesitation.
"If we engage them now, those guys will immediately send some signal for reinforcements. By then, we will lose our advantage. However, now they are unaware that we have intel of their locations. Letting these guys continue to follow us is a better option for now because we can lead them deeper without alarming them. Even if they realize that something is wrong, it'll take too long for their reinforcements to aid them. So, rather than finishing them off here, we can keep track of their movements without worrying about an ambush."
"I see…"
Marlene nodded and no longer said anything regarding the plan. She could guess what Rhode planned for them. But still, she was rather annoyed with the sweat trickling down her face.
"But if you're just looking for magic herbs, do we need to walk this far in?"
They had been trekking the mountain since morning and Marlene was already dead tired. She didn't understand why they had to enter so deep into the forest when there were other spots closer to the edges.
"Indeed we don't. If we are looking for magic herbs, we won't need to go this deep in. But, coincidentally, I've found some treasure maps which points to the Twilight Forest. If we can find it, it'll be a boon to our group."
Rhode's expression was indifferent as usual. It didn't appear as though he was lying, and since Marlene trusted his judgment, she stopped being skeptical about everything he did.
"Treasure?"
Marlene's eyes sparkled for a moment. She couldn't imagine what kind of treasures would be buried here. Those fantasy adventure stories that she had been reading made her slightly less skeptical about these things. After all, instead of going to some underground cemetery, a treasure hunt sounded much closer to her 'adventure fantasy.'
"Then which direction shall we head next?"
"North."
Rhode pointed to the front.
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